§ 26
Chapter IV — Computation Of Total Income
Income under head “Profits and gains of business or profession”
Income-tax Act, 2025
The income tax law considers various types of income under the head 'Profits and gains of business or profession', including profits from any business or profession, compensation for management or agency services, and income from specific services performed for association members. This also includes profits on sale of import licences, export incentives, and benefits or perquisites arising from business. Some examples of income under this head are:
- compensation for termination of management or contract
- income from sale of business assets
- keyman insurance policy benefits
📜 Official text of the section +
26. (1) The incomes referred to in sub-section (2) shall be chargeable to
income-tax under the head “Profits and gains of business or profession”.
(2) The income under sub-section (1) shall include—
( a) the profits and gains of any business or profession carried on by the
assessee at any time during the tax year;
( b) any compensation or other payment, due to, or received, by any
person by whatever name called,—
( i) wholly or substantially managing the affairs—
( A) of an Indian company; or
( B) in India, of any other company; or
( ii) holding any agency in India for any part of business activities of
any other person; or
( iii) for any contract relating to business,
in connection with termination of management, office, agency or
contract, as the case may be, or modification of terms and conditions
relating thereto;
( c) any compensation or payment, due to, or received by, any person for
vesting of the management of any property or business, in the Govern -
ment including any corporation owned or controlled by the Government
under any law in force;
( d) income derived by a trade, professional or similar association from
specific services performed for its members;
( e) profits on sale of import licence, cash assistance against export, duty
drawback or duty remission or any other export incentive, received or
receivable;
( f) the value of any benefit or perquisite arising from business or the
exercise of a profession, whether—
( i) convertible into money or not; or
( ii) in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind;
( g) any interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever
name called, which is due to, or received by, a partner of a firm from
such firm to the extent allowed under section 35( e) as a deduction in
computing the income of the firm;
( h) any sum, received or receivable, in cash or in kind—
( i) under an agreement for not carrying out any activity in relation to
any business or profession, not being—
( A) any sum received on account of transfer of the right to manu-
facture, produce or process any article or thing or right to
carry on any business or profession which is chargeable under
the head “Capital gains”;
( B) any sum received as compensation from the multilateral fund
of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
layer under the United Nations Environment Programme, as
per the terms of agreement entered into with the Government
of India; or
( ii) under an agreement for not sharing any know-how, patent, copyright,
trade-mark, licence, franchise or any other business or commercial
right of similar nature, or information or technique likely to assist
in the manufacture or processing of goods or provision for services;
( i) any sum received under a Keyman insurance policy including the sum
allocated by way of bonus on such policy;
( j) the fair market value of inventory as on the date on which it is converted
into, or treated as, a capital asset determined in the manner, as may be
prescribed; and
( k) any sum which is received or receivable in cash or kind, when—
( i) a capital asset other than land or goodwill or financial instrument,
is demolished, destroyed, discarded or transferred; and
( ii) the whole of the expenditure on it has been allowed as a deduction
under section 35AD of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) or
section 46 of this Act.
(3) Where speculative transactions carried on by an assessee are of such nature
to constitute a business, the business (herein referred to as speculation business)
shall be deemed to be distinct and separate from any other business.
(4) Any income from letting out of a residential house or a part of it by the owner
shall not be included in income under sub-section (1) and shall be chargeable only
under the head “Income from house property”.
Manner of computing profits and gains of business or profession.
Plain-language summary — not the official text. Refer to the bare Act and confirm with a professional for your specific case.