On 1 February 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Indian Union Budget 2026-27 — her ninth consecutive Budget. As a result, the Finance Bill, 2026 (Bill No. 3 of 2026) proposes a calibrated set of direct tax reforms: no change to income tax slabs; the coming into force of the Income Tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026; and targeted amendments addressing TCS rationalisation, compliance timelines, TDS exemptions, and penalty restructuring.

For salaried individuals — the most compliant and numerically significant segment of India’s direct tax base — the Indian Union Budget 2026-27’s practical message is continuity with refinement. Specifically, the following three outcomes stand out:

• First, the zero-tax threshold of Rs 12,75,000 for salaried taxpayers in the new tax regime (applicable since TY 2025-26) continues unchanged.
• Second, Finance Bill 2026 adds procedural relief: extended revised return timelines, centralised lower-TDS declarations, relaxed TCS on foreign remittances, and full exemption for MACT interest.
• However, the proposed increase in Securities Transaction Tax on equity derivatives significantly raises the cost of F&O trading for salaried taxpayers who participate in derivative markets.

“This direct tax code was completed in record time and the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from 1st April 2026.” — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Budget Speech, 1 February 2026

I. Income Tax Act, 2025 — Legislative Transition

The Income Tax Act, 2025 (Act 30 of 2025, Presidential assent: 21 August 2025) comes into force on 1 April 2026, replacing the Income Tax Act, 1961. Consequently, this marks the most significant structural reform to India’s direct tax legislation in six decades.

A. Revenue Neutrality — Confirmed

The Finance Bill 2026 Memorandum confirms that the government proposes no change in tax rates. Moreover, every tax rate, deduction, exemption, and rebate that applied under the 1961 Act as at 31 March 2026 carries forward into the 2025 Act under reorganised section numbers. In addition, the 2025 Act consolidates the statute into:

• 536 sections across 23 chapters and 16 schedules — reduced from 819 sections across 47 chapters in the 1961 Act.
• Importantly, incremental amendments over six decades had produced layers of internally inconsistent provisos and explanations — the 2025 Act resolves these entirely.

B. Key Definitional Change: ‘Tax Year’

• Notably, the 2025 Act abolishes the terms ‘Previous Year’ and ‘Assessment Year’.
• Instead, it introduces a single operative concept: ‘Tax Year’ — defined as the 12-month period commencing 1 April of each calendar year.
• As a result, ‘Tax Year 2026-27’ is the precise statutory equivalent of ‘Financial Year 2026-27 / Assessment Year 2027-28’ under the old terminology.

C. Section Renumbering: Dual-Statute Context

• Furthermore, all familiar 1961 Act provisions — Section 87A (rebate), Section 80C (deductions), Section 115BAC (new tax regime), Section 206C (TCS) — now carry new numbers in the 2025 Act.
• To ensure alignment during the transition period, Finance Bill 2026 amends both statutes simultaneously: Clauses 4–26 amend the IT Act 1961; Clauses 27–113 amend the IT Act 2025.
• Nevertheless, proceedings, assessments, and appeals relating to financial years prior to Tax Year 2026-27 continue under the IT Act 1961. The 2025 Act applies prospectively from Tax Year 2026-27 onward.

D. Simplified Forms and Compliance Rules

• To support the transition, CBDT will notify revised ITR forms and rules aligned with the 2025 Act’s nomenclature before 1 April 2026.
• For salaried taxpayers, the substantive change in ITR filing is limited to updated section references — data fields and disclosure requirements remain unchanged for Tax Year 2026-27.

II. Income Tax Slabs & Rates — Tax Year 2026-27

Under the Indian Union Budget 2026-27, no changes to income tax rates, slabs, surcharge, or cess are proposed for Tax Year 2026-27. Therefore, both regimes continue to coexist, and the new tax regime remains the statutory default.

A. New Tax Regime (Section 202, IT Act 2025)

The new regime applies to individuals, HUFs, AOPs (other than co-operative societies), BOIs, and artificial juridical persons — unless the assessee actively opts out under Section 202(4).

Surcharge under the new tax regime:

• 10% on total income (including capital gains and dividends) exceeding Rs 50 lakh but not Rs 1 crore.
• 15% on total income (including capital gains and dividends) exceeding Rs 1 crore but not Rs 2 crore.
• 25% on total income (excluding capital gains and dividends) exceeding Rs 2 crore.
• Crucially, the 37% surcharge bracket that applies under the old regime does NOT apply here. As a result, the maximum surcharge under the new regime is capped at 25%.
• In addition, Health and Education Cess applies at 4% on the aggregate of income tax and surcharge, in all cases.
• Furthermore, marginal relief applies at each surcharge threshold.

