Income-tax Act 2025 Section Mapping: Old 1961 Sections to New Section Numbers

The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed on 1 April 2026. Its replacement, the Income-tax Act, 2025, keeps most of the substance but renumbers almost everything — 44AD is now Section 58, 143(2) is 270(8), 270A is 439, and the whole 194-series of TDS sections is a single Section 393 with tables.

This page maps the old numbers to the new ones for the provisions we see every week in practice. Every row was checked against the text of the Act as amended by the Finance Act 2026 — not taken from a secondary list.

“Tax year” replaces “previous year” and “assessment year.” Under the new Act, income of the year 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027 is simply the income of tax year 2026-27. There is no separate assessment year. Searches, forms and most people will still say “FY”, and that is fine — FY 2026-27 and tax year 2026-27 are the same twelve months.

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Returns, processing and assessment

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
139(1)	263(1)	Return of income, due dates
139(4)	263(4) — within 9 months from the end of the tax year	Belated return
139(5)	263(5) — within 12 months from the end of the tax year (fee after 9 months)	Revised return
139(8A)	263(6) — within 48 months from the end of the year following the tax year	Updated return (ITR-U)
139(9)	263(7)	Defective return
140A	266	Self-assessment tax
142(1)	268	Inquiry before assessment
143(1)	270(1) — time limit in 270(4)	Processing and intimation
143(2)	270(8) — time limit in 270(9)	Scrutiny notice
143(3)	270(10)	Scrutiny assessment order
144	271	Best judgment assessment
144B	273	Faceless assessment
154	287	Rectification of mistake
156	289	Notice of demand

Reassessment

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
147	279	Income escaping assessment
148	280	Notice for reassessment
148A	281	Procedure before the notice (show-cause)
149	282	Time limits for the notice
153	286	Time limits for completing assessment and reassessment

Business income, books, audit and presumptive tax

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
28	26	Profits and gains of business or profession — charge
29	27	Manner of computing business income
32	33	Depreciation
36(1)(vii)	31	Bad debts
37(1)	34	General deductions
40	35	Amounts not deductible — including 40(a)(ia) TDS default and 40(b) partner remuneration
40A	36	Expenses not deductible in certain cases — including related-party and cash payments
43B	37	Deduction only on actual payment
44AA	62	Maintenance of books of account
44AB	63	Tax audit
44AD / 44ADA / 44AE	58 (limits, rates and the five-year rule unchanged)	Presumptive taxation — business, profession, goods carriages

Capital gains

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
45	67	Capital gains — charge
48	72	Mode of computation
49	73	Cost with reference to certain modes of acquisition
50	74	Depreciable assets
50AA	76	Market-linked debentures
50B	77	Slump sale
50C	78	Stamp-duty value as sale consideration (land and building)
50CA	79	Unquoted shares — fair market value
50D	80	Fair market value where consideration cannot be determined
54	82	Exemption — residential house sold, house bought
54B	83	Exemption — agricultural land
54D	84	Exemption — compulsory acquisition
54EC	85	Exemption — investment in specified bonds
54F	86	Exemption — any long-term asset sold, house bought
111A	196	Tax on short-term gains on listed equity (20%)
112	197	Tax on long-term gains (12.5%)
112A	198	Tax on long-term gains on listed equity (12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh)

Set-off and carry-forward of losses

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
70	108	Set-off within the same head
71	109	Set-off against other heads
71B	110	House property loss carried forward
72	112	Business loss carried forward
73	113	Speculation loss
74	111	Capital loss carried forward
80	121	Loss must be in a return filed by the due date

Section 121 is the one F&O traders should know: a loss is carried forward only if it was determined on a return filed under Section 263(1) — on time. The rule did not soften.

Salary, house property and other sources

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
15 / 17	15–16; 17–18	Salary; perquisites
16	19	Deductions from salary (standard deduction)
22 / 23 / 24	20 / 21 / 22	House property — charge, annual value, deductions
56 / 57	92 / 93	Income from other sources; deductions

Unexplained income

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
68	102	Unexplained cash credits
69 / 69B	103	Unexplained or understated investments
69A	104	Unexplained money, bullion, jewellery
69C	105	Unexplained expenditure
69D	106	Amount borrowed or repaid on hundi
115BBE	195	Tax on income under the sections above

Deductions (old Chapter VI-A)

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
80C	123	Life insurance, PF, ELSS and similar
80CCD	124–125	NPS contributions — employee and employer
80D	126	Health insurance
80DD / 80DDB	127 / 128	Disabled dependant; specified illnesses
80E	129	Interest on education loan
80EE / 80EEA	130 / 131	Interest on home loan (specified cases)
80G	133	Donations
80GG	134	Rent paid
80TTA / 80TTB	153	Interest on deposits
80U	154	Person with disability
87A	156	Rebate
89	157	Relief for salary arrears

Tax regimes and rates

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
115BAC	202	New tax regime — individuals and HUFs
115BA / 115BAA / 115BAB	199 / 200 / 201	Concessional company rates
90 / 91	159 / 160	Double taxation relief — treaty and non-treaty

