AY 2026-27 or Tax Year 2026-27: Which to Pick on the Portal

Pick by when the income was earned. For income earned from April 2025 to March 2026, choose the Income-tax Act, 1961 and AY 2026-27. For income earned from April 2026 to March 2027, choose the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Tax Year 2026-27.

The two labels look alike but cover different income. AY 2026-27 is last year's income. Tax Year 2026-27 is this year's income, the year the old Act would have called AY 2027-28. Picking the wrong one on a challan credits your money to the wrong year, which is how people end up with a demand for tax they have paid.

Why the portal shows both

The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026 and names each year once, as the "tax year". Section 536 of the new Act keeps the 1961 Act in charge of everything for years that began before 1 April 2026: returns, notices, rectifications, demands and refunds. So in 2026 the portal carries both systems at once. Its home page says payments can be made under the 1961 Act for dues up to FY 2025-26 and under the 2025 Act for Tax Year 2026-27 onwards, from the same payment screen.

The background is in which law applies to your return or notice.

The quick reference

One shortcut: if the matter is about a return you have already filed, it is under the 1961 Act with an assessment year. Returns under the 2025 Act start with Tax Year 2026-27, which ends on 31 March 2027, so they are filed in 2027.

On a challan

A challan needs three things right: the year, the major head (who is paying, for example income tax other than companies) and the minor head (what the payment is for). The minor heads you are most likely to use are:

• 100 for advance tax
• 300 for self-assessment tax
• 400 for tax on regular assessment, which is how you pay a demand

Advance tax is always for the year you are in. Any advance tax you pay between now and 15 March 2027 is for Tax Year 2026-27. Self-assessment tax is for a year that has ended, so a payment you make now for FY 2025-26 income goes under AY 2026-27. A demand is paid for the year printed on the demand.

Before you leave the payment screen, read the year and minor head on the receipt (the challan counterfoil). That is the moment to catch a slip.

A worked example

Anita is salaried and also earns rent on which no tax is deducted. After her employer's TDS, she expects to owe ₹1,00,000 of tax for April 2026 to March 2027, so by 15 September 2026 she should have paid 45% of it as advance tax, which is ₹45,000. She paid ₹15,000 in June. On 14 September she pays ₹30,000 more but selects AY 2026-27 out of habit.

• The ₹30,000 is now recorded against last year's income, not Tax Year 2026-27.
• For Tax Year 2026-27, her advance tax still shows only ₹15,000, well short of the September instalment. Interest for deferring advance tax is charged under section 425 of the 2025 Act, which replaces section 234C. For the June, September and December instalments it is 3% of the shortfall. Her ₹15,000 is below the 36% she needs by 15 September to escape it, so the September figure alone would be 3% of ₹30,000, which is ₹900.
• She spots it on 17 September, three days later, and files a challan correction changing the year to Tax Year 2026-27. The money moves to the right year before any interest is worked out.

Had she noticed in November instead, the online correction would no longer have been open for the year field. The steps below explain why.

Fixing a wrong year on a challan

The portal's Challan Correction service can change the year, the major head and the minor head, under these limits:

• Year (Tax Year or Assessment Year): within 7 days of the challan deposit date.
• Major head or minor head: within 30 days of the deposit date.
• Minor heads can be changed online only between 100, 300 and 400.
• One correction request per challan, and the challan must not already have been used in processing a return.
• Challans from AY 2020-21 onwards are covered. Anything else, or anything outside these windows, goes to your Jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

To file it:

1. Log in at incometax.gov.in.
2. Go to Services > Challan Correction and click Create Challan Correction Request.
3. Pick the challan and choose the field to correct.
4. Enter the right year or head, submit, and e-verify the request.

For a challan that already left you with a demand, the walkthrough in paid the tax but got a demand: challan mistakes covers the full process.

On e-Nivaran

The grievance form asks for the Applicable Act (Income Tax Act, 2025 or Income Tax Act, 1961) and then the AY or TY for the category you pick. The menu is Grievances > Submit Grievance. Use the same test: a refund, intimation, demand or return for AY 2026-27 or earlier goes under the 1961 Act with the assessment year. A matter about income or tax from 1 April 2026 goes under the 2025 Act with the tax year. The e-Nivaran guide maps common problems to the right department and category.

On returns, rectification and refunds

Everything about the return you filed this year is labelled AY 2026-27: the ITR form, the rectification request under section 154 and the refund status. Returns for Tax Year 2026-27 will be filed under section 263 of the 2025 Act from 2027, and their intimations will come under section 270(1).

If you track returns for several family members, myutils.me lists each PAN's filings, refunds, demands, tax deposits and challans by assessment year after you add the PAN or press Sync, so a payment filed under the wrong year is easier to spot. It is an independent app, and corrections are still made on the portal.

FAQ

Is Tax Year 2026-27 the same as AY 2026-27?

No. AY 2026-27 covers income from April 2025 to March 2026, under the 1961 Act. Tax Year 2026-27 covers income from April 2026 to March 2027, under the 2025 Act.

Which year do I pick for advance tax due on 15 December 2026?

Tax Year 2026-27, under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Advance tax is always paid for the income of the year you are in.

I paid self-assessment tax for FY 2025-26 under Tax Year 2026-27. What now?

If it is within 7 days of the deposit date, change the year to AY 2026-27 through Services > Challan Correction on the portal. After 7 days, the year cannot be changed online, so write to your Jurisdictional Assessing Officer with the challan details.

Which Act do I choose on e-Nivaran for a refund of the return I filed in 2026?

The Income Tax Act, 1961, with AY 2026-27. Refunds for AY 2026-27 and earlier remain under the 1961 Act.

Sources

• Challan correction request: user manual (e-Filing portal)
• Submit grievance: user manual (e-Filing portal)
• Income Tax e-Filing portal home page (payments under both Acts)
• Income-tax Act, 2025, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026 (Income Tax Department)
• Section 425, Income-tax Act, 2025: interest for deferment of advance tax
• Section 536, Income-tax Act, 2025: repeal and savings