B. Old Tax Regime (Section 202(4), IT Act 2025)

A salaried assessee who actively elects the old tax regime under Section 202(4) [corresponding to Section 115BAC(6) of the 1961 Act] faces the following rates:

Under the old regime, all four surcharge brackets apply — 10%, 15%, 25%, and 37%. Notably, the 37% bracket applies to total income (excluding capital gains and dividends) exceeding Rs 5 crore.

Critical distinctions — old vs. new regime:

• Standard deduction for salaried taxpayers: Rs 50,000 (old regime) vs. Rs 75,000 (new regime). The higher Rs 75,000 deduction is available exclusively under the new regime.
• Similarly, family pensioners receive only Rs 15,000 under the old regime, compared to Rs 25,000 under the new regime.
• Moreover, deductions under Section 80C (up to Rs 1,50,000), Section 80D (health insurance), Section 24(b) (home loan interest up to Rs 2,00,000 for self-occupied property), and HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) are available ONLY under the old regime.

III. Rs 12 Lakh Zero-Tax Threshold — Rebate & Marginal Relief

Under the new tax regime, a rebate of up to Rs 60,000 is available (Section 87A equivalent). Since tax on Rs 12,00,000 equals exactly Rs 60,000, the rebate fully absorbs the liability, resulting in NIL tax before cess.

A. Four Eligibility Conditions (all must be met)

• First, the taxpayer must be a resident individual — NRIs are not eligible.
• Second, the taxpayer must be under the new tax regime.
• Third, total income must not exceed Rs 12,00,000 after standard deduction and other new-regime deductions.
• Fourth, income taxable at special flat rates does not attract the rebate — specifically STCG on equity (20% under Sec 111A / Sec 196, IT Act 2025) and LTCG on listed equity exceeding Rs 1,25,000 (12.5% under Sec 112A / Sec 198, IT Act 2025). Importantly, where total income of Rs 12,00,000 includes such income, the rebate applies only to the non-special-rate component — not the full income.

B. Marginal Relief at Rs 12 Lakh Threshold

Where income marginally exceeds Rs 12L, the incremental tax cannot exceed the excess amount. For example, income of Rs 12,10,000 would otherwise attract tax of Rs 61,500; however, marginal relief caps the liability at Rs 10,000. Similarly, marginal relief applies at each surcharge threshold.

IV. Standard Deduction & Effective Rs 12,75,000 Threshold

The standard deduction of Rs 75,000 for salaried assessees and Rs 25,000 for recipients of family pension, which Finance Act 2024 introduced under the new tax regime, continues unchanged for Tax Year 2026-27. Importantly, it is a flat statutory deduction from income chargeable under the head ‘Salaries’ — taxpayers need no bills, vouchers, or proof of expenditure. Combined with the Rs 60,000 rebate, zero tax applies up to gross salary of Rs 12,75,000.

However, the nil-tax outcome holds only if all three of the following conditions are met:

• The assessee must be a resident individual.
• The total income must include no income taxable at special flat rates (e.g., STCG, LTCG).
• The assessee must earn no other income beyond the salary. Where any of these conditions are not met, the computation must be adjusted accordingly.

V. Employer NPS Contribution — Above-Threshold Deduction

• Section 80CCD(2) deduction works under BOTH the old and new tax regimes, and sits outside the Rs 1,50,000 aggregate ceiling under Section 80CCE.
• The rate stands at 14% of (Basic Pay + DA) for all employees including private sector — Finance Act 2024 raised this from 10%, effective 1 April 2024. Moreover, it continues unchanged for Tax Year 2026-27.
• This achieves parity: Central and State Government employees had enjoyed the 14% limit since Tax Year 2020-21. By extending it to private sector employees, Finance Act 2024 removed a structural disparity that had discouraged NPS adoption.
• To illustrate: Basic+DA = Rs 8,00,000 → employer NPS contribution = Rs 1,12,000 → the zero-tax threshold effectively extends to ~Rs 13,87,000 gross salary (before accounting for any other qualifying deductions).
• However, aggregate employer contributions to NPS, recognised provident funds, and approved superannuation funds exceeding Rs 7,50,000 per annum become taxable in the employee’s hands as a perquisite under Section 17(2) of the IT Act 1961. Therefore, senior executives whose total employer-side benefit contributions approach or exceed this threshold require active monitoring.

