Taxation for Traders
F&O and intraday are BUSINESS income, not capital gains — a different rulebook for turnover, ITRs, audits and losses.
Lessons
- Your F&O P&L Is Business IncomeThe classification that changes everything: which ITR you file, what you can deduct, and how losses behave.
- Trading Turnover: The Number Everyone Gets WrongTurnover is not your traded value and not your profit — it decides audits, not taxes, and it is computed from ABSOLUTE P&L.
- ITR-3, 44AD and the Audit QuestionWhich return to file, when presumptive taxation helps, and the opt-out trap that actually causes trader audits.
- What Traders Can Deduct (That Investors Cannot)Business classification’s consolation prize: brokerage, data, internet, hardware, even STT — every trading cost trims taxable profit.
- Advance Tax for TradersBusiness income has quarterly due dates — and a volatile P&L makes the June instalment a genuine estimation puzzle.