The situation for individual taxpayers and investors in India has drastically changed. The Income Tax Department has announced that net direct tax collections have increased by 9% to about ₹18.38 lakh crore till date in the current fiscal year. The success of the tax reforms in 2025-26, which raised the effective tax-free limit for salaried classes to ₹12.75 lakh (including the ₹75,000 standard deduction) and thereby increased disposable incomes for the middle class, is the main reason for this increase in tax collections and the overall tax regime.
Implementation of the New Income Tax Act 2025
The government of India is in the process of completing the transition to the new Income Tax Act 2025, which will take place on April 1, 2026, when the 1961 Act is officially repealed. The new legislation is to be very comprehensive as it will reduce the number of sections in the tax code by half, and it also introduces the new “Tax Year” that combines the two previously used Assessment Year/Previous Year system into one. A major change in personal finance planning introduced by the Act is that a taxpayer will now be able to claim TDS refunds even if their returns are filed after the deadline, and hence, the penal restrictions on late refund claims have been totally removed.
SEBI Regulations 2026 and Mutual Fund Cost Restructuring
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given the green light to the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 2026, which will radically change the way in which the cost of investment is portrayed. Investors will now find it very easy to differentiate between the Base Expense Ratio (BER) and the tax imposed on it, like GST and STT. With the new rules, Index Funds and ETFs will have the limit on their expenses reduced from 1.00% to 0.90%, which will be a direct benefit to long-term passive investors as it will lessen the “drag” on their portfolio returns.
Weekly Credit Bureau Reporting and Loan Eligibility
From this month onwards, the three major credit bureaus (CIBIL, Experian, Equifax) will be updating their data every week. This regulatory move by the RBI ensures that credit card repayments and loan closures are reflected in credit scores within seven days. While this allows disciplined borrowers to improve their loan eligibility almost in real-time, it also means that defaults or high credit utilization are flagged instantly. Financial advisors are now recommending that consumers monitor their reports weekly to catch any discrepancies before applying for high-value mortgages.