The new Income Tax (I-T) Act is set to come into force from 1 April 2026, and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has already released the draft Income Tax Rules along with the proposed forms.
Among various amendments, a couple of major changes will be implemented from next month. These include the requirement for a CA's certificate to claim foreign tax credit (FTC) and mandatory disclosure of crypto income.
Foreign tax credit
Taxpayers would need a CA's certificate in order to claim the foreign tax credit when the amount of tax exceeds ₹1 lakh. “When the taxpayer has foreign tax paid exceeding ₹1 lakh, then merely providing documentary evidence would not be enough. They would need to submit a CA's certificate to be able to claim foreign tax credit,” says CA Chirag Chauhan, founder of CA Chauhan & Company.
Rule 76 (new rules) stipulates that a CA verification of the FTC claim (Form No. 44) is mandatory if the assessee is a company or if the total foreign tax paid is more than ₹1 lakh.
About crypto income
Another significant change relates to crypto income. This income will come under the scanner as it will be reflected in the Annual Information Statement/ Taxpayer Information Summary (AIS/TIS).
“The Amended Rules 114-F, 114-G, 114-H now make it mandatory for crypto exchanges to share information with the tax department. Now, it will not be possible to keep any information relating to income earned from cryptocurrencies under wraps,” adds CA Chauhan.
This means crypto investors now face automatic information exchange, which means undisclosed holdings or transactions will be flagged through AIS/TIS data.
New I-T forms
The names of tax forms have also been changed in the new I-T rules. For example, instead of Form 16A, taxpayers will have to use Form 131.
Likewise, 15G and 15H have become 121; Form 26AS has become Form 168, Form 16 has become Form 130; and Form 12BA has become Form 123.
“From the next tax year (financial year), make sure you ask your employer for Form 130. This is because under the Income Tax Act 2025, what you earlier knew as Form 16 will now be issued as Form 130,” says CA Pratibha Goyal, partner of PD Gupta & Company.
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