Income-tax Rules 2026: Taking a major step toward implementing the new income tax law, the Income Tax Department has released draft rules. Suggestions have been sought for the next 15 days.

The new Income Tax Act is going to be implemented from April 1, know what changes will happen for taxpayers?

Income-tax Rules 2026: The country's income tax system is set to undergo a major overhaul from April 1, 2026. The Income Tax Department has released the Draft Income-tax Rules, 2026, as well as draft tax return forms, providing a clear picture for the first time of how the new Income-tax Act, 2025, will actually work.

Public comments have been invited on these drafts for 15 days, until February 22, 2026. The Income Tax Department has invited taxpayers, professionals, and industry bodies to review these proposals and provide feedback, stating that the aim is to make the rule-making process more participatory and practical.

'The End' of the 60-year-old system

The current tax laws in our country date back to 1961. The new Income Tax Act, 2025, will replace it. It will be further refined with public input and implemented on April 1, 2026. The government's goal is to modernize tax regulations and present them in simpler language. This is why the number of rules has been reduced from 511 to 333. This will make the new system easier to understand and reduce the number of disputes with the department. 

What's new for taxpayers? 

Tax experts say the rules proposed in the draft will replace the Income Tax Rules of 1962, which have been in place for more than six decades with the Income Tax Act of 1961. These needed reform as they no longer fit the current economic and digital environment.

The new rules also focus on simplifying tax forms. These forms will follow electronic filing standards and include several modern features, such as automated reconciliation and pre-fill.

Giving information about the draft rules and forms, Income Tax Department sources said, "Income Tax rules and forms have been rationalized. Under the proposed Income Tax Rules, 2026, the number of rules has been reduced to 333, while the number of forms has been reduced to 190. Under the Income Tax Rules, 1962, their number was 511 and 399 respectively." The proposed Income Tax Rules simplify the language and remove compliances that are no longer required.