15 sections

Income Tax Act sections, explained

People search for provisions by number, not by name: “44AB”, “section 197”, “80C”. Each page here explains what the provision does, who it binds, and how it works in practice, then points at the guide that carries the worked detail.

Sections are listed under their Income-tax Act, 1961 numbering, which is what practitioners, portals, and search still use. The Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbered these provisions from 1 April 2026 without changing the underlying policy, and the new number is shown wherever the mapping is settled. What changed in the 2025 Act.

Payroll, PF & ESI

1 section

17(2)Perquisites in Salary

Section 17(2) defines perquisites, the non-cash benefits an employer provides that are treated as part of salary and taxed in the employee's hands.

Audit & Assurance

1 section

44ABCompulsory Tax Audit of Accounts

Section 44AB is the provision that forces a business or professional past a turnover threshold to get its accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant and file the report before the return.

Income Tax

7 sections

44ADPresumptive Taxation for Small Businesses

Section 44AD lets an eligible small business declare a fixed percentage of turnover as its income, skipping detailed books and the tax audit that would otherwise follow.

44ADAPresumptive Taxation for Professionals

Section 44ADA is the presumptive scheme for specified professionals, letting them declare half their gross receipts as income without maintaining detailed books or facing a tax audit.

80CDeduction for Specified Investments and Payments

Section 80C is the best-known deduction in Indian tax law, allowing a capped amount of specified investments and payments to be subtracted from taxable income under the old regime.

87ARebate for Small Taxpayers

Section 87A is a rebate that wipes out the tax liability of resident individuals whose total income stays below a threshold, which is why many people pay no tax despite having taxable income.

139(9)Defective Return Notice

Section 139(9) is the provision under which the department tells you your return is incomplete and gives you a limited window to fix it before the return is treated as never filed.

143(1)Intimation After Return Processing

Section 143(1) is the automated processing of your return, and the intimation it produces is the department's arithmetic check telling you it agrees with your figures, owes you a refund, or wants more tax.

245Adjustment of Refund Against Outstanding Demand

Section 245 lets the department set a refund due to you against tax demands outstanding from earlier years, after giving you an opportunity to respond.

Startup & MSME

2 sections

56(2)(viib)Angel Tax on Share Premium

Section 56(2)(viib), long known as angel tax, taxed a closely held company on share premium received above fair market value, treating the excess as its income.

80-IACTax Holiday for Eligible Startups

Section 80-IAC gives a DPIIT-recognised startup a full deduction of its profits for three consecutive years chosen out of its first ten, subject to conditions and a separate approval.

TDS & TCS

3 sections

192TDS on Salary

Section 192 requires an employer to deduct tax from salary at the employee's own average rate, spread across the year, and to issue Form 16 recording what was deducted.

194ATDS on Interest Other Than Securities

Section 194A governs tax deducted on interest paid by banks, post offices, and others, and is the reason tax appears against fixed deposit interest before it reaches your account.

197Certificate for Lower or Nil Rate of TDS

Section 197 lets a taxpayer whose final liability will be lower than the tax being deducted apply to the Assessing Officer for a certificate authorising deduction at a reduced rate or none at all.

International Tax

1 section

195TDS on Payments to Non-Residents

Section 195 requires tax to be deducted from any sum paid to a non-resident that is chargeable to tax in India, at rates set by the Act or the applicable tax treaty, whichever is more favourable.