Form No. 26 replaces three forms at once. The tax audit report in Form 3CA or 3CB and the statement of particulars in Form 3CD become one form under section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, prescribed by rule 47 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. It is 33 pages long, and much of it is familiar. The parts that are not familiar are the reason to read it clause by clause now.
When it applies
CBDT's FAQs settle the timing. Form No. 26 applies to tax years commencing on or after 1 April 2026 (FAQ 2). Forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD continue for previous years relevant to assessment years up to 2026-27 (FAQ 6), so the reports due in September 2026 are still Form 3CD. The first Form 26 reports are for tax year 2026-27.
The due date keeps the familiar rule: one month before the return's due date under section 263(1), so 30 September where the return is due on 31 October, and 31 October where it is due on 30 November (FAQ 5).
The shape of the form
The notified form has four Parts and eleven schedules. As printed in the form:
- Part A is the audit report where the accounts are audited under another law, the successor to Form 3CA.
- Part B is the audit report where they are not, the successor to Form 3CB.
- Part C is the particulars of the assessee, clauses 1 to 8.
- Part D is the statement of particulars, clauses 9 to 53, in eleven sub-parts from General Information to Quantitative Details.
CBDT's FAQ 8 letters the Parts the other way round: Part A for the particulars, Part B for the statement, and Parts C and D for the two audit reports. The clause numbers are the same either way, so this page cites clauses by number.
Schedules are triggered only by a Yes (FAQ 15), but they form part of the audit report and must be verified by the auditor (FAQ 16). Every clause needs a Yes or No, even where the answer is No (FAQ 17). Every section reference in the form is to the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026, and none is to the Income-tax Act, 1961 (FAQ 7).
Clause by clause
Form 3CD against Form 26
Search a clause number, a section or a word such as depreciation.
| Form 3CD | Form 26 | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| cl. 1–3 | cl. 1–3 | Name, address, PAN |
| cl. 4 | cl. 52(a) | Indirect tax registration numbersNow the first table of the GST schedule. |
| cl. 5 | cl. 4 | Status |
| cl. 6, 7 | cl. 8(a) | Previous year and assessment yearOne field: tax year. |
| cl. 8 | cl. 9 | Provision under which the audit is conductedSection 63; presumptive cases under sections 58(2) and 61(2); section 58(8). |
| cl. 8a | cl. 10 | Option for a concessional tax regimeSections 199 to 204. |
| cl. 9 | cl. 11 | Partners or members and profit-sharing ratios |
| cl. 10 | cl. 12, 8(b) | Nature of business and changes in it |
| cl. 11 | cl. 13, 14 | Books of account and where they are keptClause 14 adds the accounting software, cloud or other storage with its IP address and country, compliance with Rule 46(8), and the backup server's address in India. |
| cl. 12 | cl. 19 | Presumptive profits included in the profit and loss account |
| cl. 13 | cl. 15, 17, 18 | Method of accounting, ICDS adjustments and ICDS disclosures |
| cl. 14 | cl. 16 | Valuation of inventoryDeviation measured against section 277. |
| cl. 15 | cl. 22 | Capital asset converted into stock-in-trade |
| cl. 16 | cl. 21 | Amounts not credited to the profit and loss accountThe schedule rows include escalation and export incentives (section 278), subsidies and grants, other income and capital receipts. |
| cl. 17 | cl. 23 | Land or building transferred below stamp duty valueSections 53 and 78. |
| cl. 18 | cl. 36 | DepreciationCBDT FAQ 26: assets split between used for less than 180 days and 180 days or more, without dates. |
| cl. 19 | cl. 34 | Deductions such as scientific research and specified businessThe schedule lists sections 44 to 47. |
| cl. 20 | cl. 27(a), 27(b) | Bonus or commission, and employees' contributions27(a) sections 29, 31 and 32; 27(b) section 29(1)(e). |
