5 min read · Published July 2026 · Applies to AY 2026-27
The single most common source of confusion in Schedule FA: the rest of your ITR runs on India's financial year (April–March), but Schedule FA runs on the calendar year (January–December). For AY 2026-27, that means Schedule FA covers January 1 to December 31, 2025 — while your salary, capital gains and other income cover April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
Schedule FA asks for assets held during the "accounting period" of the foreign jurisdiction. For the US — where Fidelity and Schwab accounts live — that is the calendar year. It also matches the FATCA/CRS data the Income Tax Department receives from US institutions, which is reported per calendar year. Aligning the disclosure period lets the department cross-check your Schedule FA against what Fidelity or Schwab already told them.
| Event | Income side (FY Apr 2025 – Mar 2026) | Schedule FA side (CY Jan – Dec 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| RSU vests February 2026 | Perquisite in this year's salary schedule | Not here — goes in next year's Schedule FA (AY 2027-28) |
| Shares sold March 2025 | Capital gains were in last year's ITR (AY 2025-26) | Gross proceeds appear in this year's Table A2/A3 |
| Dividend credited January 2025 | Taxed in last year's ITR (AY 2025-26) | Counted in this year's gross amount credited |
| Closing balance | — | Value on December 31, 2025 — never March 31 |
| Peak balance | — | Highest value at any point during Jan–Dec 2025 |
So a vest, sale or dividend can legitimately appear in one year's income schedules and a different year's Schedule FA. That is not an error and not double taxation — Schedule FA is asset disclosure, not income computation. Filling both consistently is what the department expects.
Upload your Fidelity or Schwab CSVs — ITRFA.in filters events to the correct Jan–Dec window and computes Dec 31 closing and peak balances at Rule 115 rates.
Generate your Schedule FA online →