How Section 115BBH applies to MetaMask activity
Section 115BBH, introduced in Finance Act 2022, taxes income from the transfer of any Virtual Digital Asset at a flat 30% rate plus applicable surcharge and cess. MetaMask on-chain activity falls squarely within VDA transfer rules. Every swap on Uniswap, every NFT sale on OpenSea, every exit from a DeFi position in your MetaMask wallet is a VDA transfer that must be reported.
The holding period does not affect the tax rate. Unlike capital gains in many other countries, there is no reduced long-term rate for VDAs in India. Every transfer is taxed at 30% regardless of whether you held the asset for one day or three years.
Only one deduction is permitted - the cost of acquisition. No other expenses, including gas fees, DeFi protocol fees, or other transaction costs, can be deducted from VDA gains under the current law.
No loss offset - what this means for DeFi users
Section 115BBH explicitly prohibits setting off losses from VDA transfers against any other income, including gains from other VDA transfers. If you made profits on some MetaMask DeFi swaps and losses on others, the losses cannot reduce your tax on the gains.
Each profitable transfer is taxed at 30% independently. Loss-making transfers generate no tax benefit. This is a critical difference from most other countries' crypto tax rules, and it significantly affects the tax position of active DeFi traders with a mix of winning and losing positions.
TDS and on-chain transactions
Section 194S requires TDS deduction at 1% on VDA transfers on specified platforms. For on-chain MetaMask transactions - swaps on Uniswap, trades on DEXs - the deduction requirement depends on whether the exchange or protocol is a "specified person" under the rules. Foreign exchanges and DeFi protocols typically do not deduct TDS.
The absence of TDS does not reduce your tax liability. You are required to report the full transaction value in Schedule VDA and pay the applicable tax. If TDS was deducted somewhere in your trading history, credit is available against your total VDA tax liability.
Schedule VDA filing for MetaMask transactions
Schedule VDA requires reporting each VDA transfer with: date of transfer, head of income, acquisition cost, transfer consideration, and net income. Most MetaMask users with only DeFi activity (and no related business activity) will file ITR-2. If the activity constitutes a business, ITR-3 applies.
DYOR.tax generates a transaction listing with all MetaMask VDA transfers valued in INR at historical exchange rates. The report is structured to facilitate Schedule VDA completion. Consult a qualified Indian tax adviser for final filing, as the VDA tax regime continues to evolve.
Related calculators and guides
All countries: MetaMask Tax Calculator
India country page: India Crypto Tax Calculator
Other MetaMask countries:
MetaMask USA ·
MetaMask UK ·
MetaMask South Africa
DeFi guides: Uniswap Tax Calculator · DeFi Lending Taxes · Airdrop Taxes