A year label needs the document's context. In India, financial year 2025-26 and assessment year 2026-27 can describe linked records for the same income period. Tax year 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act, 2025 refers to a different income period.
The Income Tax Department's current guidance explains the transition. Tax-year terminology applies from 1 April 2026 to income earned during FY 2026-27 onwards. Older assessment-year records still exist for periods covered by the earlier law. This article explains dates and document labels, not a filing choice or tax liability.
The financial year describes the income period
An Indian financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. FY 2025-26 therefore covers 1 April 2025 through 31 March 2026. FY 2026-27 covers 1 April 2026 through 31 March 2027.
The two-number label reflects a period crossing calendar years. A transaction dated 15 January 2026 belongs to the financial year ending in March 2026, even though its calendar-year number is 2026.
A transaction dated 15 April 2026 belongs to the following financial year. Sorting both records into a folder called 2026 without another date description loses that distinction.
What an older assessment-year label refers to
Under the earlier terminology, the assessment year followed the financial year in which the income was earned. For income during FY 2025-26, the corresponding assessment-year label is AY 2026-27.
Consider a fictional interest statement covering April 2025 through March 2026 and a related tax document marked AY 2026-27. The year printed on the second document does not move the interest into April 2026 through March 2027.
The connection is between the documents' meanings, not just their printed numbers. Keeping both the financial-year dates and the assessment-year label makes that connection visible without rewriting the original record.
Tax year 2026-27 is a current income period
The new Act uses tax year for the relevant income period. Tax year 2026-27 corresponds to income earned from 1 April 2026 through 31 March 2027. It therefore differs from AY 2026-27 under the older framework.
Two documents can carry the suffix 2026-27 and refer to different underlying dates. The Income Tax Department's general questions distinguish older AY-related matters from Tax Year 2026-27 onwards. Existing and earlier-period matters continue under the relevant transition provisions.
The practical record issue is avoiding a one-year shift. A transaction does not change date because a form uses a newer label, and an older notice does not become meaningless because terminology changed.
A fictional record example
Suppose a fictional account receives ₹2,000 of interest on 31 March 2026 and ₹2,100 on 30 April 2026. The receipt dates fall on opposite sides of the financial-year boundary.
A cashflow list grouped by receipt date places the first payment in the period ending March 2026 and the second in the period ending March 2027. That describes cash timing only. Whether a tax calculation recognises income on receipt or another basis requires the applicable rules and records.
A useful archive identifies the document type, printed year label, start and end dates and the transaction dates it supports. A file named only Interest 2026 cannot communicate all four facts. Separate references also prevent the same receipt appearing in two annual summaries.
Calendar settings do not select a tax law
FinTarget lets users configure a financial-year start month. Choosing April makes its financial-year views follow an April-to-March reporting window. The analytics documentation explains the available summaries and filters.
Those settings group recorded transactions for analysis. FinTarget does not choose a governing tax Act, prepare an Indian return or determine taxable income. The official document's year label and underlying dates remain necessary when comparing a dashboard total with an assessment, statement or return record.