Income-tax registration, deductions for donors, donation statements, spending rules, returns, GST and TDS, now that the Income-tax Act, 2025 is in force.
10 guides · about 105 minutes of reading · For NGO finance teams and their advisers
Explainer · 13 min read
The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act on 1 April 2026. The rules for charities mostly carried over, but almost every section and form number changed. Here is the map from the old names to the new ones, and what it means for your next filings.
Guide · 12 min read
An NGO’s income is tax-free only if it is registered with the Income Tax Department. Here is how registration works under the 2025 Act: the provisional and regular stages, the forms, the deadlines that catch people out, and how to keep it.
Explainer · 10 min read
Donors can deduct part of what they give to an approved NGO from their taxable income, but the rules are narrower than most people think. Here is how the deduction works since 1 April 2026, with worked examples.
Guide · 9 min read
If your NGO is approved for donors’ deduction, its donors can claim only what it reports. Here is what to file, by when, what to collect from donors and what late or wrong filings cost.
Explainer · 11 min read
A registered NGO keeps its income tax-free only if it spends most of it on its objects in the year, or sets it aside properly. Here is how the 85% rule works since 1 April 2026, with worked examples.
Explainer · 10 min read
Not every donation is treated the same way. Corpus gifts sit outside the 85% rule, large anonymous gifts are taxed at 30%, and gifts in kind, foreign money and CSR funds each come with their own conditions.
Explainer · 10 min read
Charities can earn money, but the Income-tax Act limits how. Here is when fees, sales and other trading are allowed, what the 20% limit means for general public utility charities, and what changed in 2026.
Guide · 10 min read
A registered NGO’s exemption depends on keeping books, having them audited and filing its return on time. 2026 is a changeover year, so here are the old forms for 2025-26, the new ones from 2026-27 and a calendar for both.
Guide · 11 min read
Donations and grants usually carry no GST, but many NGOs also sell, train, rent or take sponsorship, and those can be taxable. Here is how GST applies to charities, with worked examples.
Guide · 9 min read
Trusts, societies and Section 8 companies all deduct tax at source. Here are the payments an NGO deducts on, the rates and thresholds from 1 April 2026, the new form numbers, and what happens if you get it wrong.