With more granular reporting and enhanced data matching, mismatches are likely to be identified more quickly.
'AIS helps taxpayers check whether all income streams and reportable transactions -- such as interest from old bank accounts, small dividend receipts or transactions across multiple brokers -- have been properly disclosed.' 'Mismatches between these transactions and declared income may trigger automated notices or scrutiny.'
From the financial year 2025-2026, the government has introduced a new column in the tax return form for presumptive taxpayers, requiring them to disclose their year-end investments. This requirement was not present last year.
Proposal forms are often filled by the agent. Check the form after it is filled.
Taxpayers should reconcile returns with AIS, Form 26AS and maintain all supporting records.
Taxability in property transactions depends on the actual source of funds and beneficial ownership, not on whose name appears in the purchase agreement.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Salaried taxpayers should not use these forms blindly to file their income-tax returns.
Recent changes to tax exemptions and allowances, including increased education, hostel, and HRA limits, have made the old tax regime more competitive against the new regime, prompting salaried employees to re-evaluate their choice for the current financial year.
The Income Tax Department has clarified that income from the transfer of investments made before April 1, 2017, is excluded from the scope of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), addressing industry concerns about retrospective application.
Amid the buzz over a split in the ranks of Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray through "Operation Tiger", Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the "operation" has been successful. His deputy and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde said he never leaves an operation incomplete.
A key mistake would be continuing to rely on provisions of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, where the new law now applies, and vice versa.
"Taxpayers with income from shares, mutual funds, crypto, ESOPs, or derivatives often incorrectly use ITR-1 instead of ITR-2 or ITR-3."
LAMF allows investors to access liquidity while staying invested.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions
Read all account documents, ask questions, and conduct basic due diligence before agreeing to become a joint holder.
Despite the Centre's GST 2.0 guidelines aiming to facilitate provisional refunds within seven days for low-risk cases, many large taxpayers are still encountering significant delays in obtaining Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds under the inverted duty structure (IDS), with experts citing inconsistent state-level scrutiny and subjective interpretations.
If you have ever said 'I'll sort retirement later,' now is when 'later' begins.
In the rush to complete tax-saving investments at the end of the financial year, many taxpayers choose instruments that do not match their long-term financial goals.
Rising income feels like success but unchecked lifestyle inflation traps urban professionals into financing a more expensive version of living paycheck-to-paycheck -- buying material upgrades instead of true future financial freedom.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Students and families must stress test repayment capacity based on Indian salary standards.
With duties at 15%, GST at 3%, and making charges running as high as 20% -- the gap between a smart purchase and a careless one can easily be Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 on every Rs 1 lakh invested. And most of that gap is entirely avoidable. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the math.
Around 80 lakh women in Maharashtra have been disqualified from the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme after failing to meet the e-KYC deadline, leading to accusations from opposition parties that the state government is reducing beneficiaries due to financial constraints.
Regular money talks, setting up joint goals, and regular reviews can help couples stay aligned.
Regular money talks, setting up joint goals, and regular reviews can help couples stay aligned.
'Refined carbohydrates are the quiet troublemaker in our diet.' 'We eat plenty of calories, but not enough nutrition.'
India has significantly reduced Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices for international airlines by 27% due to easing global fuel benchmarks, while simultaneously increasing commercial LPG and 5-kg cylinder prices to record highs.
Cross-check key documents, maximise your deductions, avoid errors, and ensure you get your refund smoothly.
Young buyers often underestimate future health risks.
Indian cement manufacturers, despite a stable Q4FY26, are bracing for significant profitability pressures from Q1FY27 onwards due to escalating input costs, primarily driven by the West Asia conflict's impact on coal and petcoke prices.
To meet liquidity pressure because of advance tax outflows this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has adopted a measured approach with its latest announcement of open-market operations (OMOs), worth Rs 1 trillion.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids across Arunachal Pradesh, uncovering a large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network.
'Among corporates, about 60% of income is now reported under the new tax regime.'
Tata Motors' MD and CEO, Girish Wagh, has identified rising diesel prices as the most significant threat to India's commercial vehicle (CV) industry recovery, despite the sector recently surpassing its pre-FY19 wholesale peak. Diesel costs account for 25-50% of a truck operator's total cost of ownership, making any increase a critical concern for fleet economics.
The most common mistake is investing without assessing suitability and long-term implications.
'The software vendor had a black mark against him and yet they went ahead with him. Why was this company shortlisted? Who is responsible for signing off this software?'
Jewellers in Lucknow protest Prime Minister Modi's appeal to defer gold purchases for a year amid the West Asia crisis, fearing significant business losses and economic hardship for those involved in the trade.
Despite a sharp increase in import duties on gold and silver to 15 per cent, the precious metals are trading at significant discounts in the domestic market, with gold seeing discounts of up to $200 an ounce and silver up to $6 an ounce.
'You set up your SIPs and you do not touch them. Not during COVID, not during a war scare, not when your neighbour tells you the market is finished. You let the noise pass over you.' 'The beauty of this approach is that it does not require courage or conviction in the moment. It just requires inertia -- keep the SIP running and do not look at your portfolio too often.'