VI. TCS Rationalisation on Foreign Remittances (Finance Bill 2026)

One of the most taxpayer-friendly proposals in the Indian Union Budget 2026-27 is the TCS rationalisation on foreign remittances. TCS (Tax Collected at Source) is not a final tax liability — the government credits it to the taxpayer’s PAN, and the taxpayer adjusts it against assessed income tax at ITR filing. Nevertheless, the concern it addresses is liquidity: high TCS rates produce disproportionate upfront cash outflows that taxpayers recover only through the refund cycle, typically six to eighteen months later.

To address this, Finance Bill 2026 proposes amendments to Section 394 of the IT Act 2025 (corresponding to Section 206C of the IT Act 1961), effective 1 April 2026.

A. Overseas Tour Programme Packages — Tiered Structure Replaced by Flat 2%

• Currently, the structure charges TCS at 5% on package value up to Rs 10 lakh, and 20% on value exceeding Rs 10 lakh in a financial year.
• Instead, Finance Bill 2026 proposes a single flat rate of 2% with no threshold. Specifically, the Rs 10 lakh threshold is proposed for removal entirely under this category.
• To illustrate: a package costing Rs 15,00,000 currently attracts TCS of Rs 1,50,000. Under the proposed amendment, TCS would fall to Rs 30,000 — a reduction of Rs 1,20,000 in upfront withholding.

B. LRS — Education and Medical Remittances: Rate Reduced to 2%

• For remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS — the RBI permits up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year) for education or medical treatment, the rate drops from 5% to 2%.
• Importantly, the Rs 10 lakh per-financial-year threshold is retained — remittances up to Rs 10 lakh for these purposes continue to attract nil TCS.
• Furthermore, remittances qualifying as loan repayments or interest deductible under Section 80E remain separately exempt from TCS under the existing framework.

C. LRS — All Other Purposes: Unchanged at 20%

• For LRS remittances for purposes other than education and medical treatment — including foreign portfolio investments, real estate acquisition, gifts, and general living expenses — the 20% TCS rate on amounts exceeding Rs 10 lakh per financial year stays unchanged.
• Finance Bill 2026 proposes no modification to this rate.

VII. Return Filing Timelines (Proposed Amendments)

Finance Bill 2026 proposes two key modifications to ITR filing timelines directly relevant to salaried assessees: (1) extension of the revised return deadline under Section 263(5) of the IT Act 2025 from 9 months to 12 months; and (2) introduction of a separate 31 August deadline for non-audit business taxpayers — thereby creating a cleaner separation between the salaried and self-employed filing windows. Notably, the ITR-1 and ITR-2 deadline of 31 July remains unchanged.

A. Revised Return — Extended Deadline and Fee Structure

• Finance Bill 2026, Clause 57 (amending Section 263(5), IT Act 2025) and Clause 5 (amending Section 139, IT Act 1961) extend the revision period from 9 months to 12 months — i.e., from 31 December to 31 March of the following year.
• Consequently, for Tax Year 2026-27, the proposed deadline for filing a revised return is 31 March 2028.
• Moreover, Clause 12 inserts new Section 234-I into the IT Act 1961 (Section 428(b) in IT Act 2025), creating a fee for revised returns filed after the initial 9-month window: Rs 1,000 where total income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000; Rs 5,000 where total income exceeds Rs 5,00,000.
• Importantly, returns filed on or before 31 December remain free of charge. The fee is not a penalty — it carries no interest and does not trigger prosecution.
• In practice, salaried assessees who discover discrepancies in their AIS after December — from late-updated dividend income, revised Form 16, or delayed reporting of interest income — gain three additional months to correct their returns without penalty exposure.

VIII. TDS Reforms — Targeted Exemptions & Compliance Simplification

A. MACT Interest — Full Exemption and Unconditional TDS Relief

• Finance Bill 2026 proposes a two-part relief for recipients of interest on compensation that Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACTs) award under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
• First, such interest is proposed to be fully exempt from income tax in the hands of the individual recipient or their legal heirs.
• Second, and equally importantly, no TDS is to be deducted on such interest, irrespective of amount — overriding the threshold-based TDS under Section 194A of the IT Act 1961, which currently applies at 10% once annual interest exceeds Rs 10,000 (Rs 50,000 for senior citizens).
• CBDT Official FAQs confirm: ‘no tax would be required to be deducted on such interest awarded by MACT to the individual or legal heir, irrespective of the threshold.’
• Both changes take effect from 1 April 2026.

