What does the new Income-tax Act, 2025 change for me personally?
Less than the headlines suggest, but the words on your paperwork change. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. Income earned up to 31 March 2026 (FY 2025-26) is still filed under the old Act, so the return you file in 2026 looks familiar. From tax year 2026-27 the new Act applies: the 'previous year' and 'assessment year' merge into a single 'tax year', and section numbers move, so the old 80C deduction is now section 123, with the same ₹1.5 lakh limit and still only in the old regime. Slabs and capital gains rates did not change with the new Act or with Budget 2026. What did change for founders from the same date is that a company buyback is taxed as capital gains, with an extra tax on promoters. Expect your forms, Form 16 and your CA's notes to cite new section numbers, and check any old rule of thumb against them.
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The Income Tax Department's own questions and answers on the Income-tax Act, 2025: what it replaces, the tax year, and how earlier years are handled.
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Income Tax Departmentby Income Tax Department
The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026, and the 'tax year' replaces the previous year and assessment year, starting with 2026-27.
Tax years before 1 April 2026, with their pending assessments and appeals, continue under the 1961 Act.
Refunds, approvals and options already exercised, such as the new tax regime, carry over to the new Act.
The India reference on short vs long term capital gains, holding periods, and rates for equity, funds, and property, so you know the tax before you sell.
A chartered accountant's walk-through of how a buyback of shares is taxed from 1 April 2026, including the additional tax on promoters and who counts as one.
