Income-tax Act 2025: what actually changed for freelancers (and what didn't)

The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act on 1 April 2026. Most coverage treats it as a renumbering exercise. For freelancers, five changes are real — and knowing what didn’t change matters just as much.

The five changes you actually feel

1. Every section you knew has a new number. 44ADA is now inside s.58, 115BAC is s.202, 87A is s.156, 234A/B/C are s.423–425, and all TDS lives in one table under s.393. Our full mapping guide translates the old world to the new one.

2. “Assessment year” is gone. The new Act uses one term — tax year — for the year you earn. FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) is the last return filed under the old Act.

3. The regime opt-out moved into the return. Form 10-IEA is history: under Rule 136 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, you exercise (or withdraw) the old-regime option inside the return itself. The once-in-a-lifetime switch-back rule for business income carries over unchanged.

4. Non-audit business filers get 31 August. The Finance Act, 2026 made a permanent third due date: ITR-3/ITR-4 filers without audit now file by 31 August — between the 31 July salaried date and the 31 October audit date.

5. Intermediaries can finally export. IGST s.13(8)(b) was omitted with effect from 30 March 2026 — agents and facilitators serving foreign clients can now qualify for zero-rated export of services, subject to the usual conditions. (Some practitioners advise confirming the enforcement position with CBIC before relying on it for refunds — we’ll cover this in detail with our export tool.)

What stayed exactly the same

• The new-regime slab table (nil to ₹4L … 30% above ₹24L) and the ₹60,000 rebate up to ₹12 lakh — Budget 2026 changed nothing here.
• Presumptive percentages and limits: 50% for specified professions (₹50L/₹75L), 6%/8% for business (₹2cr/₹3cr), the 5% cash test.
• Advance-tax dates, including the presumptive single instalment by 15 March (now s.408(2)).
• Interest at 1% per month, simple (now ss.423–425).
• GST — a different law, untouched.

What to do about it

Nothing dramatic — but check three things this year: which Act governs the return you’re filing right now (FY 2025-26 is still the old one), whether your saved tax-content bookmarks are quoting dead section numbers, and whether your presumptive track is what you assumed it was. Our calculator runs both years on the verified rates.