This article covers FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). Tax rules change annually. Verify figures against the Income Tax Department website before filing. This is general educational information, not personalised tax advice. Choosing between the New Tax Regime vs Old Tax Regime for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) confuses most taxpayers, because the two systems differ on slab…
Does an eligible small business owner or independent professional really need to work through every rent receipt, depreciation schedule and phone bill just to arrive at taxable business income? For many eligible taxpayers, the answer is no. The presumptive taxation scheme lets qualifying taxpayers compute business or professional income at a prescribed percentage of turnover…
Last month, I spent two days inside a mid-sized electronics store in Pune trying to figure out why their inventory numbers were off by ₹3.2 lakhs every quarter. The owner was convinced it was a pilferage problem. He’d installed cameras. Hired a night guard. Even started doing surprise stock checks on weekends. Turns out, nobody…
Last month, a manufacturing business owner showed me his “reconciliation system.” It was seven Excel files across three email threads, two of which had conflicting ITC numbers for the same quarter. He’d been chasing a ₹2.3 lakh mismatch for six weeks. The root cause? A single wrong digit in a vendor’s GSTIN — entered back…
The Hook & Quick Verdict Picture this: You’re a freelance graphic designer who just landed three new clients in one month. Revenue’s climbing. You’re finally breathing easier. Then your accountant sends a message that makes your stomach drop—”We need to talk about your GST registration threshold.” Wait, another tax? You’re already wrestling with income tax…
Quick Summary Closing books of accounts means reviewing, reconciling, and finalizing every financial record for the year so your financial statements are accurate and your tax returns are filed correctly. For FY 2025–26, Indian SMEs should reconcile all bank accounts, verify receivables and payables, review inventory, reconcile GST and TDS filings, pass year-end adjustment entries,…
I spent the better part of last filing season watching a two-partner CA firm in Pune manually reconcile ITC across 47 clients using spreadsheets. Forty-seven. They missed two TDS deadlines, lost a client, and burned through weekends like they were disposable. That experience stuck with me — not because it was unusual, but because…
What are the key income tax changes from April 1, 2026? From April 1, 2026, the new tax regime under Section 115BAC becomes the default. A unified “Tax Year” replaces the old FY/AY system, the standard deduction is ₹75,000 under the new regime, and new labour codes mandate that basic pay must be at least…
What are the essential compliance tasks before the financial year-end in India? Before FY 2025-26 ends on March 31, 2026, Indian businesses must reconcile all GST returns (GSTR-1, 3B, 2B), verify and claim eligible Input Tax Credit (ITC), clear final advance tax instalments, reconcile bank statements, and ensure all MSME vendors are paid within 45…
What is GSTR-2A? GSTR-2A is a dynamic, auto-generated read-only statement on the GST portal that displays all purchase invoices uploaded by your suppliers in real-time. While it helps businesses track and verify Input Tax Credit (ITC) eligibility throughout the month, it is not used for final ITC claims in 2026—that formal role belongs to the…