Schedule FA Table A2 vs A3 — What's the Difference
6 min read · Updated June 2026 · Applies to AY 2025-26 and AY 2026-27
One-line answer:Table A2 is the account (your Fidelity stock plan account). Table A3 is the shares inside it (each RSU/ESPP lot). If you hold US employer stock through Fidelity, you file both.
The fundamental difference
Aspect
Table A2
Table A3
What it reports
The foreign custodial account
The foreign equity holdings in it
Analogy
The bank account
The assets held inside
For Fidelity
Your Fidelity stock plan account
Your employer's shares (RSU / ESPP lots)
How many rows
One per account
One per lot held during the year
Key values
Peak balance, Dec 31 closing balance, gross income, gross proceeds
Initial value, peak value, Dec 31 closing value (per lot)
Filling only A3 tells the department what you own but not where you hold it; filling only A2 omits the equity holdings. Both are required.
Table A2 — foreign custodial account
Table A2 reports the brokerage/custodial account that holds your foreign assets — for most tech employees this is the Fidelity Stock Plan Services account. It is reported at the account level, for the calendar year ending December 31 (Fidelity's accounting period), not March 31.
Peak balance — the highest value of the account during the calendar year, converted to INR.
Closing balance — the account value on December 31, converted to INR.
Gross income — total dividends credited to the account during the year.
Gross proceeds — total proceeds from sales/redemptions during the year.
All INR conversions use the SBI TTBR per Rule 115 (closing/peak on the relevant date; income and proceeds on the event date, with the Dec 31 rate accepted in practice).
Table A3 — foreign equity interest
Table A3 reports the individual equity holdings inside the account — each vested RSU lot and each ESPP purchase. You create one row per lot held at any time during the calendar year:
Initial value — cost basis × SBI TTBR on the acquisition (vest/purchase) date, per Rule 115. For ESPP where the employer taxed the discount, use FMV on purchase date (see the ESPP guide).
Peak value — the lot's share of the peak portfolio value during the year.
Closing value — shares × Dec 31 price × SBI TTBR on Dec 31. For lots sold during the year, the closing value is 0 and the sale proceeds are reported (see the Closed Lots guide).
Where dividends and proceeds go
Common point of confusion: the account's gross dividend income and gross sale proceeds are reported at the account level in Table A2. Each Table A3 row focuses on that holding's initial, peak and closing value. This keeps income reported once, against the account, rather than duplicated across every lot.
The Fidelity Stock Plan Services LLC Participant Trust is reported separately in Table F (foreign trust). It is distinct from A2/A3. See How to file for Table F.
Worked example
Profile: 4 RSU vests during the year, sold one lot mid-year, $200 in dividends.
Table A2 (the Fidelity account): peak balance, Dec 31 closing balance, gross income $200, gross proceeds from the mid-year sale — all in INR at SBI TTBR.
Table A3 (the shares): one row per vest lot — each with its initial value (vest-date cost basis × TTBR), peak value, and Dec 31 closing value. The sold lot appears with closing value 0 plus its sale proceeds.
Quick checklist
Table A2 filled for the Fidelity custodial account (one row).
Table A3 filled for every lot held during the calendar year — including sold lots (closing value 0 + proceeds).
All closing values use Dec 31, not March 31.
All INR conversions use SBI TTBR on the relevant date (Rule 115).
Table F filed for the Fidelity Participant Trust, if applicable.
Generate Table A2 and A3 automatically
Upload your Fidelity CSVs. ITRFA.in builds the A2 account summary and one A3 row per lot, with correct SBI TTBR rates and Dec 31 closing values.