Income Tax New Rules: New income tax rules have come into effect from today, know how it will affect taxpayers?

Income Tax New Rules: The new financial year 2026-27 has started from today 1st April. With the beginning of this new financial year, many big rules have also come into effect from today. Apart from this, many important changes related to income tax are also being implemented from today. The government has introduced these new rules with the aim of making the tax system more easy and flexible. These changes will affect everyone whether they are salaried employees, businessmen or common taxpayers. Keeping this in mind, let us know which income tax rules have been changed from today.

New investment tax law comes into force

From today, the new Income Tax Act, 2025 has come into force, which has replaced the previous Income Tax Act, 1961. Additionally, instead of separate classifications of “Finance Year” and “Assessment Year”, only the word “Year” will be used everywhere.

New deadline to file ITR

For salaried employees, the deadline to file income tax return (ITR) is now July 31. At the same time, especially for people engaged in business or professional activities who file under ITR-3 and ITR-4. The deadline has been extended to 31 August.

Tax on F&O trading

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has now been implemented on Futures and Options (F&O) trading. As a result, trading activities are expected to be slightly expensive.

Strict rules for HRA claim

From April 1, 2026, the rules and guidelines related to House Rent Allowance (HRA) have been made more stringent. Availing HRA will no longer be an easy or simple process. Employees will now have to provide specific information about their rent payment and landlord.

According to the new rules, it is now mandatory to provide the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the landlord while making HRA claim. Apart from this, submitting this information will be considered as the necessary definitive proof for the claim. In certain special cases, it will be mandatory to provide complete information about the landlord.

Increase in tax exemption for employees

The government has also increased the limit of tax exemption on certain special benefits given to employees. The tax exemption limit for meal vouchers/cards has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 200 per meal.

Additionally, the discount limit for gift vouchers has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. Besides, the incentives available for children’s education and coaching expenses have also been increased, which will provide considerable financial relief to the families.

Relief in TDS, TCS and foreign expenses

Now, there will be no deduction on income from dividends and mutual funds. However, the facility to make a single declaration for TDS has been introduced. In case of TCS, a tax rate of 2% has been implemented on foreign travel, education and medical expenses, which will reduce the expenses.