How to fix a Schedule FA or RSU mistake in a filed ITR-2 (AY 2026-27)

You filed your ITR-2 on July 28. On August 2 you opened the broker statement again to check something and noticed the vest date you used was off by one day, which means your SBI TTBR rate was wrong, which means your Schedule FA closing value, your perquisite amount, and your cost basis for future sales are all slightly off.

Or: your CA filed the return but the perquisite was computed on the net shares (after sell-to-cover) instead of the gross vest value. Or: you missed a February vest entirely because the broker email went to spam.

These mistakes are fixable. The mechanism is a revised return under Section 139(5).

What a revised return does

A revised return completely replaces your original filing. Every schedule in the revised return is re-entered from scratch — the ITD portal does not carry forward the original data and apply a diff. You are re-filing the entire return with corrected numbers.

The original return's acknowledgement number (ITR-V) becomes superseded. The revised return gets a new acknowledgement number.

Deadline: December 31, 2026 for AY 2026-27, or before assessment is completed — whichever is earlier.

Common RSU mistakes that warrant a revised return

1. Wrong SBI TTBR rate

SBI TTBR rates change daily. Using the rate for the wrong date — even one day off — produces a different perquisite value in INR and a different cost basis for future sales.

How to find the correct SBI TTBR: Go to sbi.co.in → Foreign Exchange Rates → TTBR historical rates. Search by date. If the vest date falls on a weekend or public holiday, use the rate on the immediately preceding working day.

The impact: a vest of $10,000 with a TTBR difference of ₹0.30/dollar (e.g., ₹83.20 vs ₹83.50) changes the INR perquisite by ₹3,000. For a large vest this compounds.

2. Missing a vest event

If you had multiple vesting events during FY 2025-26 (common with quarterly vesting) and missed one — the entire vest amount is missing from Schedule S (salary), Schedule FA (the foreign asset disclosure), and potentially Schedule CG if shares from that lot were sold.

Effect on Schedule FA: you've understated the "peak value" of your foreign asset holding and possibly understated the "closing value" if shares from that lot were held on December 31, 2025.

3. Net perquisite instead of gross

Perquisite = FMV at vest × shares released (gross), not the net shares after sell-to-cover × FMV.

If the original return used the net deposit value (after US tax withholding), the perquisite income is understated. The revised return should include the full gross vest value.

4. Wrong cost basis on Schedule CG

If you sold RSU shares in FY 2025-26 and used the wrong cost basis — either zero (as if the shares were free), or the grant-date value instead of vest-date FMV — the capital gains figure is wrong. Understating cost basis overstates the gain and overstates tax; overstating cost basis understates the gain and creates a potential liability.

5. Incomplete Schedule FA

Schedule FA must list all foreign assets held at any point during calendar year 2025 (1 January–31 December). Common omissions:

• Shares vested in January or February 2025 that were sold before March 31, 2025 (the Indian financial year start) — still required on Schedule FA for the calendar year
• A second broker account (e.g., shares transferred from company's broker to a personal brokerage)
• ESPP shares alongside RSU shares in the same account

6. Filed ITR-1 instead of ITR-2

ITR-1 cannot carry Schedule FA, Schedule FSI, or foreign-source income. Any Indian resident with foreign assets (even unvested RSUs that show up in a brokerage account) must file ITR-2. If ITR-1 was filed, revise to ITR-2.

How to file a revised return on the ITD portal

Step 1: Log in and navigate to file a return

Go to incometax.gov.in → e-File → Income Tax Returns → File Income Tax Return.

