Due date of ITR for Option Trader

The correct due date for filing an ITR with Salary and Option Trading income is 31st July 2026, assuming the trading turnover is under ₹10 Crores and no tax audit is required. 31st August is not a standard due date.

Option Trading is treated as business income, so I am doubtful about date, as business income ITR due date for non-audit cases is 31st August 2026 for AY 2026-27.

Please clear this doubt.

F&O income is Business Income, ITR-3 would most probably would be applicable (if not going for presumptive income). In that case, due date is last date of filing ITR is 31st Aug, if Audit is not required.

Actually it is not trading done by the any person, it's all it's all depends on decision to show it as a investor or trader

F&O income is treated as business income under Section 28, not capital gains , so the applicable form is ITR-3, not ITR-2. And the deadline for ITR-3 non-audit filers changed this year.

Finance Act 2026 introduced a separate due date for individuals and HUFs with business or professional income who are NOT subject to tax audit , August 31, 2026. This replaces the earlier position where such filers also had a July 31 deadline.

So for your situation (salary + F&O with no audit requirement):

- Form: ITR-3

- Deadline: August 31, 2026

- Audit requirement check: F&O turnover (sum of absolute profit + loss on each trade settlement, per ICAI guidance) must be below 10 crore. If it exceeds 10 crore, you need a tax audit and the deadline shifts to October 31, 2026.

Two things to also sort before Aug 31:

1. If TDS was deducted from salary under the old tax regime and you want to file under new regime, do the calculation before filing. The new regime is now the default and switching back requires active selection.

2. Carry-forward of F&O losses (speculative if intraday, non-speculative if overnight F&O) depends on timely filing by Aug 31. Missing this deadline means those losses cannot be carried forward.

For a breakdown of F&O taxation, audit thresholds, and ITR-3 filing, this [F&O and intraday trading tax guide](https://taxgarden.in/blog/fno-intraday-trading-tax-itr-audit-india) has the full details.

Perfect reply by Tax Garden.

Thanks a lot, cleared every doubt with explanation.

In my opinion, such assessees should only target the date as 31st July.