A section-by-section mapping workbook for the new Income-tax Act, 2025 — effective 1 April 2026 (Tax Year 2026-27). Search any old or new section, filter by chapter, and see exactly what changed. Same tax, rebuilt statute.
819 → 536
Sections
47 → 23
Chapters
16
Schedules
01·04·26
Effective Date
What actually changed
The 2025 Act is a structural and linguistic rewrite, not a policy change. Rates, slabs, deductions and exemptions are carried forward; what changes is the numbering, the layout (tables and Schedules replace provisos), and the navigability. The five points below are what your clients will feel.
Section 3
"Tax Year" replaces PY & AY
The twin concepts of Previous Year and Assessment Year are gone. A single Tax Year (the financial year of earning) now applies — FY 2026-27 is simply Tax Year 2026-27. Form 16 and returns will follow suit.
Sections 392–394
TDS / TCS consolidated
60-plus scattered TDS sections collapse into three: salary under §392, all other payments under §393 (tabular, payment codes 1001–1067), and TCS under §394. Rates unchanged — challans and returns now quote new codes.
Schedules II–VII
Exemptions moved to Schedules
The sprawling Section 10 exemption list is now §11 read with Schedules. Salary exemptions (gratuity, leave encashment, HRA) sit in the salary computation itself. Cleaner to read, same reliefs.
Section 202
New regime is the codified default
The new regime (old §115BAC) is now §202 and the statutory default, with the ₹75,000 standard deduction written into the Act. Slabs and the ₹60,000 §87A rebate (nil tax to ₹12 lakh) continue via the Finance Act.
§63 · §123 · §156
Familiar sections, new numbers
Day-to-day references change: Tax Audit 44AB → §63, 80C → §123, 87A → §156, Return 139 → §263, Capital gains 45 → §67. Update your deeds, engagement letters and templates.
Section 536
No retrospective reach
The 1961 Act governs everything up to 31 March 2026. Pending assessments, appeals and proceedings for AY 2026-27 and earlier continue under the old Act. Deductions validly claimed for FY 2025-26 are not reopened.
Section mapping tool
Type an old section (e.g. 80C, 44AB, 194J) or a new one (e.g. 123, 393), or search by keyword (e.g. depreciation, capital gains). Use the toggle to flip direction and the dropdown to browse a whole chapter.
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1961
2025
Provision
What changed
Legend:Renumbered same substanceMerged sections consolidatedSchedule detail moved to a ScheduleChanged substantive tweakVerify confirm number with official utility
Key changes by theme
TDS & TCS — the big operational shift
Salary TDS: old §192 → §392.
All other TDS (contractor, professional, rent, commission, interest, e-commerce, VDA, non-resident §195): old §194-series → §393, a single tabular section with payment codes 1001–1067.
TCS: old §206C → §394.
Rates and thresholds are unchanged; quoting an old code (194C/194J) on a post-01.04.2026 challan triggers validation errors.
Forms recast: Form 16 → Form 130; 15G/15H → merged Form 121; 15CA/15CB → Forms 145/146. §194LD deprecated.
Manpower supply is now expressly "work" for contractor TDS (resolves the old §194C ambiguity).
House property: 30% standard deduction and pre-construction interest treatment clarified; let-out interest position rationalised.
Commuted pension from specified schemes — full deduction clarified.
Anonymous donations to trusts taxed at 30% (with the religious-cum-charitable exemption restored by the Select Committee).
Refunds (§437): belated filers can now claim TDS refunds; faster post-deadline processing.
MACT interest to individuals fully exempt — no TDS, old ₹50,000 ceiling gone.
Transition rule (Section 536): The Income-tax Act, 1961 stands repealed on 1 April 2026 but continues to govern every tax year up to 31 March 2026. Assessments, reassessments, appeals, penalties and rectifications relating to AY 2026-27 and earlier remain under the 1961 Act. A reference to a "tax year" in the new Act is read as the corresponding "previous year" under the old Act (§536(3)). The e-filing portal will run both Acts concurrently during the transition.
Disclaimer: This workbook is a free reference aid summarising the broad correspondence between the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Income-tax Act, 2025. Computational mappings (Chapters I–IX and the Return chapter) follow the structure of the new Act; certain procedural mappings (assessment, penalties, appeals, advance tax) are indicative and marked accordingly — these are being finalised through the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and CBDT notifications. For an authoritative, exhaustive and legally binding mapping, always refer to the bare Income-tax Act, 2025, the Income-tax Department's official "1961 vis-à-vis 2025" utility on incometax.gov.in, and the relevant CBDT notifications. Verify the specific clause, sub-section, Schedule entry and TDS payment code before filing, drafting or advising. In conformity with the ICAI Website Guidelines.
