New Income Tax Rules 2026 likely to be notified in first week of March: CBDT sources

The draft rules and forms will remain in the public domain for 15 days, until February 22, 2026. The Income Tax Department had invited stakeholders and members of the public to examine the draft framework and submit feedback, saying the consultative process is aimed at making the framing of subordinate legislation more participative and effective.

According to the department, the drafting of the new Income-tax Rules and forms follows the same philosophy as the Income Tax Act, 2025, with a focus on simplification and clarity. The language of the rules has been simplified wherever possible, with formulas and tables introduced to improve understanding, while efforts have been made to eliminate redundancies present in the existing Income-tax Rules, 1961.

While the broader policy framework has been retained, the department said selective changes have been introduced to align the rules and forms with provisions of the Income Tax Act, 2025.

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The tax forms included in the draft rules have also been significantly simplified to ease compliance for taxpayers. Common information has been standardised across forms to reduce duplication and lower the compliance burden.

The department said the redesigned forms incorporate features such as automated reconciliation and pre-fill capabilities, making tax filing more intuitive and less prone to errors. It added that the use of smart forms would facilitate centralised processing and data-driven decision-making, enabling improved taxpayer services.

Officials said the language used in the forms and accompanying notes has been simplified to avoid operational, administrative and legal ambiguity, further enhancing the overall taxpayer experience.