he Income Tax Department has enabled the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 on the e-Filing portal. This is a one-time compliance opportunity for eligible taxpayers to voluntarily disclose specified foreign assets or foreign income that were not reported earlier. Eligible taxpayers can now submit the prescribed Form 1 online through the Income Tax e-Filing portal.

Why Is This Important for Taxpayers?

Foreign assets can include investments, bank accounts and other assets held outside India, depending upon the provisions of the Scheme. Such cases may arise where an eligible taxpayer had a foreign asset or income but failed to report it correctly in the applicable tax filings.

The new scheme provides a specific mechanism for eligible small taxpayers to regularise certain previously undisclosed foreign assets or income. However, taxpayers should first verify whether they satisfy the eligibility conditions and whether their particular asset or income is covered before making a declaration.

What Should You Do?

Taxpayers who have previously held foreign bank accounts, shares, investments or other overseas assets should review their earlier income-tax returns and foreign-asset disclosures. Where something has been missed, the applicability of this new scheme should be examined rather than ignoring the mismatch.

The rules prescribe 31 December 2026 as the last date under the Scheme, making an early review important for taxpayers who may be eligible.

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