ITR Filing — Trust / NGO / Political Party (ITR-7)

Section 139(4A) — Income-tax Act, 1961
Every person in receipt of income derived from property held under trust or other legal obligation wholly for charitable or religious purposes, or partly for such purposes, where such income exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax, must file a return of income in the prescribed form (ITR-7) before the due date.

Section 139(4B), (4C), (4D)
Extend the mandatory filing obligation to political parties, research associations, news agencies, trade associations, hospitals, educational institutions, and universities on similar terms.

Due dates for ITR-7 (AY 2026-27):

• Trusts requiring tax audit (gross receipts above audit threshold): 31 October 2026


• Trusts not requiring audit (gross receipts above ₹2.5 lakh but below audit threshold): 31 July 2026


• Note: Form 10B / 10BB must be filed BEFORE ITR-7

Section 11 — Exemption for charitable trusts
Income applied to charitable/religious purposes in India is exempt. Accumulation beyond 15% of income is permitted only if Form 10 (Section 11(2) intimation) is filed with the AO. Corpus donations are separately classified and entirely exempt.

Finance Act 2023 — Exit tax on conversion
If a registered trust converts to a non-charitable entity or transfers assets to a non-registered entity, an exit tax equal to the net fair market value of assets is levied under Section 115TD. This must be disclosed in ITR-7.

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ITA 2025 Concordance (in force 1 April 2026)
Section 139(4A) [ITA 1961] → Section 263 [ITA 2025] (return of income for trusts — within consolidated return filing provisions)
Section 11 [ITA 1961] → Sections 332–355 [ITA 2025] (income of charitable/religious trusts — consolidated non-profit income provisions)
Section 12AB [ITA 1961] → Sections 332, 351 [ITA 2025]
Transition note: AY 2026-27 returns run under ITA 1961 per Section 536(2). Trust income and return provisions from tax year 2026-27 onward are governed by ITA 2025 Sections 332ff and Section 263.

ITR-7 is the income tax return form for entities that file under special provisions — primarily charitable and religious trusts, political parties, research bodies, educational institutions, and hospitals. It is not used by individuals or companies; it is the return of income for entities that claim exemption under Sections 11, 12, or 10(23C).

Who files ITR-7:

• Section 139(4A): Trusts and institutions registered under Section 12AB whose income exceeds ₹2.5 lakh — they must file ITR-7 even if their income is fully exempt


• Section 139(4B): Political parties with income above ₹2.5 lakh (mandatory regardless of exemption claim)


• Section 139(4C): Research associations (Section 10(21)), news agencies (10(22B)), trade associations, hospitals, educational institutions approved under Section 10(23C)


• Section 139(4D): Universities and colleges referred to in Section 35(1)(ii)/(iii)

Key ITR-7 schedules:

• Schedule IE-1 to IE-4: Income and expenditure statements for each type of fund/corpus


• Schedule VC: Voluntary contributions (corpus vs. non-corpus)


• Part B-TI: Total income computation — showing exempt income and income subject to tax


• Schedule 10B/10BB: Reference to CA audit report (the acknowledgement number must be entered)


• Schedule AI: Accumulation of income under Section 11(2) — amounts set aside beyond the 15% limit require Form 10 intimation

MAT does not apply to trusts filing ITR-7 under Section 11/12 — this is a common misconception. MAT (Section 115JB) applies only to companies, not to registered trusts.

Consequences of not filing ITR-7:
Even if all income is exempt, a trust must file ITR-7 if its gross receipts exceed ₹2.5 lakh. Non-filing exposes the trust to: (a) penalty under Section 271F, (b) loss of exemption for that year, (c) mandatory scrutiny in subsequent years when the omission is detected via AIS.