Select:

• Assessment Year: 2026-27
• Mode: Online

Step 2: Select "Revised Return" filing type

When prompted for the filing type, select:

139(5) — Revised Return

You'll be asked to enter:

• Original return's acknowledgement number (15-digit) — find this in your ITR-V PDF or in your e-filing account under e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns
• Original return's date of filing

Step 3: Re-enter all schedules from scratch

The portal will pre-populate some fields from the original return in some cases, but treat the entire return as a fresh filing. Verify every field:

• Schedule S: Salary income with corrected perquisite value (gross vest at correct TTBR)
• Schedule CG: Capital gains with corrected cost basis
• Schedule FA: Complete foreign asset disclosure (calendar year 2025)
• Schedule FSI: Foreign source income (dividends + foreign capital gains)
• Schedule TR / Form 44: FTC claim with 1042-S as supporting document

Step 4: Recompute tax and pay any differential

If the revision increases your tax liability (e.g., you missed a vest), pay the additional self-assessment tax via Challan 280 before submitting. You'll also owe Section 234B/234C interest on the additional tax if it was outstanding from the original return.

If the revision reduces your tax liability (e.g., you overstated income), the excess tax paid in the original return becomes a refund claim — the revised return will trigger a re-processing and the department will issue the refund after verification.

Step 5: E-verify within 30 days

Same as the original return — verify within 30 days using Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or DSC. The earlier ITR-V is no longer valid once the revised return is filed.

What happens to the original return

Once a revised return is filed, the original return is superseded. The ITD processes the revised return as the final return for that assessment year. The original's acknowledgement number is recorded in the system as "revised" and the revised return's number becomes the active one.

If the department sends a Section 143(1) intimation based on the original return before you file the revised return, respond to it first (or file the revised return and then respond to the intimation citing the revised filing).

When a revised return isn't enough: ITR-U

After December 31, 2026, you cannot file a revised return. The only option is an Updated Return (ITR-U) under Section 139(8A). ITR-U:

• Can be filed up to 2 years from the end of the assessment year (March 31, 2029 for AY 2026-27)
• Requires a 25% additional tax on the incremental tax + interest (if filed by March 31, 2027), or 50% after that
• Cannot be used to claim a refund — only to pay additional tax or disclose additional income

If you find an error in the original return after December 31, 2026, ITR-U is the only recourse. The 25–50% surcharge makes it expensive — revising before December 31 is strongly preferable.

Quick reference: which mistake needs what action

Revised ITR vs rectification under Section 154: what's the difference

A revised return and a rectification request are two different mechanisms. Using the wrong one delays resolution.

Revised return (Section 139(5)): You discovered an error in your own filing. The revised return replaces the entire original return with corrected numbers. It goes through fresh CPC processing. Use this when the error is in what you filed.

Rectification (Section 154): Used to correct a mistake apparent from the record in CPC's processing of your return — a computational or data error by the department, not by you. Common uses: CPC denied TDS credit that appears clearly in Form 26AS; CPC applied the wrong tax rate to an income head. Not appropriate when the error is in your original filing.

The RSU holder scenario where confusion arises: If CPC issues a 143(1) demand because you forgot to include a Form 44 (foreign tax credit) claim in the original return — you need a revised return, not a rectification. The error originated in your filing. File the revised return first. Then respond to the 143(1) intimation in the Compliance portal citing the revised ITR acknowledgement number. CPC will close the original demand after processing the revised return.

What happens to a tax demand when you revise

If a 143(1) intimation with a tax demand was issued on the original return and you then file a revised return:

• Do not pay the demand if the revised return will eliminate it. If you pay and the revised return shows lower tax, you must wait months for a refund.
• Do pay any additional tax the revised return creates first (Challan 280 self-assessment), before submitting the revision.
• After CPC processes the revised return, it issues a fresh 143(1) for the revised return. The original demand is superseded.

If the demand persists after the revised return is processed due to a CPC error (not your error), file a Section 154 rectification request. That is the correct tool at that stage.

Three RSU mistakes that most commonly require a revised return

Wrong Schedule FA calendar year period

Schedule FA covers the calendar year January 1 to December 31 — not the Indian financial year April 1 to March 31. This is the most common Schedule FA error.

If you used the financial year period: shares vested in January or February 2025 are missing from your Schedule FA for calendar year 2025. Fix: revised return with Schedule FA showing the December 31, 2025 position under the correct calendar year scope.

