Section 85 - Capital gains not to be charged on investment in certain bonds
Long-term gain can be deferred through investment in specified bonds within six months, subject to the statutory investment ceiling and lock-in.
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Updated 9 October 2026
Section 85 is presented using the consolidated Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The general commencement date is 1 April 2026. Earlier years and saved proceedings may remain governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the repeal/savings framework.
2-minute professional decode
Long-term gain can be deferred through investment in specified bonds within six months, subject to the statutory investment ceiling and lock-in.
Who should test this section?
Section 85 matters to investors, property owners, promoters, companies, firms and advisers where the transaction involves capital gains not to be charged on investment in certain bonds; the charge, computation and relief steps should be separated.
Evidence to retain
The section 85 file should preserve acquisition and transfer instruments, valuation or stamp records, payment evidence, holding-period material and every document that supports the treatment of capital gains not to be charged on investment in certain bonds.
1961 Act bridge
| Legacy provision | Legacy heading | Mapping |
|---|---|---|
| 54EC | Capital gains not to be charged on investment in certain bonds. | Renumbered / mapped |
The bridge is a research aid. Legacy case law carries over only after the current wording and transition rules are matched.
Rules and forms linked to this section
No provision-specific Rule was independently mapped from the current Rules register for this section. That does not mean the wider Rules are irrelevant.
Worked application
A taxpayer has long-term gain on land/building and invests in eligible long-term specified bonds within six months. Cap the qualifying investment at the statutory Rs. 50 lakh limit and monitor the five-year lock-in.
Common mistake
For section 85, do not jump from sale proceeds to a capital-gain number: first identify the transfer/charging event, then consideration, cost, timing and any exemption or rollover condition relevant to capital gains not to be charged on investment in certain bonds.
Compliance approach
Identify the statutory trigger for section 85, lock the relevant tax year, reconcile the facts to the operative sub-section, preserve the evidence trail and separately test every linked Rule, Form, Schedule and exception before finalising the return position.
Numeric / timing checkpoints in the operative text
- Eligible long-term specified bonds must be acquired within six months.
- Qualifying investment is capped at Rs. 50 lakh across the statutory tax-year limits.
- The new specified asset carries a five-year lock-in for the exemption consequence.
Related provisions
Current statutory text
Primary-source trail
- Consolidated Income-tax Act, 2025 (as amended by Finance Act, 2026) (official external source)
- Income Tax Department - Act/Rules/Forms hub (official external source)
- CBDT commencement material - Act operative from 1 April 2026 (official external source)
Source status: full Section 85 statutory text in the local source corpus; reconciled to the current consolidated Act control on 8 October 2026.