Five Budget 2026 measures that will impact India's income tax payers

The Union Budget 2026 has introduced a series of measures that will directly impact India’s income tax payers, tightening compliance while offering limited relief on timelines and disclosures.

Here are some of the key changes announced:

• The Union Budget 2026 has kept the income tax return filing timeline unchanged for most individual taxpayers. The government said that the due date for filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 will continue to be July 31, ensuring no disruption for salaried individuals and taxpayers with relatively simple income profiles, including those earning from salary, pension, house property, capital gains and other sources.

• At the same time, the Budget has introduced relief for taxpayers who need to revise their returns. The deadline for filing revised returns has been extended from December 31 to March 31 of the following financial year, subject to payment of a nominal fee. The extension provides an additional three months to correct errors, disclose missed income or update deductions. Officials said the move is likely to benefit taxpayers who identify discrepancies later in the year or receive delayed documents such as revised Form 16 or capital gains statements, reducing the risk of penalties for genuine mistakes.

• At the same time, the Budget takes a tougher stance on tax evasion. The penalty for misreporting income has been increased sharply to 100% of the tax amount involved, signalling a zero-tolerance approach towards deliberate under-reporting and false declarations.

• To address overseas disclosures, the Budget has proposed a six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for small taxpayers. The window is intended to allow individuals to voluntarily declare previously undisclosed foreign assets without facing harsher consequences, particularly benefiting those with minor or inadvertent omissions.

• However, the government has also tightened penalties for non-disclosure. Failure to declare non-immovable foreign assets will now attract penalties, expanding the compliance net beyond property to include financial and other overseas holdings. Together, the measures reflect the government’s attempt to strike a balance between easing compliance for honest taxpayers and strengthening enforcement against misreporting and non-disclosure.

With inputs from agencies