B. Centralised Form 15G / 15H — Single Depository Submission

• Under Finance Bill 2026, Clause 72 (amending Section 393, IT Act 2025), salaried assessees holding fixed deposits, bonds, or mutual fund units across multiple institutions may now submit a single Form 15G or Form 15H to their securities depository (NSDL or CDSL).
• In turn, the depository must make this declaration available to all registered deductors — banks, fund houses, companies — that pay income to the declarant.
• As a result, this eliminates the current practice of submitting separate declarations to each institution at the start of each financial year.
• Effective from 1 April 2026.

C. TAN Exemption for Property Purchase from Non-Resident Sellers

• Under Finance Bill 2026, Clause 75 (amending Section 397, IT Act 2025), a resident individual or HUF purchasing immovable property from a non-resident seller no longer needs to obtain a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN).
• Instead, the buyer may deduct and remit tax using their own PAN, quoting the non-resident seller’s PAN in the challan-cum-statement filed with the Income Tax Department.
• Effective from 1 October 2026.

D. Electronic Applications for Lower / Nil TDS Certificates

• Finance Bill 2026, Clause 74 (amending Section 395, IT Act 2025) enables electronic applications for certificates authorising TDS deduction at nil or reduced rates.
• Previously, eligible assessees — including NRIs and small investors — had to engage with Assessing Officers’ offices, sometimes physically. Electronic processing now removes geographical barriers and reduces turnaround times.
• Effective from 1 April 2026.

E. Manpower Supply Payments Classified as ‘Work’ Under Section 393

• Finance Bill 2026 clarifies that payments for supply of manpower constitute ‘work’ for TDS purposes under Section 393 of the IT Act 2025.
• This resolves prior ambiguity — specifically, whether such payments attracted TDS as fees for professional services (10%) or as works contracts — which had caused inconsistent treatment across assessments.
• Going forward, the proposed TDS rate is 1% for payments to individuals or HUFs, and 2% for payments to other persons.
• This has limited direct relevance to salaried assessees, unless they also operate small businesses or consultancies in parallel.

IX. Proposed STT Increase on Equity Derivatives

Among the measures in the Indian Union Budget 2026-27 that impose additional costs, Finance Bill 2026 Clause 143 (amending Section 98 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004) proposes a significant increase in Securities Transaction Tax rates on equity futures and options. Specifically, Finance Minister Sitharaman confirmed in her Budget Speech: ‘I propose to raise the STT on futures to 0.05% from the existing 0.02%. The STT on options premium and on the exercise of options is proposed to be increased to 0.15% from the current rates of 0.10% and 0.125%, respectively.’

• Commencement: Clause 143 falls within Chapter VI (Miscellaneous) — it is NOT effective from 1 April 2026 under Section 1(2)(a) of Finance Bill 2026. Instead, it takes effect on the date of Presidential assent (anticipated before 31 March 2026) and applies to all qualifying derivative transactions executed on or after that date.
• Furthermore, F&O income is assessed as business income — not capital gains — and therefore attracts tax at the applicable slab rate.
• As a result, higher STT raises the transaction cost component and increases the breakeven threshold per trade. Consequently, salaried assessees engaged in F&O trading should reassess their derivative strategies.
• The IT Department cites the policy rationale as follows: derivative market notional turnover has reached several hundred times India’s nominal GDP, and documented loss rates among retail traders justify moderating purely speculative activity.
• In contrast, long-term equity investors transacting in the delivery segment remain entirely unaffected.

X. Share Buyback Proceeds — Reclassified as Capital Gains

Finance Bill 2026 proposes that share buyback proceeds for all categories of shareholders are treated as capital gains — rather than dividend income — from 1 April 2026. This reclassification restores economic rationality: since the acquisition cost of shares tendered is deductible, only the economic profit attracts tax.

A. Impact on Retail and Salaried Investors

• For long-term holdings (over 12 months on listed equity), the government taxes gains exceeding Rs 1,25,000 as LTCG at 12.5% under Section 112A of the IT Act 1961 (Section 198, IT Act 2025).
• Similarly, for short-term holdings (up to 12 months), STCG at 20% applies under Section 111A (Section 196, IT Act 2025).
• Moreover, for retail investors in the 30% income tax bracket, both rates represent a material reduction from the prior dividend-characterisation framework, where buyback proceeds attracted full slab-rate tax with no deduction for acquisition cost.

