New Rules from January 1, 2026: Complete These 4 Essential Tasks Before Year-End to Avoid Significant Losses

New Rules 1 January 2026: December 31, 2025, is the last day for several important deadlines that could directly impact your wallet. Before the year ends, complete these four tasks related to car purchases, investments, PAN-Aadhaar linking, and taxes.

New Rules 1 January 2026: The new year 2026 is about to begin, and December 31, 2025, is the last day for many deadlines. Delaying tasks related to buying cars, investments, and taxes could cost you more money or result in the loss of facilities. Let's look at four important tasks that need to be completed by December 31.

A Cheaper Opportunity to Buy a Car

• If you are planning to buy a new car, hurry up. Several auto companies have announced price increases starting January 1, 2026.
• JSW MG Motor has announced a price hike of up to 2% on all its cars (ICE and EV).
• Luxury companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW will also see a hike of 2-3%.
• Companies like Honda, Renault, and Nissan are also increasing prices.
• Tata Motors and Mahindra may also announce a hike soon, while Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have not made any announcements yet.

The main reasons for the price increase are input costs, the weakening rupee, and logistics expenses. If you book by December 31, you can still get the car at current prices.

Invest in Small Savings Schemes

• The RBI reduced the repo rate by 0.25% to 5.25% on December 5, 2025. This affects the interest rates of bank FDs and Small Savings Schemes.
• The government reviews these rates every quarter (January-March, April-June, etc.).
• New rates for January-March 2026 are expected to be announced around December 31, 2025.
• Experts estimate that rates may decrease because a lower repo rate provides cheaper funds to banks.

If you plan to invest in schemes like PPF, NSC, Sukanya Samriddhi, or SCSS, do so by December 31 to benefit from the current higher rates.

Link PAN to Aadhaar

• December 31, 2025, is the last date for PAN-Aadhaar linking for some individuals (especially those who obtained PAN using their Aadhaar enrollment ID).
• If not linked, your PAN will become inoperative from January 1, 2026. Failure to complete this task could prevent you from filing your ITR, receiving refunds, lead to a halt in bank/mutual fund transactions, and result in higher TDS deductions.
• You can easily link your PAN and Aadhaar through the online Income Tax portal or via SMS. A penalty of ₹1,000 may be levied for delays.

File Belated ITR

The deadline to file a belated Income Tax Return for the financial year 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) is December 31, 2025.
If you do not file by this date, your refund will be permanently stuck, and you may receive a notice and face penalties. Please note that you can file an ITR-U after December 31, but you will have to pay extra tax penalties (ranging from 25% to 70%).