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NEW DELHI: As the new financial year begins on April 1, 2025, a host of regulatory and financial changes will come into effect, impacting taxpayers, digital payment users, and pensioners alike. From a revised income tax slab to changes in UPI regulations and the introduction of the Unified Pension Scheme, these updates are set to reshape personal finance for millions across the country.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her recent budget announcement, introduced changes in tax slabs, including an increase in the income tax exemption limit to Rs12 lakh per annum. Meanwhile, digital payment platforms will see stricter compliance measures, such as the deactivation of UPI for long-unused mobile numbers.
Here are the major changes taking effect from April 1:
Lower tax burden: Income tax liability to come down by up to 1.1 lakh annually for those under the new tax regime. Under the new regime tax rebate available to those earning up to 12 lakh annually, against 7 lakh earlier.
TDS relief: The limit on interest earned by senior citizens to be doubled to 1 lakh a year; annual limit on rent hiked from 2.4 lakh to 6 lakh.
Remittances get less taxing: Threshold for tax collected at source raised from 7 lakh to 10 lakh, no TCS on remittances for education funded through loans from banks, select financial institutions.
Pension bonanza for babus: Central govt employees, who joined from 2004, will get the option to shift to the Unified Pension Scheme, offering assured pension of 50% of last pay drawn, inflation adjustment and 10,000 monthly payout after serving for 10 years.
More toll on highways: Toll on NH to rise by around 3% as govt allows annual hike to cover price increases.
Medicines to cost more: Prices of around 800 medicines to go up marginally as drug price regulator allows for inflation adjustment.
Gas prices rise: CNG, piped natural gas may cost more as govt allows for price hike on domestically produced gas from legacy fields.
Security check for UPI: Banks, third-party providers to implement measures to phase out inactive numbers.
GST tweaks: Generation of e-way bills and e-invoices will need multi factor authentication. A new Input Service Distributor mechanism will also be implemented.
Small loans: Banks can extend home loans up to 50 lakh in metro cities under priority sector lending norms.