Need CA Advice: Incorrectly filed Crypto Futures losses as Non-Speculative in FY 24-25, now facing a massive dilemma for FY 25-26.
Hey everyone, I am in a serious dilemma regarding my Income Tax Returns (ITR) and desperately need some guidance or professional CA assistance.
Here is the situation:
Background (FY 24-25)
In FY 24-25, I incurred a loss of ₹27 Lakhs trading crypto futures. At the time, there wasn’t much clarity on how crypto futures should be taxed. After doing some online research and speaking with a few people, I decided to treat them the same as Equity F&O (Non-Speculative Business Income). I filed the ₹27L crypto futures loss under the Non-Speculative Business Income head.
For the same financial year, I also declared:
Salary income
Spot crypto (VDA) gains
Income from other sources (interest, staking rewards)
A small capital gain from equities
Everything else was filed correctly except for the crypto futures loss. I now realize this should have been classified as Speculative Income under Section 43(5). However, that return has already been successfully processed, showing a Non-Speculative Business Loss of ₹27L to be carried forward for 8 years.
The Current Problem (FY 25-26)
In FY 25-26, I incurred much greater losses trading crypto futures—approximately ₹97 Lakhs. I now fully understand that this is a speculative loss (even KoinX tax reports suggest classifying it as speculative).
This completely contradicts my previous ITR. Since the deadline to file a revised return for FY 24-25 has already passed, and a rectification request might not allow me to change the income head from non-speculative to speculative, I am stuck.
I am extremely concerned about potential tax scrutiny, notices, or penalties. The mistake in my FY 24-25 ITR was a genuine error due to the lack of clear, official guidelines on crypto futures taxation at the time.
My Questions for the Community / CAs:
How should I proceed with my FY 25-26 ITR?
Do I suddenly change the classification and enter the ₹97L loss as speculative, completely disregarding the fact that I filed the previous year's ₹27L loss as non-speculative?
What are the chances of getting a scrutiny notice, and how bad could the penalties be for a genuine mistake like this?
I am incredibly stressed and confused about this whole situation. If there are any practicing CAs here who can provide clarity or assist me in resolving this, I would be deeply grateful. If you provide paid consultation services, please DM me or comment below—I am willing to pay for professional help.
Thanks in advance!