New Delhi, Aug. 26 -- The new Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), 2026, has opened a one-time window for taxpayers to clean up past omissions involving overseas income and assets. Depending on whether you have undisclosed foreign income or assets or both, you can voluntarily declare these by paying a penalty. Voluntarily opting for FAST-DS can secure immunity from tax, penalties and prosecution under the Black Money Act (BMA).

However, there is a second option for taxpayers: an updated return, or ITR-U. In some cases involving undisclosed foreign income, filing an ITR-U could result in a considerably smaller bill.

An updated income-tax return gives taxpayers a second chance to report income omitted from an ear...