Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W · Reviewed on 12 October 2026
₹50 lakh — and where ₹75 lakh really comes from
Section 44AB(b) fixes ₹50 lakh of gross professional receipts as the audit trigger; unlike business, professions get no 5%-cash relaxation. The relief digital practices hear about sits in section 44ADA: since AY 2024-25 a professional whose cash receipts are at most 5% of gross receipts can use the 50% presumptive scheme up to ₹75 lakh, and the substituted first proviso to section 44AB switches the audit off for anyone declaring under section 44ADA(1). So at ₹60 lakh of digital receipts, 44ADA at 50% means no audit; regular books at actual profit means an audit. “Gross receipts” means professional fees before any expense; reimbursements billed through your invoices generally ride along.
The 44ADA back door
A consultant at ₹40 lakh receipts declaring ₹12 lakh of profit (30%) is under every turnover limit — yet section 44ADA(4) demands books and a tax audit, because the declared profit is below the deemed 50% while total income exceeds the exemption. The audit question for professionals is therefore never just “what are my receipts?” but “what am I declaring against 50%?”
Counting receipts correctly
Only professional receipts count against this limit — rent, interest and capital gains sit outside it (and outside 44ADA’s 50% too). A doctor with ₹48 lakh of consultation fees and ₹20 lakh of rent is under the professional limit, not over it. From Tax Year 2026-27 the same architecture continues under the Income-tax Act, 2025 — section 63 for the audit, section 58 for the presumptive scheme. One sitting with our audit team settles which side of the line you are on.