B. Additional Tax on Promoters

• To prevent controlling shareholders from using the capital gains framework to extract value at concessional rates, Finance Bill 2026 proposes an additional buyback tax for promoter-category shareholders.
• According to PIB press release PRID 2221416, the effective rates are approximately 22% for corporate promoters and approximately 30% for non-corporate promoters (individuals, HUFs, and partnerships in the promoter group).
• As a result of this deliberate policy asymmetry, retail salaried investors holding listed equity sit unequivocally in the more advantageous category.

XI. Penalty & Prosecution Rationalisation

A. Unexplained Income — Tax Rate Reduced from 60% to 30%

• Section 195 of the IT Act 2025 levies a special tax rate on income under Sections 102 to 106 (corresponding to Sections 68 to 69D of the 1961 Act): unexplained cash credits, unexplained investments, unexplained expenditure, unexplained assets, and amounts borrowed or repaid in cash through hundis.
• Finance Bill 2026 proposes to reduce this rate from 60% to 30%. In support, CBDT Official FAQs confirm: ‘The tax rate on income reported by the taxpayer or determined by the Assessing Officer in respect of income referred to in sections 102 to 106… is reduced from 60 percent to 30 percent.’
• Simultaneously, Finance Bill 2026 Clause 86 proposes to omit Section 443 of the IT Act 2025, thereby removing the additional 10% levy on such income.
• As a result, the penalty framework consolidates into a single misreporting penalty of 200% under Section 439(11), reduced to 120% of the tax payable where immunity is claimed — bringing it more closely in line with the general income misreporting framework.

B. Employee Contribution Deduction — Aligned to ITR Filing Date

• Finance Bill 2026, Clause 31 (amending Section 29 of IT Act 2025) now allows employers to claim deductions for employee contributions to provident funds, ESI, and superannuation funds — provided the contributions are deposited on or before the employer’s ITR filing due date under Section 263(1).
• This resolves a persistent litigation issue: previously, contributions deposited before the ITR filing date but after the statutory deposit deadline were routinely disallowed at assessment stage.
• Consequently, this eliminates an asymmetry and aligns employee contribution deduction timing with the pre-existing treatment of employer contributions.

C. Decriminalisation of Technical Defaults

• Finance Bill 2026, Clauses 80–104 restructure the prosecution provisions of the IT Act 2025: multiple categories of technical procedural defaults — including non-production of documents in specified circumstances and minor delays in TDS filing — are converted from criminal offences attracting potential imprisonment into civil defaults attracting monetary penalties or fees.
• As a result, criminal prosecution is reserved for substantive acts of evasion only — not inadvertent procedural lapses.
• Therefore, for salaried assessees and their employers, this significantly reduces the legal risk profile of minor compliance irregularities without diminishing the deterrent effect against deliberate non-compliance.

XII. Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS 2026)

• Finance Bill 2026, Chapter IV (Clauses 114–128) introduces FAST-DS 2026 — a one-time, six-month voluntary disclosure facility proposed to run from 1 April 2026.
• Under this scheme, eligible assessees may declare undisclosed foreign assets or foreign income, pay a specified tax or fee, and thereby receive statutory immunity from penalty and prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
• Importantly, the scheme targets small taxpayers — not high-net-worth capital exporters. The target population includes salaried professionals who received ESOPs in overseas group companies, individuals who briefly worked on international deputation and retained foreign bank accounts, and those who received minor inheritances from non-resident relatives.
• Furthermore, eligible asset thresholds are to be notified by CBDT under the scheme’s rules — assessees must therefore check their position against these thresholds once notified.
• Additionally, Finance Bill 2026, Clause 144 proposes that prosecution provisions of the Black Money Act shall not apply where the aggregate value of undisclosed foreign assets (other than immovable property) does not exceed Rs 20,00,000 — thereby extinguishing criminal exposure below this threshold.
• Action required: Assessees should assess their foreign asset position and initiate disclosure before the six-month window closes, in consultation with a qualified tax professional.

XIII. Tax Regime Selection — Framework for Tax Year 2026-27

Under the Indian Union Budget 2026-27, the new tax regime under Section 202 of the IT Act 2025 is the statutory default for Tax Year 2026-27. Consequently, a salaried assessee who does not communicate a contrary election to their employer before the commencement of the financial year will have TDS computed under the new regime. For assessees without business income, however, the regime election may also be exercised — or revised — at the time of ITR filing; no separate Form 10-IEA is required. Furthermore, the election does not bind the assessee in perpetuity — it may be reconsidered each tax year.

