From AY/FY to Tax Year: New Income Tax & TDS Form Numbers from 1 April 2026

 

From 1 April 2026, the new Income-tax Act, 2025 and Draft Income-tax Rules, 2026 will overhaul the way we refer to years and forms in Indian income tax compliance. The biggest changes are the replacement of “Assessment Year/Financial Year” with a single Tax Year and the renumbering of popular forms like Form 16, 16A, 24Q, 26Q, 27Q and 26AS.

 

One Unified Term: Tax Year (No More AY/FY)

So far, we have always used a combination of Previous Year (PY) and Assessment Year (AY) for income tax. Under the new law, these legacy terms will be phased out and replaced by a single, simpler term – Tax Year.

• The Tax Year will still run from 1 April to 31 March, just like the current financial year.
• Income will be earned, reported and assessed for the same Tax Year, instead of separate references to PY and AY.
• Portals, utilities and ITR instructions will gradually shift their labels and dropdowns from AY/FY to Tax Year for periods starting 1 April 2026.

This removes the common confusion of “AY X–Y for income of FY X–1–Y–1” and brings India closer to global practice of using a single tax year label.

 

Form 26AS Becomes Form 168 (Annual Tax Statement)

The familiar Form 26AS – your consolidated tax credit/passbook – will also change its identity.

• Form 26AS will be renumbered as Form 168 under the Draft Income-tax Rules, 2026.
• It will continue to show TDS/TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, refunds and specified high-value transactions linked to your PAN.
• Its functional role remains similar; what changes is the form number and the referencing in law and utilities.

In effect, whenever you see Form 168 – Annual Tax Statement after 1 April 2026, think of it as the new avatar of your old Form 26AS.

 

New Numbers for Key TDS Forms (16, 16A, 24Q, 26Q, 27Q)

The Draft Income-tax Rules, 2026 introduce a new, more logical numbering system for TDS/TCS forms. For day-to-day compliance, the most relevant mappings are:​​

Existing Form	Purpose	New Form No. (from Tax Year 2026–27)
Form 16	TDS certificate for salary	Form 130
Form 16A	TDS certificate for non-salary payments	Form 131​
Form 24Q	Quarterly TDS statement for salary	Form 138​
Form 26Q	Quarterly TDS statement for resident non-salary TDS	Form 140​
Form 27Q	Quarterly TDS statement for non-resident payments	Form 144​
Form 26AS	Annual tax credit / information statement	Form 168

These new numbers will appear in:

• TDS certificates issued to employees and deductees.
• Quarterly TDS returns filed by employers, banks, and other deductors.
• E-filing utilities, CPC communications and statutory references under the new Act.​​

The underlying compliance (who files, when, and what data) is largely unchanged; the shift is mainly in nomenclature and numbering.

 

Other Important Renumbering You Should Know

Beyond the core TDS forms, several other commonly used income-tax forms are also being renumbered to fit the new matrix.​

Some important examples:

• Tax audit report: Old Forms 3CA/3CB/3CD → New Form 26.
• Transfer pricing report: Old Form 3CEB → New Form 48.
• TCS return: Old Form 27EQ → New Form 143.​
• Lower/Nil TDS certificate: Old Form 13 → New Form 128.​​
• Foreign remittance reporting: Old Form 15CA/15CB → New Forms 145/146.

These changes are part of a broader attempt to create logical blocks of form numbers (for audit, TDS/TCS, registrations, appeals, etc.) under the new Act.

 

What Stays the Same Despite New Names

For most taxpayers and even many small businesses, the substance of compliance remains familiar.

• The tax year continues to be 1 April to 31 March; only the labels AY/FY/PY are replaced by Tax Year.
• TDS deduction rules, broad rates and due dates are not drastically overhauled by the renumbering itself.​​
• Your ITR will still rely on reconciliation of AIS, TIS and the new Form 168 (old 26AS) before filing.

Experts have clarified that this is a structural and administrative reset of forms, not a hidden tax hike or compliance burden increase.

 

How Taxpayers, Businesses and Professionals Should Prepare

To avoid confusion during the transition from AY/FY and old form numbers to the new system, it helps to prepare early.

• Start referring to periods as “Tax Year 2026–27” instead of “AY 2027–28 / FY 2026–27” in your internal notes and client communication.
• Update your checklists, SOPs, engagement letters and templates to include both old and new form numbers (e.g., “Form 130 (old Form 16)”) for at least the first year.
• Ensure your accounting and tax software is updated to the new form numbers before the first TDS filing or certificate generation in the new Tax Year.​​
• Train staff and explain to clients that Form 26AS = Form 168, Form 16 = Form 130, etc., so that documents can be easily traced and understood.

For CAs and tax practitioners, it will also be important to track final CBDT notifications, as these mappings are based on the Draft Rules, 2026 and may see fine-tuning before they become fully effective.