Short answer: the charge moves from s.45 to s.67, computation from s.48 to s.72, and the reinvestment exemptions from the 54-series to ss.82–89. Rates and holding periods are unchanged — 20% short-term and 12.5% long-term on listed equity. The one real substantive change is buyback, back to capital-gains treatment from 1 April 2026.
Looking up one section? The two tables below map the whole capital-gains block. For sections outside capital gains, the full old-to-new mapping is the quicker reference; if you are mid-transaction rather than mid-lookup, see capital gains and portfolio taxation or, for property under a development agreement, JDA taxation.
Charge and computation
| Provision | 1961 Act | 2025 Act |
|---|---|---|
| Charge of capital gains | s.45 | s.67 |
| Liquidation distribution | s.46 | s.68 |
| Buyback of shares | s.46A | s.69 |
| Transactions not regarded as transfer | s.47 / s.47A | s.70 / s.71 |
| Mode of computation | s.48 | s.72 |
| Cost with reference to previous owner | s.49 | s.73 |
| Depreciable assets | s.50 / s.50A | s.74 / s.75 |
| Market-linked debentures | s.50AA | s.76 |
| Slump sale | s.50B | s.77 |
| Stamp-duty value on land/building | s.50C | s.78 |
| Unquoted shares FMV | s.50CA | s.79 |
| Advance money forfeited | s.51 | s.81 |
| Cost / improvement definitions | s.55 / s.55A | s.90 / s.91 |
The exemptions — the 54-series becomes 82–89
This is the block most people actually need, and the renumbering is clean and sequential.
| Exemption | 1961 Act | 2025 Act |
|---|---|---|
| Residential house → residential house | s.54 | s.82 |
| Agricultural land | s.54B | s.83 |
| Compulsory acquisition of industrial land/building | s.54D | s.84 |
| Bonds (₹50 lakh cap) | s.54EC | s.85 |
| Any long-term asset → residential house | s.54F | s.86 |
| Shift from urban area / to SEZ | s.54G / s.54GA | s.87 / s.88 |
| Extension of time | s.54H | s.89 |
The conditions have not moved with the numbers: the reinvestment periods, the one-house restriction under Section 86 (ex-54F), the ₹50 lakh ceiling and the six-month window under Section 85 (ex-54EC) all continue as before. What changes is the citation on your working.
Rates for tax year 2026-27
| Provision | ex-1961 | Asset | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| s.196 | s.111A | STT-paid listed equity, equity MF, business-trust units — short term | 20% |
| s.198 | s.112A | The same assets — long term | 12.5% above ₹1,25,000 a year |
| s.197 | s.112 | Other long-term gains | 12.5% without indexation |
Holding periods: 12 months for listed securities and equity mutual funds; 24 months for immovable property and everything else.
The indexation position. The general rule since the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 is 12.5% without indexation. The significant survivor is the option for a resident individual or HUF to compute at 20% with indexation on land or building acquired before 23 July 2024. Because it is an option, both computations should be run and the lower tax adopted — it does not default to the better one.
The cost inflation index for tax year 2026-27 is 384, notified under Section 72(8)(a) of the 2025 Act. The figure for FY 2025-26 was 376.
⚠️ Buyback: a real change, not a renumbering
From 1 April 2026, the Finance Act 2026 moves share buyback back to capital-gains treatment under Section 69, away from the deemed-dividend approach that applied after the buyback-tax sunset. It also imposes an additional tax on promoter shareholders, and confines the treatment to buybacks carried out under Section 68 of the Companies Act, 2013.
If a buyback is in prospect, the tax outcome depends on which side of 1 April 2026 it falls and whether the shareholder is a promoter. That is worth establishing before the transaction, not after.
Separately, the Sovereign Gold Bond maturity exemption has been confined to original subscribers who hold to maturity — so a bond bought on the secondary market no longer carries the same outcome.
What has not changed
Almost everything else. The 2025 Act is a re-codification: same charge, same computation mechanics, same exemptions, same rates, same holding periods. If your working was right under the 1961 Act, it is right under the 2025 Act with the citations updated.
And the year still decides the Act. Gains realised in FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) are computed and returned under the 1961 Act with its old numbering, whenever you file. The 2025 Act numbering applies to gains from 1 April 2026 onwards. See does the Income Tax Act 2025 change your FY 2025-26 return?.
For the sections outside capital gains, the full old-to-new mapping is the quick reference. If the asset sold was foreign — RSUs, ESOPs or an overseas holding — the disclosure side is separate and matters independently of the tax: see Schedule FA from your broker statement.
This is a working reference, not the statute. For anything you are filing or relying on, confirm the section text against the Act or the department's official 1961-vs-2025 comparison utility.