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ITR-5 · AY 2026-27

ITR-5: the form for entities that are not companies

Firms and LLPs, associations of persons and bodies of individuals, local authorities and artificial juridical persons, business trusts u/s 115UA, investment funds u/s 115UB and co-operative societies. Everything that is neither an individual nor a company nor a Section 11 trust.

A flat rate per class of assessee rather than a slab, AMT tested at 18.5%, and surcharge at 12% above ₹1 crore.

Who files ITR-5

ITR-5 is the return for the following classes of assessee:

  • Partnership firms and limited liability partnerships — taxed at a flat 30%.
  • Associations of persons and bodies of individuals. Where the members’ shares are determinate, Section 167B routes the computation to the individual slabs; where they are indeterminate, the flat 30% applies.
  • Local authorities and artificial juridical persons — 30%.
  • Co-operative societies — the three-bracket schedule of 10%, 20% and 30%, or a flat 22% if the society has opted irrevocably into Section 115BAD.
  • Business trusts u/s 115UA and investment funds u/s 115UB, with the pass-through statement in Schedule PTI.
  • Estates of a deceased person or of an insolvent, and trusts other than those filing ITR-7.

There is no dual-regime comparison on ITR-5: a firm pays a fixed rate, and the co-operative society’s 115BAD election is irrevocable once made. BharatTax computes the single applicable rate rather than offering a choice that does not exist.

Alternate minimum tax

Where the normal tax falls below 18.5% of adjusted total income, AMT u/s 115JC applies and the excess becomes a credit u/s 115JD, carried forward for set-off in a later year. BharatTax tests it on every ITR-5 and maintains the credit in Schedule AMTC.

Who does not file ITR-5

Three classes of assessee are carved out of ITR-5 and have their own return.

If you are one of theseWhich form instead
An individual or a Hindu Undivided FamilyITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3 or ITR-4
A companyITR-6, or ITR-7 if claiming exemption u/s 11
A trust, political party, research association or institution claiming exemption u/s 11, 13A, 13B or 10(23C)ITR-7

These are the checks BharatTax itself runs. The product applies the same rules to your figures as you enter them and moves you to the right form before you file — it does not let you submit a return on a form you are not eligible for.

What ITR-5 asks for

ITR-5 carries the full set of corporate-style accounts alongside the income schedules.

ScheduleWhat it carries
Part A – GEN1 / GEN2Identity of the entity, its status, the nature of business, and the partners or members with their shares.
Part A – BS / P&LBalance sheet, manufacturing account, trading account and profit and loss, in the CBDT’s line order.
Part A – OI / QDOther information, and quantitative details of stock.
Schedule BPBusiness income from the profit and loss, with the additions and deductions the Act requires.
Schedule DPM / DOA / DEP / DCGDepreciation block by block, and deemed capital gains on assets sold out of a block.
Schedules HP, CG, 112A, 115AD, VDA, OSHouse property, capital gains including per-scrip 112A detail, non-resident investor gains u/s 115AD, virtual digital assets and other sources.
Schedule CYLA / BFLA / CFL / UDSet-off within the year, against brought-forward losses, what carries forward, and unabsorbed depreciation.
Schedule 80G / 80GGA / 80GGC / 80P / 80-IA / 80-IB / 80-IC / 80LA / 80IACThe deductions available to an entity — there is no 80C or 80D here.
Schedule AMT / AMTCAlternate minimum tax u/s 115JC and the credit u/s 115JD.
Schedule PTIPass-through income from a business trust or investment fund.
Schedule FA / FSI / TRForeign assets, foreign source income and treaty relief.
Schedule GSTTurnover as reported in the GST returns.

Key dates for AY 2026-27

Assessment year 2026-27 covers the income you earned in the previous year 2025-26 — 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

1 April 2026Filing opens for AY 2026-27
31 August 2026Due date u/s 139(1)
31 December 2026Belated return u/s 139(4)
31 December 2026Revised return u/s 139(5)

A return filed after the due date attracts a late fee u/s 234F and interest u/s 234A, and losses other than house-property loss can no longer be carried forward. BharatTax computes 234A, 234B and 234C on the return itself, so the figure you see is the figure you pay.

How BharatTax prepares your ITR-5

A firm return is an accounts exercise before it is a tax one. BharatTax starts where the accounts end.

Import the financials

Trial balance or financial statements, mapped to the CBDT’s Part A schedule. For a CA firm, the client master supplies the entity identity, so it is entered once, not once per return.

Compute the business income

Schedule BP from the P&L, depreciation across the blocks, and the disallowances.

Apply the right rate

Flat 30% for a firm or LLP, the co-operative brackets or 115BAD at 22%, or the Section 167B route for a determinate AOP — picked from the assessee class, not typed in.

Test AMT and file

AMT u/s 115JC against the normal tax, surcharge and cess, interest u/s 234A/B/C, and the ITD JSON. Every download is checked against BharatTax’s own validator first. CBDT has not published a JSON schema for ITR-5 for AY 2026-27, so no schema check is claimed for it — the product reports that pair as unchecked rather than as a pass.

ITR-5 — common questions

Does an LLP file ITR-5 even if it has no income?
Yes. A firm or LLP must file a return for every year regardless of income or loss, and a nil return is still a return. Filing also preserves the right to carry losses forward, which a belated return does not.
What rate does a partnership firm pay?
A flat 30% on total income, with surcharge at 12% where total income exceeds ₹1 crore, and cess at 4% on tax plus surcharge. There are no slabs and no rebate u/s 87A for a firm.
How is an AOP with determinate shares taxed?
Section 167B routes it to the individual slab rates where the members’ shares are known and none of them is taxable at a rate higher than the maximum marginal rate. Where the shares are indeterminate, the maximum marginal rate applies to the whole.
What is Section 115BAD for a co-operative society?
A concessional flat rate of 22% plus surcharge and cess, in exchange for giving up specified deductions and exemptions. The election is irrevocable: once a society opts in, it cannot return to the bracket rates.
Can a firm carry forward a loss if it files late?
Business loss and capital loss can only be carried forward if the return is filed within the due date u/s 139(1). A belated return preserves only the house-property loss and unabsorbed depreciation.

Firm and LLP returns, computed end to end

The right flat rate for the assessee class, AMT tested, the set-off sequence applied, and a validated JSON at the end.

Start your return Find my ITR form