Analytical Framework for Regime Selection

• The new regime is structurally superior for assessees with limited deduction portfolios. Specifically, where aggregate old-regime deductions across Section 80C, Section 80D, HRA exemption, and home loan interest total less than approximately Rs 2,00,000, the new regime will almost invariably produce lower tax at all income levels.
• However, the old regime may be advantageous in the Rs 10L–Rs 15L income range for assessees with comprehensive deduction portfolios exceeding Rs 3,50,000 in aggregate — where the old regime’s 30% slab rate (applicable from Rs 10,00,001 onwards) is partly offset by the higher value of those deductions.
• Above Rs 24,00,000 income, on the other hand, the new regime’s flatter slab structure produces lower tax liabilities for the majority of assessees regardless of the size of their deduction portfolio.
• Notably, employer NPS under Section 80CCD(2) is the one deduction that operates identically under both regimes and requires no regime trade-off analysis. Therefore, maximising this benefit — where the employer’s NPS plan permits — is advisable under either regime.
• Finally, use the official IT Department tax calculator at incometaxindia.gov.in for a precise year-specific computation before communicating regime preference to your employer.

FAQ

Q1. What are the income tax slabs for salaried employees under the Indian Union Budget 2026-27?

No change from 2025-26. New regime slabs: Nil up to Rs 4L; 5% (Rs 4–8L); 10% (Rs 8–12L); 15% (Rs 12–16L); 20% (Rs 16–20L); 25% (Rs 20–24L); 30% above Rs 24L.

Q2. Is income up to Rs 12 lakh really tax-free for salaried employees in 2026-27?

Yes — for resident individuals under the new tax regime with no special-rate income. The Rs 60,000 rebate wipes out all tax on income up to Rs 12,00,000; with the Rs 75,000 standard deduction, gross salary up to Rs 12,75,000 is also tax-free.

Q3. Which is better — new vs old tax regime in 2026-27 for salaried employees?

New regime for most. Choose old regime only if total deductions (80C + 80D + HRA + home loan interest) exceed Rs 3,50,000 and income is in the Rs 10–15 lakh range.

Q4. What has changed in TCS on foreign remittances under Budget 2026?

Overseas tour packages: flat 2% (was 5%/20%). LRS for education/medical: 2% (was 5%) above Rs 10L. All other LRS remittances: unchanged at 20% above Rs 10L.

Q5. What is the standard deduction for salaried employees in Tax Year 2026-27?

Rs 75,000 (new regime) and Rs 50,000 (old regime). No bills or proof required — it is a flat statutory deduction.

Q6. When does the Income Tax Act 2025 come into force?

1 April 2026. It replaces the IT Act 1961 but is fully revenue-neutral — all rates, deductions, and exemptions are unchanged.

Q7. What is the deadline to file a revised income tax return for Tax Year 2026-27?

31 March 2028 (extended from 31 December 2027). A fee of Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000 applies for revisions filed after 31 December — not a penalty, no interest.

Q8. What is the employer NPS deduction limit for salaried employees in 2026-27?

14% of (Basic Pay + DA) under Section 80CCD(2) — available under both regimes, outside the Rs 1,50,000 ceiling of Section 80CCE.

Q9. How are share buyback proceeds taxed after Indian union Budget 2026-27?

As capital gains from 1 April 2026. LTCG at 12.5% (holdings over 12 months, gains above Rs 1,25,000); STCG at 20% (holdings up to 12 months). Acquisition cost is deductible.

Q10. What is the new STT rate on futures and options after Budget 2026?

Futures: 0.05% (up from 0.02%). Options premium: 0.15% (up from 0.10%). Exercise of options: 0.15% (up from 0.125%). Delivery and intraday equity: unchanged.

Q11. What is FAST-DS 2026 and who should use it?

A one-time six-month voluntary scheme from 1 April 2026 for salaried individuals with minor undisclosed foreign assets (ESOPs, old foreign accounts, small inheritances). Provides immunity under the Black Money Act 2015.

Q12. Do I still need to submit Form 15G or 15H to every bank separately in 2026-27?

No. From 1 April 2026, submit once to NSDL or CDSL — the depository shares it with all banks, fund houses, and companies automatically.

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