TDS in crypto trading is the tax deducted at source on every sale or transfer of a virtual digital asset. It is a 1% TDS on crypto transactions, deducted by the buyer or, in most cases, automatically by the exchange at the time of the trade. It is not an extra tax — the deducted amount can be adjusted against your final tax liability when you file your ITR.

The crypto TDS section is Section 194S of the Income Tax Act, 1961. It requires the buyer of a virtual digital asset to deduct TDS at the time of credit or payment, whichever is earlier. The crypto TDS rate is 1% of the sale value, and it applies once your transaction value crosses the prescribed threshold (₹10,000 or ₹50,000 in a financial year, depending on the deductor's category).

If you trade on Indian exchanges, you don't pay it separately — the platform deducts it automatically before crediting your sale proceeds. The crypto TDS rule makes the buyer responsible for deduction, so in P2P deals or trades on foreign exchanges, you must deduct 1% yourself and deposit it with the government using Form 26QE within the prescribed timelines. Failing to do so can attract interest and penalties.

All TDS deducted on your crypto sales appears in your Form 26AS and AIS. While filing, enter these details in the TDS schedule of your ITR and claim the credit against your total tax outgo, including the tax on your crypto gains. If the credit is higher than your total liability, the excess is issued as a refund after processing. Always reconcile the figures with Form 26AS before submitting, as mismatches are a common reason for notices.

A crypto TDS refund arises when the 1% deducted on your trades is more than your actual tax liability — common for small investors whose total tax is lower than the TDS collected. File your ITR, report the TDS credit from Form 26AS/AIS, and once your return is processed, the excess amount is refunded directly to your bank account. You can track the refund status on the income tax e-filing portal.

Crypto capital gains tax in India is a flat 30% tax on the profit from transferring a virtual digital asset, plus applicable cess and surcharge. Only the cost of acquisition can be deducted — no indexation, no expenses, and no exemptions are allowed. This 30% tax is separate from the 1% TDS deducted on each trade, which is adjustable against your final liability.

For every sale, crypto capital gains are calculated as the sale consideration minus the cost of acquiring that asset. Each transaction — including crypto-to-crypto swaps — is treated separately, and the gain is taxed at a flat 30%. If you trade across multiple exchanges or have hundreds of trades, a crypto capital gains tax calculator or a professional reconciliation makes it far easier to arrive at accurate, per-trade figures for Schedule VDA.

In India, you cannot offset crypto losses the way you can with other assets. Losses from virtual digital assets cannot be set off against any other income or capital gains, and they cannot be carried forward to future years either. Only the cost of acquisition is allowed against the sale value. This is why timing your sales and estimating tax before year-end matters so much for crypto investors.

Crypto gains are reported in Schedule VDA of your ITR, where each transfer must be disclosed quarter-wise with details such as the date of acquisition, cost of acquisition, and sale proceeds. Depending on whether your gains are treated as capital gains or business income, you report them in ITR-2 or ITR-3. Even if you made an overall loss, disclosure in Schedule VDA is mandatory.

The right crypto ITR filing form depends on the nature of your income: ITR-2 applies when your crypto gains are treated as capital gains along with salary or other income, while ITR-3 applies when frequent trading is treated as a business. ITR-1 cannot be used because it does not have a provision for virtual digital asset gains.

The last date for crypto ITR filing is the same as the regular ITR deadline — usually July 31 for taxpayers whose accounts don't require an audit. If you miss it, you can still file a belated return up to December 31 of the assessment year, but with late fees and interest on any tax due. Since crypto trades need careful reconciliation, starting well before the deadline is strongly advised.

Crypto ITR filing charges vary mainly with the number of transactions, the number of exchanges or wallets you use, and whether trade-by-trade reconciliation is required. A return with a handful of trades costs significantly less than one involving thousands of transactions that need matching, gain computation, and Schedule VDA reporting. Most professionals quote a fee after reviewing your transaction volume, so it's best to get your trade data assessed first.

Start by downloading your complete trade history from every exchange, reconcile your buys and sells, and compute gains for each transaction. Then log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal, fill in Schedule VDA with the required details, pay any tax due, submit the return, and complete e-verification. To file crypto ITR online without errors — especially with high transaction volumes — getting your data reconciled by a crypto tax specialist first is highly recommended.

Searches for crypto ITR filing near me usually reflect the need for a trustworthy expert, but crypto tax filing does not depend on location — data collection, reconciliation, computation, and filing all happen online. What matters more than proximity is the provider's experience with virtual digital assets, multi-exchange reconciliation, and handling TDS mismatches or notices.

A CA for crypto ITR filing is not legally mandatory if your trading is small and well documented, but professional help is strongly recommended when you have high transaction volumes, multiple exchanges or wallets, P2P or foreign exchange trades, crypto received through airdrops or payments, or a notice from the tax department. Schedule VDA errors and TDS mismatches are the most common triggers for scrutiny, and an expert helps you avoid both.