Freelancer with US RSUs — Which ITR Form?
5 min read · Updated July 2026
Two independent facts decide your form
People in this situation usually ask the question one fact at a time, and get a different answer each time. Take both together:
| Fact about you | What it rules out |
|---|---|
| You have freelance / consulting income (professional income) | Rules out ITR-1 and ITR-2 — neither carries business or professional income |
| You hold US RSUs, ESPP, or a US brokerage account | Rules out ITR-1 and ITR-4 — neither can be used by a resident holding foreign assets |
Between them, only ITR-3 survives. It is the one form that has both a business/profession schedule and Schedule FA.
You do not lose 44ADA by holding RSUs
This is the part worth being precise about, because "I can't use ITR-4" often gets misread as "I can't use presumptive taxation."
Section 44ADA is a computation method, not a form. If you are an eligible professional within the turnover limit, you can still declare 50% of gross receipts as your professional income, still skip maintaining detailed books for that income, and still avoid a tax audit on that basis. What changes is only where you declare it: inside ITR-3's presumptive section rather than inside ITR-4. The number you arrive at is the same.
ITR-3 is a longer form, and that is the real cost — not a higher tax bill.
Your due date moved to 31 August 2026
For AY 2026-27 the non-audit calendar is split. Under the Finance Act, 2026's amendment to section 139(1), ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers are due 31 July 2026, while non-audit ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers are due 31 August 2026. As a freelancer with RSUs you are in the second group, so the 31 July date circulating everywhere in July is not yours. Full breakdown in the ITR-3 due date guide.
If a section 44AB audit applies to you, the date is 31 October 2026 instead. Under 44ADA that generally arises only if you declare profits lower than the presumptive rate while your income exceeds the basic exemption limit — a question for your chartered accountant on your own figures.
Where each piece of your income goes
| What you have | Where it goes in ITR-3 |
|---|---|
| Salary, incl. RSU perquisite taxed at vest | Schedule S |
| Freelance / consulting receipts | Presumptive section (44ADA) or Schedule BP |
| Sale of vested RSU / ESPP shares | Schedule CG |
| Dividends on US shares | Schedule OS (+ Schedule FSI) |
| US tax withheld on those dividends | Schedule TR + Form 67 |
| The brokerage account and the shares themselves | Schedule FA — Tables A2, A3, F |
The last row is the one that catches people, because it is a disclosure rather than an income entry. It is required even in a year where you sold nothing, earned nothing, and owe no additional tax on the holding. Which schedules apply to you walks the whole set.
Why the disclosure matters more than the form choice
Picking the wrong form gets you a defective-return notice under section 139(9) and a chance to fix it. Omitting Schedule FA is a different order of problem: under the Black Money Act, 2015 a missing foreign-asset disclosure attracts a flat ₹10 lakh per year, with a 16-year lookback and no minimum value — even where the tax on the income was fully paid through payroll. If you filed earlier years on ITR-4 while holding RSUs, those years are worth reviewing; the self-check list is built for exactly that.
FAQ
Upload your Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE or Morgan Stanley export. ITRFA.in computes Tables A2, A3 and F with exact-date SBI TTBR rates and exports ITR-ready JSON, Excel and portal CSV.
Use the Schedule FA generator →Related guides
- ITR-3 Schedule FA due date — 31 August 2026
- ITR-2 vs ITR-3 for RSU/ESPP holders
- F&O trader with RSUs — Schedule FA + ITR-3
- Who must file Schedule FA?