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ITR-6 · AY 2026-27

ITR-6: the company return

Every company registered under the Companies Act files ITR-6 — unless it claims exemption u/s 11 as a charitable or religious institution, in which case it files ITR-7. Six possible rates, and a minimum tax floor underneath all of them.

The rate follows the regime the company is in; MAT u/s 115JB sets a floor at 15% of book profit; the excess becomes a credit that carries forward.

Who files ITR-6

ITR-6 is the return for a company other than one claiming exemption u/s 11. That includes:

  • Private limited and public limited companies, whatever their turnover.
  • One person companies and small companies under the Companies Act.
  • Foreign companies with income taxable in India — taxed at 40%.
  • Section 8 companies that are not claiming exemption u/s 11.
  • A company in liquidation, and a dormant company with no income — a nil return is still a return.

A company files whether or not it earned anything. There is no threshold below which a company is excused, and no rebate u/s 87A to bring the liability to nil.

Minimum alternate tax

MAT u/s 115JB sets the liability at the higher of the normal tax on total income and 15% of book profit — 9% for a company that has opted into Section 115BAA. Where MAT applies, the excess over the normal tax becomes a credit u/s 115JAA, available for set-off in a later year.

Which rate applies to your company

Six rates, and the one that applies depends on the regime the company is in and when it was incorporated. BharatTax routes the computation to the right one rather than asking you to pick.

The companyWhich form instead
Domestic company with turnover above ₹400 crore in the relevant previous year30%
Domestic company with turnover up to ₹400 crore25%
Manufacturing company that opted into Section 115BA before AY 2020-2125%
Company that opted into Section 115BAA, giving up specified exemptions and deductions22%
New manufacturing company incorporated on or after 1 October 2019, under Section 115BAB15%
Foreign company40%

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-6 asks for

ITR-6 is the longest return the department publishes. The accounts alone run to several schedules before the income is reached.

ScheduleWhat it carries
Part A – GEN1 / GEN2Company identity, CIN, date of incorporation, holding and subsidiary details, shareholding, and the directors.
Part A – BSBalance sheet in the Schedule III format, with a separate Ind AS balance sheet where Ind AS applies.
Part A – Manufacturing / Trading / P&LThe accounts, with parallel Ind AS versions where applicable.
Part A – OI / QD / OLOther information, quantitative details, and the receipt and payment account where required.
Schedule BPBusiness income from the profit and loss, with every addition and deduction.
Schedule DPM / DOA / DEP / DCGDepreciation block by block, and deemed capital gains out of a block.
Schedules HP, CG, 112A, 115AD, VDA, OSThe other heads of income.
Schedule MAT / MATCBook profit u/s 115JB, the MAT computation, and the credit u/s 115JAA carried forward.
Schedule CYLA / BFLA / CFL / UDSet-off, carry forward and unabsorbed depreciation.
Schedule 10AA / 80G / 80-IA / 80-IB / 80-IC / 80LA / 80IACSEZ deduction and the specific-industry deductions, gated by the regime the company is in.
Schedule SI / EI / PTIIncome at special rates, exempt income and pass-through income.
Schedule FA / FSI / TR / GSTForeign assets, foreign source income, treaty relief and GST turnover.

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-6

The computation has more branches than any other form. Each of them is decided by the company’s own facts, not by a question.

Import the financials

Trial balance or audited financial statements, mapped to the Schedule III line order the CBDT expects, with the Ind AS variant where it applies.

Route to the right regime

The rate follows from turnover, incorporation date and any 115BA, 115BAA or 115BAB election on record — and the regime also decides which deductions survive.

Test the MAT floor

Book profit u/s 115JB computed alongside the normal tax, the higher taken, and the difference recorded as MAT credit u/s 115JAA.

Compute and file

Surcharge with marginal relief, cess, interest u/s 234A/B/C — a company pays advance tax with no Section 207(2) exemption — and the ITD JSON. Every download is checked against BharatTax’s own validator first. CBDT has not published a JSON schema for ITR-6 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-6 — common questions

Does a company with no income have to file ITR-6?
Yes. A company files for every year of its existence regardless of income, loss or dormancy. A nil return is still a return, and the late-filing consequences apply to it in the same way.
What is the difference between Sections 115BAA and 115BAB?
115BAA is the 22% concessional rate available to any domestic company that gives up specified exemptions and deductions. 115BAB is 15%, available only to a new manufacturing company incorporated on or after 1 October 2019 that begins manufacturing within the prescribed window. Both elections are irrevocable.
Does MAT apply to a company under 115BAA?
Section 115JB does not apply to a company that has opted into 115BAA or 115BAB. Where it does apply, the rate is 15% of book profit, and a company that opted into 115BAA before the change also loses any brought-forward MAT credit.
Which companies file ITR-7 instead?
A company claiming exemption u/s 11 as a charitable or religious institution files ITR-7, not ITR-6. A Section 8 company that has not registered u/s 12AA and is not claiming the exemption files ITR-6 like any other company.
When is the due date for a company?
A company’s accounts are subject to audit, so its due date u/s 139(1) falls later than the 31 August 2026 that applies to a non-audit case, and later again where a transfer pricing report u/s 92E is required. Confirm the date for your case with your auditor.

Company returns, with the floor tested underneath

Six rates, the regime decided from the company’s own facts, MAT computed against the normal tax, and the credit carried forward.

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