Income Tax Act 2025 & Rules 2026 Finder

Understanding the Income Tax Act 2025 transition

The Income Tax Act 2025 (Act No. 30 of 2025) replaces the Income Tax Act 1961 starting from 1 April 2026. The new Act consolidates and renumbers nearly all provisions of the old Act, with three key structural changes that taxpayers and practitioners must understand:

1. Section renumbering (most provisions)

The popular Chapter VI-A deduction sections have been renumbered. For example, Section 80C (deductions for PPF, LIC, ELSS up to Rs 1.5 lakh) is now Section 123. Section 87A (income tax rebate) becomes Section 157. The rebate amounts and limits remain unchanged in substance — only the section numbers change.

2. TDS consolidation under Section 393

The biggest structural change. All TDS provisions previously under Sections 192 to 196D (salary, interest, contractor payments, professional fees, etc.) are now consolidated under a single section — Section 393. Each payment type is identified by a Numeric Payment Code (NPC) ranging from 1001 to 1067. For example, TDS on rent (old Section 194-I) becomes NPC 1007 under Section 393. This means TDS returns from Tax Year 2026-27 onwards will quote NPCs instead of section numbers.

3. Form renumbering

All forms under the Income Tax Rules 2026 have been renumbered. The most commonly used forms have these new numbers:

• Form 16 (salary TDS certificate) → Form 130
• Form 26AS (tax credit statement) → Form 168
• Form 15G/15H (no-TDS declaration) → merged into Form 121
• Form 15CA/15CB (foreign remittance) → Forms 145/146
• Form 3CD (tax audit) → Form 113

4. New terminology: Tax Year

The new Act introduces the term Tax Year in place of the dual concept of Financial Year and Assessment Year. Income earned between April 2026 and March 2027 is the income of Tax Year 2026-27, and the corresponding return is filed in July 2027.

How this finder helps you

If you are a Chartered Accountant, tax practitioner, finance team member or taxpayer dealing with both old and new returns simultaneously, this finder gives you an instant lookup of the new section number for any old reference. Type the old section (e.g. "80C", "194J", "44AB") or the form name ("Form 16") in the search box above to find the new mapping with the official status (renumbered, merged, restructured or kept-same) and a brief description of the change.

For deeper analysis — including transition rules, savings clauses, and substantive changes — refer to our complete Income Tax Act 2025 Transition Guide.