Will the Income Tax Department keep an eye on your bank and social media accounts? Know the whole truth

Income Tax Fact Check: For the last few days, a post is becoming increasingly viral on social media, in which it is being claimed that from April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Department will keep an eye on your bank account as well as social media, email and other digital accounts. This news scared the common taxpayers. But now the truth of this viral claim has come to light.

PIB Fact Check exposes viral claim

PIB Fact Check, the government’s official fact-checking agency, has called this claim misleading and half-truth. PIB clearly said that there will be no normal monitoring of bank or social media accounts of honest taxpayers. This right can be exercised only during search and survey operations.

Common taxpayers need not fear

According to PIB, unless there is strong evidence of large-scale tax evasion of a person, the Income Tax Department does not have the right to peek into his personal digital space. That means there will be no access to social media and email for routine assessment, data processing or general investigation.

Under what circumstances can digital data access be available?

The Income Tax Department gets this right only during search and survey. If any person or organization is suspected of black money, benami property or huge tax evasion, then only the authorities can seize digital data under legal process. This rule has been made not for common citizens, but for big tax evaders.

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What is the new Income Tax Act 2025?

Income Tax Act 2025 will be implemented from 1 April 2026. It will replace the old Income Tax Act 1961. More than 800 complex sections of the old law have been simplified. Just as Section 132 previously provided the power to search and seize documents, Section 247 of the new law provides for access to digital data—but only in authorized search cases.