India

Budget 2026: Your income tax remains same, more time to file returns

Time limit for filing revised ITR has been increased from December 31 to March 31, on payment of a nominal fee.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, proposed to increase the time limit for filing the revised income tax returns (ITR); however, no changes were made to income tax (IT) rates and slabs.

The government also proposed a reduction in the tax collected at source (TCS) rate for pursuing education and medical education under the liberalised remittance scheme.

IT rates, slabs

The tax rates under the new tax regime, which is the default tax regime for Individuals,  Hindu undivided family (HUF), association of persons (AOP)/body of individuals (BOI), and artificial juridical persons (AJP), are as follows:

Net Income RangeTax Rate
Up to Rs. 4,00,000Nil
From Rs 4,00,001 to Rs. 8,00,0005%
From Rs 8,00,001 to Rs. 12,00,00010%
From Rs 12,00,001 to Rs. 16,00,00015%
From Rs 16,00,001 to Rs. 20,00,00020%
From Rs 20,00,001 to Rs. 24,00,00025%
Above Rs 24,00,00030%
Assessment Year 2026-27

However, for annual year (AY) 2026-27, a maximum rebate of Rs 60,000 is allowed under Section 87A, if the total income of an individual is chargeable to tax under Section 115BAC(1A) and the total income does not exceed Rs 12,00,000.

Time limit for filing revised ITR

Though the minister did not change the IT rates and slabs, the time limit for filing revised ITR has been increased from December 31 to March 31, on payment of a nominal fee.

The government also proposed a reduction in the tax collected at source (TCS) for pursuing education and medical education under the liberalised remittance scheme from 5 per cent to 2 per cent.

The TCS rate on the sale of overseas tour packages was cut to 2 per cent from 5 per cent, which was 20 per cent earlier.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman announced a proposal to exempt awards given by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal from income tax.

This post was last modified on February 1, 2026 1:57 pm

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Sameer Khan

Sameer Khan, a native of Hyderabad, holds an M.Tech degree. He has been associated with Siasat since 2011, covering stories on Hyderabad, Business, Sports and Technology. Beyond journalism, he is a passionate IT trainer, sharing his expertise in programming and technology with aspiring students. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading books on business, learning about emerging technologies, and exploring geopolitics.

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