Form 10F retired on 1 April 2026. Form 41 takes over. Here's what changes in your life.

If you're an NRI claiming DTAA treaty rates on your Indian income, here's the practical change in plain language.

Before 1 April 2026: You file Form 10F / Form 41 under Section 90(5) of the Income-tax Act 1961 and Rule 21AB. Your bank uses your Form 10F acknowledgment to apply the treaty rate on NRO interest. Six fields. One-year validity. ₹0 government fee.

From 1 April 2026: You file Form 41 instead. Same purpose, same six fields, same one-year validity, still ₹0 government fee. The legal hook moves to Section 159(8) of the new Income-tax Act 2025 and Rule 75 of the Income-tax Rules 2026.

The practical impact in rupees: zero. A UAE NRI with a ₹15 lakh NRO FD earning 7% interest still saves ₹18,375 a year on TDS by claiming the 12.5% treaty rate instead of the 30% Section 195 default (₹1.05 lakh interest × 17.5% gap). The form name on the printed acknowledgment changes. The savings calculation does not.

Three groups of NRIs, three different actions.

Group 1. You filed Form 10F for FY 2025-26 already. Acknowledgment is on file with your bank. Action: nothing this week. Your existing acknowledgment is valid for one year from filing. When it expires, refile under whichever form applies on the renewal date.

Group 2. You're filing for FY 2025-26 right now (current year). Action: file Form 10F / Form 41 as usual. The transition doesn't apply retroactively. Section 90(5) and Rule 21AB still cover this assessment year.

Group 3. You're planning to file for FY 2026-27 in April 2026 or later. Action: wait until 1 April 2026. From that date, the ITD portal will accept Form 41 under the new procedure. Filing Form 10F for FY 2026-27 will get rejected because the underlying section reference is wrong.

If you're not sure which group you're in, our generator picks the right form automatically based on the assessment year you select.

The Indian government replaced the entire Income-tax Act 1961 with the Income-tax Act 2025. Most of the substantive tax rules carried over unchanged. The section numbering, however, was completely rewritten.

The DTAA self-declaration provision moved from Section 90(5) of the 1961 Act to Section 159(8) of the 2025 Act. The procedural rule moved from Rule 21AB of the 1962 Rules to Rule 75 of the 2026 Rules. Form 10F, named after Rule 21AB's annexure, became Form 41 in the 2026 Rules.

This is a paperwork rename, not a policy change. India did not change DTAA treaty rates. India did not change the documents you need. India did not change who qualifies. India just renumbered the chapter and renamed the form.

Which is good news. The hard work for you, getting a TRC from your country of residence, picking the right treaty article, reconciling 26AS, stays exactly as it was.

Since 1 April 2026, your relationship manager at HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Axis, or Kotak is asking for Form 41 instead of Form 10F when you renew your DTAA election. A few specific things to expect.

The bank's own form template will say 'Form 41' once the bank's compliance team updates it. Some branches will be slow. If your branch is still asking for Form 10F in May 2026, that's the branch lagging, file Form 41 anyway and provide both labels in your covering letter.

Most banks will accept your existing Form 10F acknowledgment until its 1-year expiry. They are not required to demand re-filing on 1 April. You only need to refile when the existing one runs out.

The Indian communication address requirement is now mandatory under Rule 75. If you used a relative's address on your Form 10F before, it stays valid. If you didn't have one on file, Form 41 requires you to provide one. Most NRIs use a parent or sibling's address.

We updated our free generator to handle both forms. You select the financial year, the tool detects whether you need Form 10F / Form 41 or Form 41, and the output uses the right form name and the right legal reference.

FY 2024-25 → Form 10F (Section 90(5), Rule 21AB).

FY 2025-26 → Form 10F (Section 90(5), Rule 21AB).

FY 2026-27 → Form 41 (Section 159(8), Rule 75).

FY 2027-28 → Form 41 (Section 159(8), Rule 75).

No signup. Free. Country-specific pre-fill for all 30 DTAA countries. We pull the issuing authority for your TRC, the right Tax Identification Number prompt for your country, and the relevant treaty Article from our country library.

You copy the output, log in to incometax.gov.in, paste it into the form, upload your TRC PDF, and e-verify with Aadhaar OTP. Done in about 10 minutes. Same as before.

Three things we've already seen NRIs get wrong about this change.

First, treating it as a substantive rule change. It isn't. Don't refile your existing valid Form 10F just because the law renamed it. Wait for the natural 1-year expiry.

Second, assuming Form 41 needs new documents. It doesn't. Same TRC. Same six fields. Same e-verification. The only practical change is the form name on the portal and the section reference on the printed acknowledgment.

Third, panicking about retroactive impact. Section 159(8) applies prospectively from 1 April 2026. Past-year claims under Section 119(2)(b) condonation for FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25 are still filed under the old Section 90(5) framework. The 2025 Act has not been retrospectively rewritten.

If an agent or consultant tries to charge you ₹15,000 for an 'urgent Form 41 conversion service' before 1 April 2026, walk away. There is no such service. The government's own portal will simply ask for the new form when you next file. No conversion needed. We've seen quotes as high as ₹80,000 for this fake service in the last 30 days. Same scam pattern as the Form 10F overcharge of 2023.

Our Form 10F / Form 41 generator at /tools/form-10f-generator already handles the dual mode. Free to use. No signup. None of the ₹2,500-to-₹50,000 fees that some agents charge for the same 10-minute filing.

If you'd rather have us file the form on your behalf, including pulling the TRC and coordinating with your Indian bank, our flat fee is published on the schedule of charges page. Same fee for Form 10F or Form 41. No NRI markup. No 'transition surcharge'.

If you have a more complex DTAA claim, say, you also need to file Section 119(2)(b) condonation for past years, or you've had bank rejections, or you're claiming under a treaty article most CAs don't know exists. Book free CA appointment. We'll walk through your specific situation in 15 minutes and tell you exactly what we'd do, before you commit to anything.

Q: I file Form 10F / Form 41 every year as part of my CA's ITR package. Do I need to remind them about Form 41?

A: Probably yes. Most NRI CAs are aware of the change but a few aren't tracking it actively. Send your CA a one-line note in March 2026: 'For my FY 2026-27 filings onward, please use Form 41 under Section 159(8). My TRC will be the same.' That's all the prep needed.

Q: Will my bank automatically recognise Form 41 in April 2026?

A: It depends on the bank. HDFC, ICICI, and Axis are usually quick. Smaller banks and PSU banks lag. If your branch is confused, attach a copy of the CBDT notification on Form 41 with your filing, that resolves 95% of branch-level pushback.

Q: I'm filing past-year recovery under Section 119(2)(b) for FY 2020-21. Which form do I use?

A: Form 10F. Past-year condonation applications are filed under the law that was in force in the year being claimed. FY 2020-21 was governed by Section 90(5) and Rule 21AB. The 2025 Act applies prospectively only.

Q: Does the same change apply to Form 67 for foreign tax credit?

A: No. Form 67 is not affected by this transition. The Form 67 filing under Section 90 / 91 of the Income-tax Act stays the same in structure and timing. The deadline is still on or before the ITR due date.

Q: I'm a US-based NRI. Does this affect my IRS Form 8802 application?

A: No. Form 8802 is a US IRS form for the US Tax Residency Certificate. It's unaffected by the Indian Form 10F → Form 41 change. You still apply to the IRS the same way, with the same fee, the same processing time. The only change is that when you bring the resulting Form 6166 to India, you'll attach it to Form 41 instead of Form 10F from April 2026 onward.