| cl. 21 | cl. 26, 27(c), 27(d), 28, 30, 31, 51 | Amounts inadmissibleSplit by section: 26 expenditure on exempt income; 27(c) section 34; 27(d) section 35; 28 penalties; 30 cash payments, section 36(4); 31 deemed income, section 36(5); 51 TDS defaults, section 35(b)(i) and (ii). |
| cl. 22 | cl. 33(a) | Interest not allowable under section 23 of the MSMED Act |
| cl. 23 | cl. 29 | Payments to specified personsSection 36(3). |
| cl. 24 | cl. 21 | Deemed income such as tea development and site restoration accountsRows for sections 48 and 49 in the clause 21 schedule. |
| cl. 25 | cl. 21 | Profits chargeable on remission or cessation of a liabilityRow for section 38 in the clause 21 schedule. |
| cl. 26 | cl. 32, 33(b), 33(c) | Sums allowed only on actual paymentSection 37(2)(a) to (f); payments to micro and small enterprises beyond the MSMED Act time limit under 37(2)(g). |
| cl. 27(b) | cl. 35 | Prior period income and expenditure |
| cl. 29A | cl. 21 | Advance forfeitedRow for section 92(2)(h) in the clause 21 schedule. |
| cl. 29B | cl. 20 | Money or property received without or for inadequate considerationSection 92(2)(m). |
| cl. 30 | cl. 24, 25 | Borrowing and repayment on a hundiSection 106. |
| cl. 30A | cl. 40 | Primary adjustment to transfer priceSection 170(1). |
| cl. 30B | cl. 41 | Limitation of interest deductionSection 177. |
| cl. 31 | cl. 45 | Loans, deposits, specified sums, receipts and repayments beyond the cash limitsSections 185(1), 186(1) and 188(1). CBDT FAQ 19: journal entries and other non-cash modes are reported through mode codes. |
| cl. 32 | cl. 37 | Brought-forward losses and depreciationSection 119 on change in shareholding; speculation losses under section 113. |
| cl. 33 | cl. 38 | Deductions under Chapter VI-AChapter VIII of the 2025 Act. |
| cl. 34 | cl. 49, 50 | TDS and TCS complianceCBDT FAQ 38: the number of transactions reported and not reported after the latest correction statement, and the amount not reported; 50(c) interest under section 398(3)(a). |
| cl. 35 | cl. 53 | Quantitative detailsCBDT FAQ 28: only for a trading unit or manufacturing concern, through a schedule. |
| cl. 36A | cl. 21 | Deemed dividend receivedRow for section 2(40)(e) in the clause 21 schedule. Clause 48 separately asks about loans or advances paid under section 2(40)(e). |
| cl. 36B | cl. 21 | Payment on buy-back of sharesRow for section 2(40)(f) in the clause 21 schedule. |
| cl. 37 | cl. 8(c) | Cost auditWith the impact of any disqualification or disagreement. |
| cl. 40 | cl. 8(d) | Turnover, gross profit and other ratios, this year and last |
| cl. 42 | cl. 46 | Statements in Forms 61, 61A and 61BNow Forms 98, 165, 166 and 167, with the transactions not reported. |
| cl. 44 | cl. 52(b) | Expenditure by GST registration statusRegistered, unregistered and exempt. CBDT FAQ 20: no longer reconciled with each expenditure entry. |
| no clause | cl. 5, 6, 7 | Residential status, email and contact number |
| no clause | cl. 39 | Utilisation of MAT or AMT credit |
| no clause | cl. 42 | Head office expenditure of a non-resident disallowable under section 60 |
| no clause | cl. 43 | Remittances reported in Part D of Form 145CBDT FAQ 27. |
| no clause | cl. 47 | Transactions in unquoted shares |
| no clause | cl. 48 | Loans or advances paid under section 2(40)(e) |
| cl. 27(a) | not asked | CENVAT and input tax credit and their treatmentNo clause or schedule of Form 26 names it. |
| cl. 30C | not asked | Impermissible avoidance arrangementNo clause or schedule of Form 26 names it. |
| cl. 38, 39 | not asked | Central excise and service tax auditsClause 8(c) asks only about a cost audit. |
| cl. 41 | not asked | Demands raised and refunds issued under other tax lawsNo clause or schedule of Form 26 names them. |
| cl. 43 | not asked | Country-by-country reportNo clause or schedule of Form 26 names it. |
Form 3CD clause numbers as for AY 2025-26. Form 26 clauses and schedules from the notified form under rule 47 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, with sections checked against the Income-tax Act, 2025, and CBDT’s Form No. 26 FAQs.
