# Business taxpayers must file Form 10-IEA to opt out of new tax regime 2026-08-24T09:52:11+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) Taxpayers with business or professional income cannot simply tick a box to opt out of the default new tax regime. They must also furnish Form 10-IEA within the prescribed deadline, or the income tax department will process the return under the default regime, potentially triggering a demand even if total income is below Rs 12 lakh, Livemint reports. The new tax regime is the default. Individuals with only salary, interest or other non-business income can switch regimes each year by selecting the appropriate box. But those earning business or professional income face stricter rules: they cannot move freely between regimes year after year and get only one chance to return to the new regime after opting for the old one. Livemint cites a case where a taxpayer with income of Rs 11,75,590 selected the old regime but did not file Form 10-IEA. The department processed the return under the new regime and issued a tax demand of Rs 1,82,740. The taxpayer rectified the position before the August 31 deadline. Tax experts advise evaluating tax positions over several years, not just the current year. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources, from the same outlet Livemint, are neutral-report: they explain the compliance requirement without advocating for or against the government. The story's practical value lies in the warning that the Rs 12 lakh threshold does not guarantee zero tax for business taxpayers. The key takeaway is that a procedural lapse, missing Form 10-IEA, can override the headline relief. The August 31 deadline for furnishing the form is the date to watch. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - livemint.com (neutral report) Straight explanatory piece on Form 10-IEA compliance, no slant. - livemint.com (2) (neutral report) Repeats same compliance warning in neutral instructional tone. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-24T14:57:26+00:00. Tags: Ankit Gupta, Form 10-IEA, income tax department Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/form-10-iea-must-for-business-taxpayers-to-opt-out-of-new-tax-regime/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/form-10-iea-must-for-business-taxpayers-to-opt-out-of-new-tax-regime/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/