Form 76 Income Tax Rules 2026 pdf download and Key points
FORM NO. 76
[See rule 145]
Statement of income paid or credited by business trust to be furnished under section 223
Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, Form No. 76 replaces the erstwhile Form 64A. It is governed by Section 223 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (which replaces the old Section 115UA) and Rule 145 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Here are all the comprehensive key points regarding Form No. 76:
1. Purpose of the Form Form 76 is a statutory annual statement filed by Business Trusts (specifically, Real Estate Investment Trusts – REITs and Infrastructure Investment Trusts – InvITs). Its core purpose is to formally report the income distributed by the trust to its unit holders, facilitating a pass-through taxation mechanism so that the income flows directly to the unit holders without being subject to double taxation at the trust level.
2. Applicability (Who Should File) The form must be filed by the person responsible for making payment of the income distributed on behalf of a Business Trust. This applies to every Business Trust registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under either the SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, or the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014.
3. Frequency and Due Date
- Frequency: The statement is filed annually for the relevant tax year.
- Due Date: It must be filed by 15th June of the financial year immediately following the tax year in which the income was paid, credited, or distributed to the unit holders.
4. Structure of the Form The form is systematically structured to capture the trust’s profile and distribution data:
- Part A (Particulars of the Business Trust): Captures the Name, PAN, complete registered office address, Phone Number, and Email Address of the trust.
- Trustee Details: Captures the Name, PAN, Address, Email, and Designation of the trustees.
- SEBI Registration Details: Specifies whether it is registered as a REIT or InvIT, along with the date and number of registration.
- Part B (Other Information): Captures the relevant Tax Year, the aggregate amount distributed (including the number of units and unit-holder wise details), and the specific income breakup.
5. Mandatory Documents Required To successfully file Form 76, the trust must possess and/or attach the following documents:
- A copy of the Certificate of Registration issued by SEBI.
- A copy of the trust deed registered under the Registration Act, 1908.
- Audited accounts, including the balance sheet and annual report.
- Certified copies of income and appropriation towards the distribution or credit of income.
6. Process Flow and Mode of Filing
- Verification: Before filing, the information must be verified by a qualified accountant (Chartered Accountant) under Section 515(3)(b). It also requires a final declaration by the authorized trustee/designated official affirming its accuracy.
- Online Only: Form 76 must be submitted electronically under a digital signature on the Income Tax e-Filing portal. Offline submission is strictly not allowed.
- Generation of Child Form (Form 77): Once Form 76 is successfully processed, a child statement called Form 77 is automatically generated by the system. The Business Trust must download this form and provide it to the individual unit holders, who will use it to report the distributed income in their own ITRs.
7. Key Updates and Solutions in the 2026 Rules
- Addition of “Date of distribution”: Under the old regime, the date of distribution was only present in the child form (Form 64B) and missing in the parent form (Form 64A), which caused tracking challenges. The revised Form 76 now explicitly includes a “Date of distribution” field in its relevant tables.
- System-Friendly Formatting: To enable smoother e-filing and uploading, fields that were previously grouped together (such as Name, Designation, Address, and PAN) have been separated into distinct data boxes.