The New Income Tax Act 2025, is designed to replace the existing Income Tax Act, 1961 from 1 April, 2026 onwards. The new act features key changes designed to simplify the tax compliance framework, enhance transparency and improve tax collection efficiency. Income Tax Act 2025 is expected to modernise the direct taxation architecture and align it with global practices through greater digital integration.

After a tax payer files their Income Tax Return, the return is assessed by the Income Tax Department. The main role of the assessment process is to ensure the accuracy of the ITR filing. If any discrepancies are noticed during the assessment, the IT Department issues an income tax scrutiny notice to the taxpayer. This notice means that closer verification of the filed ITR will be carried out by an assessing officer to ensure that appropriate corrections are made. Read on to know the meaning, types, reasons, process, documents, penalties, and time limits related to scrutiny assessment.

At the time of income tax filing, one of the essential income tax documents for salaried individuals is the Income Tax Form 16. What makes form 16 important for income tax filing is that it contains a record of the gross salary paid, taxes deducted from the income, the allowances exempt from taxes, and other income as well as tax details for the applicable financial year. Basically, Form 16 serves as a detailed record of income, deductions and taxes levied during a financial year on a salaried individual. But this is just a surface-level understanding of what the use of Form 16 is.

In the Union Budget speech on February 1, 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made no changes to the Income Tax Slabs and Rates from the previous year. However, these were some changes regarding other aspects of direct taxes in India. These include implementation of the revamped Income Tax Act 2025 in FY 26-27, changes to the securities transaction tax (STT) rate for future and options, extension of time limit for filing revised returns and more.

If your annual income exceeds ₹30 lakhs, Income tax can be a financial concern since it reduces a major share of your salary. You can reduce your tax burden by strategically planning and making the right use of exemptions and deductions allowed under the Income Tax Act. This guide explains ways to save 30 lakh income tax, with easy-to-follow examples.