Yes, TDS on crypto can come back to you, because it was never a fee in the first place. The 1% deducted when you sell a virtual digital asset is tax paid on your behalf under section 194S (now section 393 under the Income-tax Act, 2025). It shows in your Form 26AS and AIS, and when you file your ITR it is credited against your total tax for the year. If the TDS and other taxes already paid are more than the tax you owe, the difference shows up as a refund in your return.
The catch is that you have to claim it. If you file the wrong form, leave out the sales, or skip the TDS entry, the credit does not reach you. Today, 31 August 2026, is the due date for non-audit ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers for AY 2026-27, so if you sold crypto in the last financial year and have not filed, this is the day to sit down with your CA.
TDS is a credit, not a fee
The number of people who treat the 1% as a lost trading cost surprises me. I hear it all the time. "The exchange takes 1% TDS, so I just accept it as part of the cost." That is the wrong mental model.
A trading fee goes to the platform. TDS goes to the government in your name, against your PAN. It is an advance on your tax bill, the same way TDS on salary or interest works. The money is still yours in the sense that it counts toward whatever you owe for the year.
Here is how the deduction works. The payer deducts 1% of the consideration paid to a resident for transferring a VDA. On a registered Indian platform, the platform handles this when you sell. No TDS applies if the total consideration in a financial year stays within ₹50,000 where the payer is a "specified person", or ₹10,000 for any other payer. If PAN is not furnished, the rate is 20%. That is one more reason your KYC should be complete and in your own name.
Where to find it: 26AS and AIS
Log in to the income tax e-filing portal and open your Form 26AS and your Annual Information Statement. TDS deducted on your crypto sales should appear there against your PAN, with the deductor's details.
Compare those entries with the TDS shown in your platform's statement for the year. They should match. If you used more than one platform, check each one.
A small habit that saves a lot of trouble: download your platform's annual statement and your AIS on the same day and put them side by side. AIS also shows platform data on your sales, so it doubles as a check that you have not missed any transactions.
Entering it in your ITR
Three things have to be right.
- The right form. VDA income goes in Schedule VDA, which sits in ITR-2 (no business income) and ITR-3 (business or professional income). ITR-1 cannot be used if you have VDA income. Filing ITR-1 is one of the most common mistakes we see.
- Every sale in Schedule VDA. For each transfer: date acquired, date transferred, head of income, cost of acquisition, sale value and income. Report every transfer, including losses, swaps and spends, not only the profitable ones.
- The TDS entry. Enter the TDS in the tax-paid section of the return so it is credited. If you skip this, the department has the money but your return does not claim it.
The Schedule VDA guide walks through each column.
When a refund can arise
A refund comes from simple arithmetic. Your total tax for the year is worked out first. Then everything already paid, including crypto TDS, other TDS and advance tax, is subtracted. If what you paid is more than what you owe, the excess is refundable.
When could that happen with crypto? Remember how the rules work. Gains from transferring a VDA are taxed at a flat 30% under section 115BBH, plus surcharge and 4% cess, and only the cost of acquisition can be deducted. Losses cannot be set off against other income and cannot be carried forward. A loss on one coin cannot reduce tax on a gain on another.
But TDS is charged on the sale value, not on the profit. So TDS is deducted even when you sell at a loss. If you sold Bitcoin for less than you paid, you have no VDA gain to tax on that sale, yet 1% was still deducted. That TDS is still credited against your total tax. Whether it turns into a refund depends on your full return, including your other income and other taxes paid.
A quick illustration, with made-up round numbers. Say you sold Bitcoin worth ₹2,00,000 during the year, at a loss, and ₹2,000 was deducted as TDS. Your VDA income on that sale is nil. That ₹2,000 still sits in your 26AS as tax paid. Your CA adds it to your other tax credits when working out whether you owe or get money back. The exact outcome depends on everything else in your return, which is why this needs a CA, not a blog post.
You can try your own numbers in the Tax Desk calculator before you meet your CA.
Mismatches and how to fix them
Sometimes the TDS in your platform statement does not match your 26AS. The common reasons:
- The deductor's TDS return for that quarter has not been processed yet, so the credit is not visible.
- The PAN on your account does not match, so the TDS went somewhere else or was deducted at the higher rate.
- You are looking at the wrong financial year. A sale on 31 March and one on 1 April fall in different years.
- You used a platform you forgot about. AIS will often remind you.
The fix usually starts with the platform. Contact support through the official channels only, and ask them to confirm the TDS deducted and filed against your PAN for the quarter. Never share your OTP, password or seed phrase while doing this. A real support team will never ask for them.
Then let your CA decide how to handle the gap in your return. Do not guess, and do not claim TDS that is not reflected in your records.
If you missed the deadline
Today is 31 August 2026, the due date for non-audit ITR-3 and ITR-4 for AY 2026-27. ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers had until 31 July 2026. Audit cases have a later date. If you have missed your date, a belated return may still be possible. Check the e-filing portal and speak to your CA about what applies to you, because the options and any fees depend on your case.
What you should not do is leave the crypto out because it feels complicated. From 2026, exchanges collect and report more transaction-level data under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. Your return should match what the platforms report.
The one habit that fixes most of this
Since we started Unocoin in 2013, the people who have the easiest time with tax are not the ones with the cleverest strategies. They are the ones who keep their records. Download your statements every year. Match TDS against 26AS. File Schedule VDA properly. Let a CA check it.
That is all. Your 1% is not gone. It is waiting for you to claim it.
Start with the numbers: run your trades through the Tax Desk calculator, then read how TDS on Bitcoin works in detail.
Common questions
Can I get TDS on crypto refunded?
TDS on crypto is tax paid on your behalf. It is credited against your total tax in your ITR, and if total taxes paid exceed what you owe for the year, the excess is refunded. You must file the right form and enter the TDS so it is credited. Check your case with a CA.
Where can I see crypto TDS?
In Form 26AS and your Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income tax e-filing portal, against your PAN. Match it with your platform's annual statement.
What if TDS does not show in 26AS?
Check the financial year and your PAN first, then ask the platform through its official support channels to confirm the TDS deducted and filed for that quarter. Let your CA decide how to handle any gap. Never share OTP or passwords with anyone.
Is TDS deducted on crypto losses too?
Yes. The 1% is deducted on the consideration for the transfer, not on profit, so it applies even when you sell at a loss. It is still credited against your total tax for the year.