Missing Form 44 credit (foreign tax credit)

If your original return included US dividends in Schedule FSI but you forgot to file Form 44 or omitted Schedule TR, your US withholding tax (25% under DTAA India-US with W-8BEN) is not credited. You have overpaid Indian tax.

Fix: file Form 44 on the ITD portal first, then file the revised ITR-2 with Schedule TR reflecting the FTC. The FTC reduces your Indian tax liability by the lower of the Indian tax on that income or the US WHT paid.

Wrong perquisite FMV — grant date used instead of vest date

Perquisite under Section 17(2) is valued at the FMV on the vesting date (when shares are released), not the grant date. Check your broker statement for the "Release Price" or "Fair Market Value at Vest" figure. That USD amount, converted at SBI TTBR on the vest date, is the correct perquisite value and cost basis per share. If grant-date price was used, both the perquisite income and cost basis are wrong — and the revised return must correct both Schedule S and Schedule CG.

One more thing: AIS feedback

After filing the revised return, check your AIS (Annual Information Statement) on the ITD portal. If there are income entries in AIS that don't match your revised return (e.g., AIS shows a foreign dividend that you've now included in the revised return), submit feedback in the AIS portal marking those entries as accounted for. This reduces the chance of an automated mismatch notice.

When submitting AIS feedback post-revision, include the revised ITR acknowledgement number in the feedback comment field: "Income included in revised ITR-2 filed on [date], acknowledgement no. [X]." This creates an audit trail linking the AIS feedback to the corrected filing.

The cost of not revising

The impulse to "let it go" after spotting a minor error is understandable. But the cost calculation favours revising:

If the error understates income (missed vest, wrong SBI rate that reduces perquisite): The Income Tax Department receives FATCA/CRS data from your US broker on a calendar-year basis. If the RSU vest appears in that data but not in your return, the automated reconciliation system flags the mismatch. A scrutiny notice follows — more expensive, more stressful, and less likely to be resolved favourably than a proactive revised return.

If the error overstates income (wrong cost basis that overstates capital gains): You've paid more tax than you owe. A revised return is the only way to get a refund. After December 31, ITR-U cannot be used to claim refunds — only to pay additional tax. The window to recover excess tax closes on December 31.

The Black Money Act dimension for Schedule FA errors: Under-disclosure of foreign assets under Schedule FA — even inadvertent — carries penalties under Section 43 of the Black Money Act. Proactively revising the return is treated as voluntary compliance. Waiting for a notice changes the dynamic unfavourably.

File the revised return before December 31. The process takes one to two hours if you have the correct documents. The cost of not revising is almost always higher.

Summary checklist before filing revised ITR-2

• Correct vest dates confirmed against broker statement (not email alert dates)
• SBI TTBR on each vest date confirmed from sbi.co.in historical rates
• Gross vest value used for perquisite (not net-of-sell-to-cover)
• Schedule FA covers calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025) not financial year
• Each broker account listed in Table A2; each ticker in Table A3
• Peak balance date and value for each holding in Schedule FA
• Form 44 filed before revised ITR-2 submission (if claiming FTC on dividends)
• Schedule TR in revised ITR-2 reflects Form 44 credit
• Additional self-assessment tax paid via Challan 280 (if revision increases tax)
• ITR-V e-verified within 30 days of revised filing
• AIS feedback submitted post-revision linking to revised ITR acknowledgement number

Related reading

• Schedule FA: the calendar year mistake Indian RSU holders make — the most common error requiring a revised return
• AIS mismatch for RSU holders: how to respond — fixing AIS discrepancies before and after revision
• Form 67 step-by-step — foreign tax credit that must be filed before the ITR
• ITR-2 walkthrough for RSU holders (AY 2026-27) — complete original filing guide

Revised returns under Section 139(5) are governed by the Income Tax Act, 1961. Deadlines, penalties, and procedures described here apply to AY 2026-27 and may be amended by future Finance Acts or CBDT circulars. Verify with a CA before filing.