Schedule FA for Fidelity RSUs, step by step
If your employer pays you in US company stock through Fidelity NetBenefits, every share you held in 2025 has to be reported in Schedule FA. This is the whole process, in order, for FY 2025-26.
Do you need to fill Schedule FA?
Yes, if you were a resident and ordinarily resident in India for FY 2025-26 and held any vested RSU shares, ESPP shares or cash in your Fidelity account at any time between 1 January and 31 December 2025. The amount does not matter: one share is enough. You will need ITR-2 (or ITR-3 if you also have business income), because ITR-1 does not allow foreign assets.
Shares you sold during 2025 still count. They held value for part of the year, so they get a row too, with a closing balance of zero.
Schedule FA for FY 2025-26 covers the calendar year 2025, not April 2025 to March 2026. Capital gains and dividends in the same return use the financial year. Mixing the two up is the most common Schedule FA mistake.
Step 1: Download three files from NetBenefits
Log in to netbenefits.com and open your Stock Plan Account. When Fidelity asks for a currency, choose USD.
- Current shares. View Share Details, then the Current shares tab, then Export. One row per lot you still hold: acquisition date, quantity and cost basis.
- Previously held shares. View Share Details, then Previously held shares, then Export. Only needed if you ever sold, including sell-to-cover sales at vesting.
- Transaction history. Activity, then Transaction History, then Export, from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2026. This brings in dividends and the US tax withheld on them.
Step 2: Table A2, your brokerage account
Table A2 describes the account itself. Most people fill one row.
- Name of the financial institution: the institution named on your Form 1042-S, not the brand on the website. For Fidelity stock plan accounts this is usually National Financial Services LLC.
- Address and ZIP code: as shown on the same form.
- Account number and opening date: from NetBenefits. The opening date is usually your first vest.
- Peak balance: the highest value of the account during 2025, in rupees.
- Closing balance: the value on 31 December 2025, in rupees.
- Gross amount credited: dividends and sale proceeds paid into the account during 2025. The portal takes one nature of amount per row, so repeat the account row for each.
Step 3: Table A3, one row per lot
Table A3 lists your foreign equity. The safest approach is one row for each vest or ESPP purchase (each lot), because each has its own acquisition date and cost.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Country | United States of America, code 2 |
| Name, address, ZIP of entity | Your employer as listed in its annual report, for example Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington, 98052 |
| Nature of entity | Company |
| Date of acquiring the interest | The vest date or ESPP purchase date of the lot |
| Initial value | Cost of the lot in rupees: shares × market value at vest × SBI rate on that date |
| Peak value | The highest rupee value of the lot on any day of 2025 (see how peak value works) |
| Closing balance | Shares held on 31 December 2025 × that day's price × SBI rate. Zero if sold |
| Gross amount credited | Dividends paid on this lot during 2025 |
| Gross sale proceeds | What you received for shares of this lot sold during 2025 |
For RSUs, the cost is the market value on the vest date, which was already taxed as salary. For ESPP, the cost is the market value on the purchase date, not the discounted price you paid. Fidelity sometimes shows the discounted price, which would overstate your gain later.
Step 4: Convert every value at the right SBI rate
Schedule FA values are converted at the SBI telegraphic transfer buying rate on the date of each value: the vest date for initial value, the peak day for peak value, 31 December for closing balance. Income in the rest of the return follows a different rule. Which exchange rate to use explains both, with worked examples.
Step 5: Dividends and the US tax withheld
US companies withhold tax on dividends paid to Indian residents, normally 25% under the India–US tax treaty. In the return:
- report the gross dividend as income from other sources and in Schedule FSI;
- claim the US tax withheld as a foreign tax credit in Schedule TR;
- file Form 67 on the e-filing portal before you file the return, or the credit can be refused.
These use the financial year (April 2025 to March 2026) and the Rule 115 rate: the SBI rate on the last day of the month before each payment.
Step 6: If you sold shares
US-listed shares are unlisted in India, so they are long-term only after 24 months. Long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% without indexation for sales after 23 July 2024; short-term gains are added to your income and taxed at your slab rate. Sell-to-cover sales at vesting are sales too: they appear in capital gains, usually with a tiny gain or loss, and in Table A3 as proceeds.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using 31 March instead of 31 December for the closing balance.
- Leaving out lots you sold during the year.
- Taking the year's highest share price and the year's highest exchange rate separately, instead of the highest value on a single day.
- Using the RBI reference rate. The ITR instructions specify the SBI TT buying rate.
- Filing ITR-1, which has no Schedule FA.
You can file a revised return for FY 2025-26 until 31 December 2026. Non-disclosure can attract a penalty under the Black Money Act, so it is worth fixing.