What Form 26 adds
- Where the books live. Clause 14 asks for the accounting software, any cloud or other storage with its IP address and country, whether Rule 46(8) has been complied with, and the address of the backup server in India. FAQ 18 ties this to Rule 46: books kept electronically must remain accessible in India, with a daily backup on servers located in India.
- Depreciation without dates. Clause 36 splits assets between those used for less than 180 days and those used for 180 days or more, with no date of putting to use (FAQ 26).
- What is missing from TDS statements. Clause 50 asks for the number of transactions reported and not reported in the TDS or TCS statement as it stands after the latest correction, and the amount not reported (FAQ 38).
- Remittances. Clause 43 is limited to remittances actually reported in Part D of Form No. 145, the successor to Form 15CA (FAQ 27).
- Credits and other new questions. Clause 39 asks about utilisation of MAT or AMT credit, clause 42 about head office expenditure disallowable under section 60, clause 47 about transactions in unquoted shares, and clause 48 about loans or advances paid under section 2(40)(e).
- Qualifications that sort themselves. In the audit reports, every observation or qualification has to be put into one of three categories: test-check basis applying materiality, based on management representation, or unable to verify (FAQ 35). Paragraph 3 asks for the impact on profit, loss or book profit of the observations, qualifications, adverse remarks, disclaimers or emphasis of matter in the statutory audit (FAQ 36).
- GST without the reconciliation. Clause 52(b) asks for expenditure relating to registered suppliers, unregistered suppliers and exempt goods or services, and FAQ 20 says it no longer needs to be reconciled with each entry of expenditure.
What Form 26 no longer asks
Read against the full text of the form, schedules included, five Form 3CD subjects appear nowhere: the CENVAT and input tax credit clause, impermissible avoidance arrangements, central excise and service tax audits, demands raised or refunds issued under other tax laws, and the country-by-country report.
Two things in the notified form to read carefully
The Parts. As set out above, the form and CBDT's FAQ 8 letter the Parts differently. Build working papers to the form.
Schedules 20 and 21. In the form, clause 20 is income under section 92(2)(m) not credited to the profit and loss account, and clause 21 is every other amount not credited. The schedule tables that follow carry those subjects the other way round: the table numbered 20 lists deemed dividend, buy-back payments, advance forfeiture and the other items, and the table numbered 21 carries section 92(2)(m). The clause wording is what the schedule answers to.
For this year
The reports being signed for AY 2026-27 are still Form 3CD, due on 30 September 2026. The Form 26 season is the next one, and the clause map above is the list to prepare against.
Questions this answers
From when is Form 26 applicable?
For tax years commencing on or after 1 April 2026. Forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD continue for assessment years up to 2026-27.
Which Form 26 clause corresponds to clause 18 of Form 3CD on depreciation?
Clause 36. CBDT's FAQ 26 says assets are split between those used for less than 180 days and 180 days or more, without dates.
Which Form 26 clause replaces clause 44 of Form 3CD?
Clause 52(b), in the GST schedule, which asks for expenditure relating to registered suppliers, unregistered suppliers and exempt goods or services.
What is the due date for Form 26?
One month before the return's due date under section 263(1): 30 September where the return is due on 31 October, and 31 October where it is due on 30 November.
Does Form 26 refer to sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961?
No. CBDT's FAQ 7 says all references in Form No. 26 are to the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Look up any section
The Income-tax Act 2025 section finder lists every 1961 TDS and TCS section with its 2025 section and Table serial, the rate and threshold as enacted, and the page of the Act, with a TDS rate chart and a TCS rate chart.
Where Audcrix runs this
- Disallowances — Every rupee add-back in one place — 43B(h) MSME invoice by invoice with Udyam verification, 40A(3) cash, 40(a)(ia) TDS defaults, 36(1)(va) and 14A with Rule 8D.
- Income Tax Compliance — Income-tax sections walked against the client's profile — 269SS, 269T and 269ST per ledger, a mode-wise 269ST register, the 44AB cash test and a taxable-income bridge.