The upcoming month brings a mix of new rules for taxes, banking, and even clean energy. Key changes include a June 15 advance tax deadline under the Income Tax Act 2025, stricter UPI recipient verification, and stricter SEBI trading margin rules.
Here are some of the major financial changes taking effect in June 2026:
Advance tax deadline
The deadline for paying the first advance tax instalment for the financial year 2026-27 is June 15, one of the most significant dates in the month. Taxpayers with estimated net tax liability over ₹10,000 must pay 15% of their advance tax, with a 1% monthly penalty for delays.
Importantly, this is the first advance tax cycle that fully operates within the recently introduced structure of the Income Tax Act 2025 and the Income Tax Rules 2026.
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In the meantime, under the old tax system, salaried people are also dealing with updated exemption limits. The hostel allowance exemption has increased to ₹9,000 per month, while the Children Education Allowance exemption has increased from ₹100 to ₹3,000 per child per month. Additionally, the 50% House Rent Allowance (HRA) exemption category now includes major cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
SEBI 50:50 margin rule
Futures and Options (F&O) traders must keep their trading account balance strictly balanced with SEBI’s fully enforced 50:50 cash-to-collateral margin rule. At least 50% of the required trading margin must be in cash or cash equivalent instruments. The traders can no longer rely solely on pledged shares to cover their trading margins.
Banking adjustments
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is launching a major transparency feature to prevent digital fraud. Moving forward, whenever a user scans a QR code or types in a mobile number, UPI apps will display the recipient’s verified bank-registered name directly on the screen.
This update removes custom nicknames and unverified tags, making it much tougher for scammers to deceive users. Alongside this safety measure, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is testing a new system to allow instant provident fund withdrawals via UPI, offering a much faster choice than old clearance methods.
Everyday banking is getting slightly pricier, as several commercial banks are increasing their service fees for ATM cash withdrawals, mini-statement requests, and balance inquiries.
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Starting June 1, several credit card providers are expected to update their fees and reward structures, with Kotak Mahindra Bank introducing significant revisions. Kotak cardholders will face new caps on reward points earned from utility bills, fuel, rent, and insurance, alongside a reduced redemption value for accumulated points.
Additionally, a flat 1% transaction fee will now apply to all rent and education payments. For categories like utility bills, wallet loads, online gaming, and fuel, a 1% fee will kick in once a customer crosses a specific spending limit per statement cycle.
While most users will see a 1% fee on fuel after exceeding these limits, certain cards, including White Reserve, Solitaire, Infinite, Signature, IndianOil, and Myntra Kotak cards, are exempt from this specific fuel charge.
Meanwhile, Bank of Baroda is increasing the interest rate on unpaid dues for its One co-branded credit card from 3.49% to 3.75% per month, starting June 23. In another major change, ICICI Bank will stop offering its 1% reward point benefit on rent payments made through the Amazon Pay credit card, effective June 18.
Additionally, HDFC Bank will stop sending SMS alerts for small transactions starting June 25; customers will only receive phone text messages for UPI payments above ₹100 for money sent and above ₹500 for money received. However, the bank confirmed that users can still track all of their transaction updates via email.
Solar policies
Clean energy projects in India face tighter regulations as the government enforces strict compliance deadlines starting June 1. Under the new solar panel rules, all government-backed, subsidised, or net-metered solar installations must exclusively use solar modules from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).
With no further policy extensions available, this domestic manufacturing mandate is expected to temporarily drive-up solar setup costs.
