The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from 1 April 2026. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 came in at the same time. The new Act restates the law in simpler, often tabular, language; what most taxpayers notice first is the new numbering of sections and forms.
Which Act applies
| Period | Governing law |
|---|---|
| Tax year 2026-27 (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027) and later | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
| FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) and earlier years — returns, audits, assessments and appeals for those years | Income-tax Act, 1961 |
So a return filed in 2026 for FY 2025-26 is still a 1961-Act return, while TDS deducted on a payment made in May 2026 falls under the 2025 Act.
‘Tax year’
The 1961 Act taxed income of a ‘previous year’ in the following ‘assessment year’. The 2025 Act uses one term, the tax year: the financial year in which the income is earned.
Common sections
| Subject | Income-tax Act, 1961 | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Return of income | 139 | 263 |
| Assessment | 143 | 270 |
| Tax audit | 44AB | 63 |
| Presumptive taxation (business, profession, goods carriers) | 44AD, 44ADA, 44AE | 58 |
| Tax deducted at source — salary | 192 | 392 |
| Tax deducted at source — other payments | 193 to 196D | 393 |
| Tax collected at source | 206C | 394 |
Common forms
| Purpose | Old form | New form |
|---|---|---|
| Tax audit report | 3CA / 3CB / 3CD | 26 |
| TDS certificate — salary | 16 | 130 |
| TDS certificate — other payments | 16A | 131 |
| Quarterly TDS statement — salary | 24Q | 138 |
| Quarterly TDS statement — other payments to residents | 26Q | 140 |
| Quarterly TCS statement | 27EQ | 143 |
| Quarterly TDS statement — payments to non-residents | 27Q | 144 |
| Accountant's certificate for foreign remittance | 15CB | 146 |
| Tax-credit statement | 26AS | 168 |
Before quoting a section or form in a filing, check it against the concordance published by the Income Tax Department on incometax.gov.in. This note lists only common items.
This note is general information, not advice on anyone's facts. Send an enquiry about a specific matter.