Read from the bare Act · not from commentary
Income-tax Act 2025: which section replaced which
The Income-tax Act 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026 and renumbered essentially everything. Income earned up to 31 March 2026 — so FY 2025-26, assessment year 2026-27 — is still governed by the 1961 Act and its old numbers. From tax year 2026-27 onwards, the numbers below are the ones that apply.
The trap: section 112 still exists, and it is now about something else.
Under the 1961 Act, section 112 taxed long-term capital gains. Under the 2025 Act, section 112 is the carry-forward and set-off of business losses, and long-term capital gains moved to section 197 — where, confusingly, the old section 197 used to be the lower-deduction certificate (that is now section 395). A page still saying “taxed under section 112” is not merely out of date; it is pointing at an unrelated provision.
Capital gains — computation
| 1961 Act | 2025 Act | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Section 45 | 67 | Capital gains — the charging section |
| Section 48 | 72 | Mode of computation of capital gains |
| Section 49 | 73 | Cost with reference to certain modes of acquisitionGift, will, succession — the previous owner’s cost carries over |
| Section 50 / 50A | 74 / 75 | Depreciable assets |
| Section 50C | 78 | Full value of consideration in certain casesThe stamp duty value substitution, above a 10% tolerance |
| Section 50CA | 79 | Transfer of a share other than a quoted share |
| Section 50D | 80 | Fair market value deemed to be full value of consideration |
| Section 51 | 81 | Advance money received |
| Section 55 | 90 | Meaning of “adjusted”, “cost of improvement” and “cost of acquisition”Including the 1 April 2001 fair market value and its stamp-duty cap |
| Section 55A | 91 | Reference to a Valuation Officer |
Capital gains — reinvestment exemptions
These are the ones people search for by their old names. Section 54 is now 82, 54EC is 85, and 54F is 86. Note that 84 is not the old 54 — it is the old 54D, compulsory acquisition. Several published mappings get this wrong.
| 1961 Act | 2025 Act | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Section 54 | 82 | Sale of a residential house, reinvested in a houseTwo ₹10 crore ceilings, and the two-house option where the gain is under ₹2 crore |
| Section 54B | 83 | Land used for agricultural purposes |
| Section 54D | 84 | Compulsory acquisition of land and buildings |
| Section 54EC | 85 | Investment in specified bonds₹50 lakh cap, six-month window, five-year lock-in |
| Section 54F | 86 | Any long-term asset, reinvested in a residential houseNeeds the whole net consideration, not just the gain |
| Section 54G | 87 | Shifting an industrial undertaking out of an urban area |
| Section 54GA | 88 | Shifting an industrial undertaking to a SEZ |
| Section 54H | 89 | Extension of time for acquiring or depositing |
Rates
| 1961 Act | 2025 Act | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Section 111A | 196 | Tax on short-term capital gains in certain cases |
| Section 112 | 197 | Tax on long-term capital gainsIncluding the 12.5%-vs-20% cap for land and building acquired before 23 July 2024 |
| Section 112A | 198 | Tax on long-term capital gains in certain cases |
TDS on property
All the deduction provisions were consolidated into section 393, whose first table is headed “payments to resident” and second table covers non-residents. Form 26QB became Form 141, and the certificate Form 16B became Form 132.
| 1961 Act | 2025 Act | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Section 194-IA | 393(1) | TDS on the purchase of immovable property from a resident1%, and the table is headed “payments to resident” |
| Section 195 | 393(2), Table Sl. No. 17 | Any sum chargeable paid to a non-residentRates in force on the whole sum — and no threshold at all |
| Section 197 | 395 | Certificates for lower or nil deductionBoth the payee and the payer may apply |
| Section 203A | 397(1) | Tax deduction and collection account number (TAN)From 1 Oct 2026 a resident individual or HUF buying property from a non-resident is exempted |
Forms
The forms were renumbered too, under the Income-tax Rules 2026. The department’s own pages title them “Form No. 144 (Earlier Form No. 27Q)” and so on, which is the most reliable confirmation available.
| Was | Now | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Form 26QB | Form 141 | Challan-cum-statement, TDS on property bought from a resident |
| Form 16B | Form 132 | TDS certificate for that deduction |
| Form 13 | Form 128 | Application for a lower or nil deduction certificateUnder section 395(1) — the NRI seller’s route, and the buyer may apply under 395(2) |
| Form 27Q | Form 144 | Quarterly TDS return for non-salary payments to non-residents |
| Form 16A | Form 131 | TDS certificate for those payments |
| Form 15CA | Form 145 | Declaration on remitting money abroad |
| Form 15CB | Form 146 | Certificate of an accountant supporting that remittance |
Where these came from
The index and section text of the Income-tax Act 2025 as amended by the Finance Act 2026. Not from summaries — published mappings contradict each other, and the commonest error is to put the exemptions at 85–88 rather than 82–86.
Using these in practice: the capital gains calculator labels every computation with whichever numbering applied on the sale date, and the Form 141 walkthrough covers the buyer’s side.
A reference, not advice. Section numbers change nothing about what you owe — but citing the wrong one in a filing or a notice reply is its own problem.