New income tax norms, GST changes, UPI payment: List of new money rule changes that will affect your pocket from April 1

Money rule changes from April 1 2025: March 2025 is coming to an end, ushering the beginning of a new financial year from April 1. The financial year 2025-26 will start from April 1, affecting citizens and taxpayers across India.

New income tax rule changes, credit card rule change, UPI rule change and a host of other personal finance rule changes will come into effect from April 1, 2025, which will mark the beginning of FY26.

Here is a list of important April 1 money rule changes that taxpayers and other Indian citizens should know:

New income tax rule change

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget 2025 speech announced new income tax rule changes with new tax slabs and rates. The revised income tax rules will come into effect from April 1. Under the new income tax rules, individuals earning up to ₹12 lakh a year will not need to pay income tax. For salaried individuals, a standard deduction of ₹75,000 will apply, effectively making ₹12.75 lakh salary tax-free under the new tax regime. Additionally, tax slabs have been changed under the new tax regime.

UPI rule change

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced a slew of guidelines to enhance the security of Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Starting April 1, UPI payments from inactive numbers will not be possible. The NPCI has issued guidelines to banks and third-party UPI providers (PhonePe, GooglePay) to implement guidelines to phase out inactive numbers linked to UPI as they pose security risk. If your mobile number linked to UPI has not been used for a long time, update it with your bank before April 1 to avoid losing access to your UPI account.

Credit card rule change

Credit card rules will also change for some cardholders in terms of reward points structure. Those using the SBI Card with SimplyCLICK and Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card will see changes in reward points structures. Axis Bank will revise its Vistara Credit Card benefits after the airline merged with Air India.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) launched by the government in August 2024 will replace the old pension scheme and will come into effect from April 1. New pension scheme rule change will affect around 23 lakh central government employees. Under this, employees with at least 25 years of service will receive a pension equivalent to 50 per cent of their last 12 months’ average basic salary.

Under the new income tax rules, individuals earning up to <span class=’webrupee’>₹</span>12 lakh a year will not need to pay income tax.

Starting April 1, there will be GST rule changes. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) portal will now see a multi-factor authentication (MFA) that has been made mantatory for taxpayers to ensure better security. E-Way Bills (EWBs) can only be generated for base documents that are not older than 180 days.

Minimum balance in bank

SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, and other lenders are updating their minimum balance requirements with the new minimum balance rules starting from April 1. Bank account holders who cannot maintain minimum balance will be penalised.