New ITR Filing Twist: Can you really change tax regimes last minute?

financialexpress.com:

ITR Filing for AY2024-25: Like many taxpayers, are you also wondering whether the tax department will allow you to change the income tax regime while filing income tax return (ITR) or not? The Indian government introduced the new tax regime in 2020 (FY2020-21), giving taxpayers one more option alongside the old tax regime for computation of their tax liability.

Now, it’s been 5 years since the new tax regime was introduced and during this period there have been many changes brought in to make the new regime look more appealing so that taxpayers switch from the old tax regime. Earlier, when the new tax regime was introduced there was no restriction on how many times one can change tax regime, irrespective of the status of the taxpayer. Both non-salaried and salaried taxpayers were allowed to change the tax regime next year from the other regime they opted in that particular financial year.

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In the Union Budget 2023, the union government made some key changes to the rules pertaining to switching income tax regimes. One of the changes introduced was making the new tax regime a default regime in the absence of non-declaration by a taxpayer about the preference of regime. Another change was those who have income from business and are non-salaried are now allowed to change their tax regime only once, which means that if they switch to the new taxation system, they won’t be allowed to return to the old regime.

Yes, if you are a salaried individual, you can change your tax regime every financial year. Further, you are also allowed to switch back to the previous respective tax regime at the time of income tax return filing