FAST-DS 2026 Goes Live: Small Taxpayers Get Window To Declare Foreign Assets, Income

The Income Tax Department (ITD) has opened a limited-period window for small taxpayers to disclose certain foreign assets and income that were not reported earlier. The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme, 2026, or FAST-DS, came into effect on August 16 and will remain open for online declarations until December 31, 2026.

The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 and is aimed at relatively small cases where taxpayers may have missed reporting overseas income or assets. It could be relevant to returning students, young professionals, technology employees and people who were earlier non-residents and still hold assets abroad.

Two Categories Of Disclosure

FAST-DS creates two categories, depending on the nature of the omission.

The first covers foreign assets or foreign income that had not previously been offered to tax. The aggregate value eligible for disclosure under this category cannot exceed Rs 1 crore.

A taxpayer using this route will have to pay tax at 30 per cent on the value of the disclosed foreign asset or income. An additional amount equal to the tax is also payable, taking the effective outgo to 60 per cent. For foreign assets, the fair market value will be taken as on March 31, 2026, according to a recent report by The Hindu.

The second category is for cases where the money had already been offered to tax, or the asset was acquired when the taxpayer was a non-resident, but the foreign asset was not reported in the relevant schedule of the income-tax return.

Here, the value of the assets can go up to Rs 5 crore. Instead of the 60 per cent levy, the taxpayer has to pay a fee of Rs 1 lakh.

What Taxpayers Get In Return

A valid declaration offers protection from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, for the asset or income covered by the disclosure.

The declared income, or the amount invested in the disclosed asset, will also not be added again to the taxpayer’s total income under the Income-tax Act, 1961 or the Black Money Act.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has illustrated how the calculation works. If an undisclosed foreign bank account is valued at Rs 60 lakh and the related undisclosed foreign income is Rs 20 lakh, the combined amount is Rs 80 lakh. At an effective levy of 60 per cent, the amount payable would be Rs 48 lakh.

Why The Category Matters

A foreign asset may have gone unreported even when the money used to acquire it had already been taxed. FAST-DS treats such a reporting lapse differently from income or assets that were never offered to tax.

Taxpayers considering the scheme should first identify the nature and value of the overseas holding and check which category applies. The disclosure window closes on December 31, 2026.

FAQs

1. What is FAST-DS 2026?
FAST-DS is a limited-period scheme that allows eligible small taxpayers to disclose certain previously unreported foreign assets or income.

2. How much tax or fee is payable under FAST-DS?
For previously untaxed foreign assets or income, the effective outgo is 60 per cent. In certain reporting-lapse cases, a fixed fee of Rs 1 lakh applies.

3. What is the deadline to make a declaration under FAST-DS?
Eligible taxpayers can make an online declaration under the scheme until December 31, 2026.