Which ITR Schedules Do You Need? A Decision Guide for RSU/ESPP Holders
9 min read · Updated July 2026 · Applies to AY 2025-26 and AY 2026-27
- The seven pieces, one page
- Schedule FA — foreign asset disclosure
- Schedule CG — did you sell shares?
- Schedule CFL — is there a loss left over?
- Schedule OS — did you get dividends?
- Schedule FSI & TR — was foreign tax withheld?
- Form 67 — claiming the DTAA credit
- Quick decision checklist
- Worked example — one filer, all seven
- Common mistakes
- Automate with ITRFA.in
1. The Seven Pieces, One Page
Holding US employer stock — RSUs, ESPP, or a plain brokerage account — can touch up to seven different pieces of an Indian ITR-2, depending on what actually happened this year. Each one has its own dedicated guide on this site already; this page is the map that ties them together and tells you which ones you can skip.
| Piece | What it's for | Only needed if… |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule FA | Disclosing the foreign asset itself — Table A2 (accounts), A3 (equity/RSU/ESPP), F (trust) | You're ROR and held any foreign stock/account at any point in the calendar year — almost always |
| Schedule CG | Capital gain/loss computation — STCG vs LTCG, Section 48/112 | You sold any shares during the Indian FY (Apr–Mar) |
| Schedule CFL | Carrying a net capital loss forward — Section 74's 8-year window | Schedule CG left a net loss after same-year set-off (Section 70) |
| Schedule OS | Dividend income, taxed at your slab rate | You received any dividend on US shares during the Indian FY |
| Schedule FSI | Foreign-source income + foreign tax paid, country-wise | You had any foreign-source income — a dividend or a gain on US shares — even if no US tax was withheld on it |
| Schedule TR | Summary of tax relief claimed under DTAA, by country | Foreign tax was actually withheld and you're claiming relief for it — filed together with FSI |
| Form 67 | The actual DTAA credit claim — a separate portal statement | You want credit for foreign tax withheld; must be filed before the ITR, not after |
2. Schedule FA — Foreign Asset Disclosure
This is the one almost everyone needs. If you're a Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR) and held US employer stock — vested RSUs, ESPP shares, or a brokerage account — at any point during the calendar year (not the Indian financial year), you disclose it here: which account (Table A2), which specific holdings (Table A3), and any trust interest (Table F). This is pure disclosure — it reports that the asset exists and its value, not what you earned from it.
Not sure if your residential status requires this at all? See Who Must File Schedule FA — ROR vs RNOR vs NRI. For the A2/A3 split specifically, see Table A2 vs A3.
3. Schedule CG — Did You Sell Any Shares?
Skip this entirely if you didn't sell anything during the Indian FY (Apr–Mar — not the calendar year Schedule FA uses). If you did, Schedule CG computes short-term vs long-term gain (the unlisted-security 24-month threshold, not the usual 12), taxed under Section 48 or 112, using its own Rule 115(1)(f) exchange rate convention — different from the rate Schedule FA uses for the same lot.
Full walkthrough: Schedule CG for RSU & ESPP Sales.
4. Schedule CFL — Is There a Loss Left Over?
Only relevant if Schedule CG's own same-year set-off (Section 70) leaves a net capital loss unabsorbed. If your sales this year were all gains, or a loss was fully absorbed against another gain the same year, there's nothing to carry forward and you can skip CFL. If there is a leftover loss, it must be reported here — in the loss year's own return, filed on time — or it's forfeited (Section 80).
Full rules: Schedule CFL — Carrying Forward RSU/ESPP Capital Losses.
5. Schedule OS — Did You Get Dividends?
Skip this if your holdings paid no dividend this year. If they did, the dividend is taxed at your slab rate under Schedule OS (not a flat rate) — using yet another exchange-rate convention, Rule 115(1)(e)'s preceding-month rate, and it factors into your Section 234C advance-tax quarterly breakup.
Full walkthrough: Schedule OS for Foreign Dividend Income.
6. Schedule FSI & TR — Foreign Income, and Foreign Tax On It
These two look like a pair but have different triggers. Schedule FSI reports all your foreign-source income country by country — dividends on US shares and capital gains on them — whether or not any US tax was withheld. A gain on US shares carries zero US tax (US law doesn't tax a non-resident alien's stock gains), yet it's still foreign-source income that belongs in FSI's capital-gains row. Schedule TR summarizes the DTAA relief claimed for foreign tax actually paid — in practice, the NRA withholding on your dividends. If you had foreign income but nothing withheld, FSI still applies; TR simply shows zero relief.
7. Form 67 — Claiming the DTAA Credit
If Schedule FSI/TR applies to you (foreign tax was withheld) and you want credit for it, Form 67 is the actual claim. Skip it only if you're not claiming DTAA relief at all — which is rare, since it usually means leaving money on the table.
Full walkthrough: Foreign Tax Credit & Form 67 for RSU/ESPP.
8. Quick Decision Checklist
- ☐ Held any US stock this calendar year, as ROR? → Schedule FA (almost certainly yes)
- ☐ Sold any shares this Indian FY? → Schedule CG
- ☐ CG left a net loss after set-off? → Schedule CFL
- ☐ Received any dividend this Indian FY? → Schedule OS
- ☐ Any foreign-source income — dividend or gain on US shares? → Schedule FSI (even with zero withholding)
- ☐ Any foreign tax actually withheld? → Schedule TR, alongside FSI
- ☐ Want credit for that withheld tax? → Form 67 (file before or with the ITR)
9. Worked Example — One Filer, All Seven
Schedule FA — the account (A2) and every holding incl. the ESPP lot (A3), whether sold or still held.
Schedule CG — the two sales, net loss of ₹10,000 after Section 70 set-off.
Schedule CFL — the ₹10,000 net loss carried forward.
Schedule OS — the ₹4,000 dividend, taxed at slab rate.
Schedule FSI + TR — the ₹4,000 dividend reported as foreign-source income (the sales too, though a loss year has no taxable gain to show), with the ₹600 withheld and relief claimed in TR.
Form 67 — filed before or with the ITR, to actually get that ₹600 credited.
10. Common Mistakes
- Filing only Schedule FA and stopping there — a sale or dividend that happened needs its own schedule; FA doesn't report income, only the asset's existence and value.
- Filing Schedule CG/OS/FSI when nothing happened — an empty schedule with no triggering event just adds noise; skip what genuinely doesn't apply.
- Leaving Form 67 for later and forgetting it — Rule 128(9) allows filing up to the end of the assessment year, but a credit claimed in the return with no Form 67 on file is a common reason legitimate DTAA relief gets disallowed. File it before or with the ITR.
- Skipping Schedule FSI because no US tax was withheld — FSI reports foreign-source income itself, not just foreign tax; a zero-withholding gain on US shares still belongs there.
- Assuming ITR-3 is needed because of these schedules — it isn't; ITR-2 handles all seven for anyone without separate business/professional income.
- Confusing Schedule FA's calendar year with everything else's financial year — FA covers Jan–Dec; CG, OS, FSI, TR, and CFL all cover Apr–Mar. The same sale can land in different "years" across schedules.
ITRFA.in reads your broker's CSV exports once and generates whichever of these schedules your own data actually triggers — Schedule FA always, CG/CFL/OS/FSI/TR only when a sale, loss, or dividend/withholding shows up in your upload. Nothing to remember, nothing filed that doesn't apply.
Open the Schedule FA tool →