Income-tax Rules 2026: What Changes From April 1

The new Income-tax Rules, 2026 came into force on 1 April 2026, notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes through Notification No. 22/2026, G.S.R. 198 E, dated 20 March 2026, under Section 533 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. They are the procedural rulebook for the new Act and they apply from tax year 2026-27 onward. For most individuals the headline is simple: the rules were trimmed from 511 to 333, the forms from 399 to 190, and a few familiar forms have been renumbered. Your return for FY 2025-26 is not touched by this change.

Use this quick decision block before you worry about anything.

• You are filing for FY 2025-26 (the year just ended)? Nothing changes for you. That return runs on the old Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Income-tax Rules, 1962. Old forms, old form numbers, old procedure.
• Your income, TDS or filing relates to tax year 2026-27 (from 1 April 2026)? The new Rules apply. You may meet renumbered forms and a leaner rulebook.
• You normally submit Form 15G or Form 15H to stop TDS on interest? This is the one change ordinary savers will actually notice. Both forms are gone and are replaced by a single new Form 121 (covered below).
• You are a salaried taxpayer with only an ITR to file? The tax slabs and deductions come from the Income-tax Act, 2025, not from these Rules. The Rules mainly change procedure and paperwork, not how much tax you owe.

The big picture: this is a renumbering and consolidation exercise, not a new tax. The old 1961 Act and 1962 Rules are being retired and replaced, the way an old textbook is reset into fewer, cleaner chapters. The law has not suddenly raised your tax.

The Income-tax Rules, 1962 had grown to 511 rules over six decades. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 bring that down to 333 rules, a cut of roughly 35 percent. Prescribed forms fall even more sharply, from 399 to 190, about a 52 percent reduction.

What this means in practice: many overlapping or obsolete rules have been merged or dropped, and several forms now carry different numbers even where the underlying requirement is the same. So if a banker, employer or portal asks for a form by a number you do not recognise, it is most likely an old form under a new name, not a brand-new compliance. Always confirm the current form number for tax year 2026-27 before you sign and submit, because quoting an outdated form number is the easiest way to have a declaration rejected.

This is the change that touches the most ordinary people. If you are a saver whose total income is below the taxable limit, you have been giving your bank or post office Form 15G (if you are under 60) or Form 15H (if you are a senior citizen) so they do not deduct TDS on your interest.

From tax year 2026-27, both of those forms are merged into a single Form 121. Key points confirmed by the Income-tax Department:

• Form 121 is age-agnostic. The same form is used whether or not you are a senior citizen, so you no longer have to pick between 15G and 15H.
• It is a statutory declaration that your estimated tax on total income for the relevant tax year is nil, exactly the purpose the old forms served.
• Each declaration is given a 26-character Unique Identification Number (UIN), which the deductor quotes when reporting it.

If your income is genuinely below the threshold, the protection is the same as before. Only the form number and format change. If your income is above the basic exemption, you must not file Form 121 to dodge TDS, just as you could not misuse 15G or 15H, because a false declaration carries penalty.

For most people, very little, and nothing in a hurry.

1. Filing the FY 2025-26 return now? Carry on exactly as before. The new Rules do not apply to that return. See the guide to fixing an income-tax return if you need to correct it.
2. About to submit a no-TDS declaration to your bank from April 2026? Ask for Form 121, not 15G or 15H. Banks and post offices are moving to the new form; the eligibility test of estimated nil tax is unchanged.
3. Run a business, or file audit or TDS forms? Note down the new form numbers for tax year 2026-27 before your first 2026-27 filing, so you do not submit on a discontinued form.
4. Just a salaried filer? No action needed now. Your slabs and deductions are set by the Income-tax Act, 2025, which you can read about alongside the tax year concept and advance tax framework.

A practical reminder: do not act on a WhatsApp-forwarded “new form” image. Always download the prescribed form from the official portal incometax.gov.in and confirm the form number is the current one for tax year 2026-27.

This guide is general information, not tax advice. If a notice or large refund is at stake, confirm the position with a qualified tax professional, and keep a copy of The RTI Playbook handy if you ever need to extract a record or a reason from a public authority.

They came into force on 1 April 2026, notified by CBDT through Notification No. 22/2026, G.S.R. 198 E, dated 20 March 2026, under Section 533 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. They apply from tax year 2026-27. Your return for FY 2025-26 still runs on the old 1961 Act and 1962 Rules.

No. The rates, slabs and deductions come from the Income-tax Act, 2025, not from these Rules. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 mainly change procedure, form numbers and structure. They cut the rulebook from 511 rules to 333 and the prescribed forms from 399 to 190, but they do not by themselves raise or lower your tax.

Both are replaced by a single new Form 121 from tax year 2026-27. Form 121 is age-agnostic, so the same form works whether or not you are a senior citizen. It is the declaration that your estimated tax for the year is nil, and each one gets a 26-character Unique Identification Number. If you are eligible, the protection from TDS on interest is the same as before.

No. For FY 2025-26 and earlier, including assessments, notices, TDS certificates and filings, the old forms under the Income-tax Rules, 1962 continue to apply. The 2026 Rules and new form numbers start with tax year 2026-27.

Download the prescribed form only from the official portal incometax.gov.in and check it is the current form for tax year 2026-27. Because many forms were renumbered when the count dropped from 399 to 190, an old form number quoted by habit is a common reason declarations get rejected. Never rely on a forwarded image or an unofficial copy.

• Notification No. 22/2026, F. No. 370142/41/2025-TPL, G.S.R. 198 E, dated 20 March 2026, Income-tax Rules, 2026 (Central Board of Direct Taxes, incometaxindia.gov.in).
• Form No. 121 FAQ (Earlier Form Nos. 15G and 15H), Income-tax Department (incometaxindia.gov.in).
• Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act No. 30 of 2025), Section 533.

• Advance tax, the new tax year concept and the Income-tax Act 2025
• How to fix an income-tax return under Section 154

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Last updated 19 June 2026.