Schedule VDA is the Income Tax Return section dedicated to virtual digital asset gains. Every trader filing ITR-2 or ITR-3 needs it. Get it wrong and the system flags a mismatch with your Form 26AS — that's an audit invitation.
What goes in each row
Each row of Schedule VDA represents one transfer (or aggregated set of transfers in the same VDA on the same day). Columns: date of acquisition, date of transfer, cost of acquisition, consideration received, income from transfer.
'Income from transfer' = consideration − cost of acquisition. If negative (a loss), enter zero — losses can't offset gains here.
How to aggregate P2P trades
P2P traders often run 50+ trades a year. The Income Tax Department allows aggregation by VDA per quarter or per month, as long as you can produce the underlying trade-by-trade ledger if asked. Most CAs aggregate monthly per asset.
Cost of acquisition for USDT purchased on P2P = INR you paid. If you used USDT to buy ETH, the cost basis for the ETH is the INR-equivalent of the USDT at the time of swap.
Common mistakes
Forgetting that crypto-to-crypto swaps are taxable. People assume only INR conversions are taxed — wrong. USDT→ETH is a transfer of USDT and an acquisition of ETH; it triggers tax.
Mismatching with Form 26AS. If your TDS-deducted total in 26AS doesn't roughly match 1% of your reported transfers, the return will be flagged.
Not reporting at all. The AIS now pulls data directly from major exchanges; your trade history is visible to the IT Department even if you don't file. Non-reporting is no longer hidden.
Key takeaways
- Schedule VDA = one row per transfer (or sensibly aggregated set).
- Aggregate monthly per asset is the practical CA default.
- Crypto-to-crypto swaps are taxable transfers, not zero-tax events.
- AIS auto-populates from FIU-registered exchanges — you can't hide.
