What is the tax to be paid for F&O trades?

Income from trading in F&O (both intraday or overnight) on all the recognised exchanges (such as NSE, BSE, MCX etc) is considered as non-speculative business income. F&O trade is reported under the head ‘Business’ in Income Tax Return (“ITR”) and information is given as per the frequency or volumes of trades done.

What is the turnover in derivatives?

Turnover is calculated as the difference of total of positive and negative values for Futures segment. It makes no difference, whether the difference is positive or negative. These values are aggregated and the turnover is calculated. With respect to Options, Premium is to be included in turnover.

Let’s take a look below examples

• If client bought & sold RIL one lot Future contract and booked a profit of Rs. 50,000.
• If client bought & sold TCS one lot Future contract & booked a loss is Rs. 25,000
• If client bought INFY 1700 CE one lot at a premium of at Rs. 12,000.
• If client sold ITC 230 PE one lot at a premium of Rs. 22,400.

The turnover is calculated as Rs. 50,000 (Profit in RIL ) + 25,000 (Loss in TCS) + buy premium of INFY CE Rs. 12,000 + sold ITC PE premium of Rs. 22,400 then total turnover is Rs. 1,09,400.

Treatment of losses in derivatives

Any unadjusted loss in derivatives can be carried forward for eight years. However, in the future, they can only be adjusted from non-speculative income. If there is a loss in F&O, then one should file it before due date to carry forward the loss and set off from income in the future. The single most important reason to file F&O trading is to be able to benefit from losses you have incurred. If your business resulted in a loss, report it in your tax return. It can be adjusted from income from remaining heads such as rental income or interest income (it cannot be adjusted from salary income).

When is derivative tax audit required ?

Tax Audit in the case for Futures & Options (F&O) is applicable in the below two scenarios:-

1.The turnover is more than Rs. 10 crores (audit applicability increased from Rs.5 crores to Rs.10 crores in Budget 2021). The threshold of Rs.10 crores is applicable for F&O as 95% of the transactions are through digital mode. Hence, the standard audit threshold of Rs.1 crore is not applicable in case of F&O.

2.The audit is required only if a taxpayer has declared income at a presumptive rate (Section 44AD) in any of the previous five years but wants to declare losses or income at less than the presumptive rate in the current year, provided his total income in the current year exceeds the basic exemption limit.

What are types of ITR forms and where do I fill Derivatives Income Tax?

ITR- 3 for individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession.

ITR-4 for Individuals, HUFs and Firms (other than LLP) who are eligible to opt ‘Presumptive taxation scheme’.

How can I file tax if I am a small trader & do not maintain Books of account?

This is applicable to Business/Profession whose gross receipts /revenue is less than or equal to ₹25 Lakhs (10 Lakhs for Profession) and profit is less than or equal to ₹2.5 Lakhs (1.5 Lakhs for Profession)

What documents are required for tax filing?

Form 16, Form 26AS Tax Credit Statement, trading account statement, Turnover report, profit & loss, transaction statement, bank statement if interest received is above Rs. 10,000/-, gross receipts & Income and Expense statements.

What is advance tax and when do I need to pay it?

The assessment of income of a year can be made only after the year has passed, advance tax is pre-payment of your tax liability in the year it is earned. If the tax liability is more than Rs 10,000 in a financial year then advance tax needs to be paid by assessee.  The dates are June 15, September 15, December 15 and March 15 are the dates to pay advance tax.

How are Open position/ closing position on 31^st March considered for calculation of P&L?

Open interest refers to a situation, wherein on the date of the financial year end, there are outstanding derivatives contracts with the customer. Since derivatives contracts are marked-to-market (MTM), there can be unrealised MTM gains or losses prevailing as on March 31.

Only real income/loss attracts tax provisions and not the notional gains/losses. However, in certain judicial decisions notional losses have also been allowed as a deductible expense. This is still debatable and there is no fixed rule yet.

Expenses treatment against F&O Income?

Expenses like brokerage, broker’s commission, subscriptions to journals related to trading, telephone bills, internet costs, consultant charges if you took an advice from a professional who charged you, or salary of a person you hired to help with your business can all be claimed.

Where can client see profit and loss statement in ICICIdirect?

After logging in to ICICIdirect > Portfolio > Statements & Reports > P&L Statements > F&O > Select year > View. 

Can clients use ICICIdirect P&L statement for income tax return?

Yes, clients can download statement for financial year & total is given in the statement, so client can use ICICIdirect P&L to file tax return.

Does ICICIdirect provide a transaction statement?

Yes, client can download the statement from path after logging in to ICICIdirect > Portfolio > Statements & Reports > Transaction statement > Derivatives > View.

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