Starting April 1, India will implement the revised Income-tax Act, 2025, replacing the six-decade-old Income-tax Act of 1961. While tax rates and slabs remain unchanged, significant changes will affect how income, deductions, salary, capital gains, and disclosures are reported. The new law aims to simplify tax reporting, with stricter compliance requirements and a more precise reporting structure.

A key change involves meal card exemptions for salaried employees. The exemption limit for employer-provided meals has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 200 per meal. This will allow employees to claim up to Rs 1,05,600 annually in tax-free meal benefits if the employer structures the benefit appropriately. Additionally, House Rent Allowance (HRA) exemptions have been expanded to more cities, and stricter reporting requirements for landlords have been introduced to prevent fraudulent claims.

The new law also introduces significant changes in how ITR forms are filed, with redesigned forms and more detailed income and asset reporting. Employers will now use Form 130, replacing the older Form 16, and ITR filings will be more pre-filled and auto-validated to ensure faster processing. Other changes include expanded eligibility for simpler tax regimes and clearer rules for reporting capital gains and PAN usage in various transactions.