The Income Tax Department on Saturday (7th February) released the draft Income Tax Rules, 2026, under the Income Tax Act, 2025, which will replace the earlier 1962 tax rules. The Income Tax Act, 2025, which replaces the Income Tax Act of 1961, received the assent of the President in August 2025. The new rules will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and will be notified shortly.
The new Act comes with simplified provisions aimed at reducing compliance burden and making it taxpayer-friendly. “The corresponding Income-tax Rules and related Forms have been prepared after broad-based consultation to align with the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 2025,” said the department on Sunday (8th February). The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has invited comments from the stakeholders on the draft Income Tax Rules, 2026, before the final notification. The feedback has been invited under the four categories:
- Simplification of Language
- Reduction of Litigation
- Reduction of Compliance Burden
- Identification of Redundant/Obsolete Rules and Forms
For this purpose, the department has placed the draft Income-tax Rules, 2026 and forms in the public domain for a period of 15 days, which ends on February 22, 2026. “Forms have been designed in a smart way so as to provide for automated reconciliation and also prefill capabilities so as to make filing more intuitive and less error-prone. These smart forms would considerably ease the filing and enhance the user experience,” the Income Tax Department said, adding that the language of the forms has also been simplified to avoid any operational, administrative or legal ambiguity.
To facilitate the feedback process, a utility has been launched on the e-filing portal, accessible at www.incometaxindia.gov.in. The link has been live for the stakeholders since February 4, 2026, on the e-filing portal. Stakeholders can submit their suggestions by entering their details, such as their names and mobile numbers, followed by an OTP-based validation process.
The department has sought suggestions to clearly specify the relevant provision of the proposed Income-tax Rules or the proposed Form no (including the specific rule, sub-rule, or form number) under the specified four categories.
