July begins with several important financial changes that could affect your day-to-day money matters. From income tax return (ITR) filing deadlines and passport charges to Aadhaar updates, credit card rewards and new banking rules, here are seven key changes that have come into effect from July 1, 2026.
The (ITR) filing schedule for the Assessment Year 2026-27 has changed, with different deadlines depending on the type of return being filed.
Salaried taxpayers filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 must submit their returns by July 31, 2026.
ITR-1 is meant for salaried individuals with annual income of up to Rs 50 lakh. ITR-2 is for people who also earn income from sources such as capital gains, house property, pensions, foreign income or agricultural income.
Meanwhile, the deadline for filing ITR-3 and ITR-4 has been extended to August 31, 2026. These forms are generally used by businesses, professionals, partnership firms, charitable trusts and certain other taxpayers.
Updating your email address in Aadhaar has become free through the Aadhaar mobile application.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has removed the earlier fee of Rs 75 for this service. The waiver will remain available until December 31, 2026, giving Aadhaar holders time to update their email details without paying any charge.
Applying for a passport will now cost more after the Ministry of External Affairs revised passport service charges.
The fee for a fresh or reissued 36-page passport has increased to Rs 2,500, while the Tatkaal fee has gone up to Rs 5,000.
For a 60-page passport, the normal application fee has risen to Rs 3,500, while the Tatkaal fee has increased to Rs 6,000.
The revised charges apply to fresh applications, passport renewals and several other passport-related services in India and overseas.
In some good news for motorists, Nayara Energy has reduced fuel prices across its retail outlets.
The company has cut petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre at its more than 7,000 fuel stations across India.
The reduction follows a fall in global crude oil prices after tensions in West Asia eased. However, the final pump price will continue to vary from state to state because of local taxes such as VAT.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a new framework to tackle the mis-selling of financial products by banks.
Under the new rules, customers who are sold unsuitable financial products through unfair practices will be eligible for a full refund. If they suffer a financial loss because of such mis-selling, they may also receive compensation.
The framework aims to improve customer protection and make banks more accountable when selling financial products.
SBI Card has revised the reward points programme for PhonePe SBI Credit Card PURPLE and PhonePe SBI Credit Card SELECT BLACK.
Reward points on PhonePe transactions and online spending have now been capped. In addition, some spending categories will no longer earn reward points.
Cardholders may want to review the updated reward structure before making purchases.
HDFC Bank has also changed the rules for complimentary domestic airport lounge access on eligible credit cards.
Cardholders can continue to receive three free domestic lounge visits every calendar quarter, but only if they spent at least Rs 60,000 in the previous quarter.
Customers who do not meet the spending requirement will not be able to claim the complimentary lounge benefit.
What should you do now?
These changes cover several areas of personal finance, from tax filing and passport applications to banking and credit card benefits.
Checking the updated rules in advance can help you avoid extra costs, meet important deadlines and make the most of the benefits available from July 1 onwards.