



Budget 2026: What it will take to make India’s new tax law work
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Budget 2026 arrives at a pivotal moment. With the Income Tax Act, 2025, set to take effect from 1 April 2026, this year’s Budget should focus less on headline-grabbing tax rate changes and more on ensuring a smooth transition to the new law.
The emphasis is likely to be on ease of compliance, digital readiness, and the overall taxpayer experience, so that the law moves seamlessly from statute to practice. The Budget for FY26 operationalized the principle of “trust first, scrutinise later." Like earlier budgets, Budget 2025 nudged taxpayers towards the new tax regime through rationalised rates and fewer deductions. Filing data suggests the shift is well underway.
By 31 July 2024, 72.8 million income tax returns had been filed, of which 72% were under the new regime. First-time filers numbered 5.86 million, pointing to a widening compliance base. Against this backdrop, Budget 2026 could reasonably concentrate on three priorities to support the rollout of the Income Tax Act, 2025: first, improving ease of compliance by providing greater clarity and addressing inequities where needed; second, strengthening digital infrastructure through pre-filled returns, intuitive dashboards and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled assistance to simplify filing and reduce errors; and third, streamlining dispute resolution through faceless processes and time-bound mechanisms to improve predictability and speed.
Some measures merit consideration, given the direction of travel. Selective incentives for savings where they matter Moving away from a deduction-heavy framework is the right approach for simplicity. Yet time-bound, investment-linked incentives for individual savings can still serve broader
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