Interest, fees and penalties

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
220	411	Due date of demand; assessee in default
221	412	Penalty when tax in default
234A	423	Interest — late return
234B	424	Interest — advance tax shortfall
234C	425	Interest — deferment of advance tax
234D	426	Interest on excess refund
234E	427	Fee — late TDS/TCS statement
234F	428(a) — ₹1,000 / ₹5,000	Fee — late return
244A	437	Interest on refunds
270A	439	Penalty — under-reporting and misreporting
271A	441	Failure to keep books
271AAD	444	False entries in books
271B	Now a fee under 428(c) — ₹75,000 for a delay up to one month, ₹1,50,000 after	Failure to get accounts audited
271C	448	Failure to deduct TDS
271CA	449	Failure to collect TCS
271FA	454	Late statement of financial transactions (SFT)

TDS, TCS, advance tax and cash limits

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
192	392	TDS on salary
193–194T	393(1) and 393(3) — tables with payment codes	TDS on payments to residents
195	393(2)	TDS on payments to non-residents
197	395	Lower or nil deduction certificate
200 / 203A	397	Deductor’s statements; TAN
201	398	Assessee in default (deductor)
206C	394	TCS
207–211	403–408	Advance tax — liability, computation, instalments
269SS	185	Loans and deposits only through banking channels (₹20,000)
269ST	186	Cash receipts of ₹2 lakh or more
269T	188	Repayment of loans and deposits through banking channels

Every TDS row, payment code and form is in our TDS rate chart for FY 2026-27 under Section 393, which also has a printable PDF.

Appeals and revision

Old section (1961)	New section (2025)	What it covers
246A	357	Orders appealable to CIT(A)
249	358	Form of appeal and limitation
253	362	Appeal to ITAT
260A	365	Appeal to High Court
263	377	Revision of orders prejudicial to revenue
264	378	Revision of other orders

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What changed beyond the numbering

Most of the renumbering is cosmetic. These changes, all in the text of the Act as amended by the Finance Act 2026, are not:

1. Revised returns get twelve months. Section 263(5) allows a revised return within twelve months from the end of the tax year — for tax year 2026-27, until 31 March 2028, where the old nine-month rule would have stopped at 31 December 2027. A revised return filed after nine months attracts a fee under Section 428(b): ₹1,000 where total income is up to ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 otherwise.

2. An updated return can now answer a reassessment notice. Under Section 263(6)(b)(ii), a person who receives a notice under Section 280 (the old 148) may respond by filing an updated return within the time in the notice. The old Act barred an updated return once reassessment had begun.

3. A narrow opening for loss years. Section 263(6)(b)(i) allows an updated return for a year in which a loss return was filed on time, if the updated return is a return of income or reduces the loss. An updated return still cannot create or increase a loss.

4. The tax-audit penalty became a fixed fee. The old 271B penalty — 0.5% of turnover, capped at ₹1.5 lakh — is gone for the new Act. Failing to get accounts audited under Section 63 now attracts a fee under Section 428(c) of ₹75,000 for a delay of up to one month and ₹1,50,000 after that, regardless of turnover. For small businesses with an audit obligation this is a sharper cost than before.

5. TDS identifies payments by code, not section. Non-salary TDS sits in Section 393’s tables. Returns (Forms 140 and 144, replacing 26Q and 27Q) identify each payment by a four-digit payment code, and a return quoting an old section for a post-April payment fails validation.

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How to use this map

• Reading a notice? Check which year it concerns first. A notice for AY 2026-27 or earlier cites 1961 sections — reply under those. Our income-tax notice reply practice and guides to 143(1) intimations and 148A reassessment notices are written for exactly those cases.
• Deducting TDS on a payment made after 1 April 2026? Use Section 393 and the payment code, not the old section.
• Presumptive or audit decisions for tax year 2026-27? The limits in Section 58 and Section 63 are the same as 44AD/44ADA and 44AB — see our 44AD and 44ADA guide and F&O tax audit guide.
• Agreements, invoices and board resolutions that quote section numbers should be updated for anything effective after 1 April 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Section 44AD called in the Income-tax Act 2025?

Presumptive taxation under old Sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE is now Section 58 of the Income-tax Act 2025. The turnover limits, presumptive rates and the five-year rule are unchanged.

What is the new section for tax audit under 44AB?

Tax audit is Section 63 of the Income-tax Act 2025. The penalty for not getting accounts audited has been replaced by a fee under Section 428(c): ₹75,000 for a delay of up to one month and ₹1,50,000 after that.

Which section replaces 143(1) and 143(2)?

Processing of returns and intimations (old 143(1)) is Section 270(1). The scrutiny notice (old 143(2)) is Section 270(8), with the time limit in 270(9), and the scrutiny order (old 143(3)) is 270(10).

Do notices issued in 2026 use the old section numbers?

Yes, if they concern AY 2026-27 or an earlier year. Section 536 of the new Act keeps the 1961 Act in operation for those years, so the notice and your reply use 1961 numbers. The new numbers apply from tax year 2026-27.

What replaced the assessment year?

The Income-tax Act 2025 uses a single “tax year” — the twelve months from 1 April to 31 March in which the income is earned. Tax year 2026-27 is the same period as FY 2026-27; there is no separate assessment year.

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Related reading

• TDS Rate Chart FY 2026-27 — Section 393 with Payment Codes
• Income-tax Notice Reply Services
• Section 148A Reassessment Notice: Time Limits and How to Reply
• 44AD & 44ADA Presumptive Taxation
• ITR for F&O Traders: Turnover, Tax Audit and ITR-3