Schedules XI to XVI of the Income-tax Act, 2025 cover provident and superannuation fund rules, the minerals list, the list of articles or things, insurance business computation, the section 123 qualifying deduction list, and permitted investment modes for a registered non-profit organisation.
Schedules XI to XVI do not cover charitable trusts, transfer pricing, GAAR, tonnage tax, IFSC or transitional provisions. Those are all in sections. The six Schedules are set out below.
The six Schedules, one by one
This is the block of Schedules that is most often misdescribed, because the last six of anything tends to be lumped together as 'miscellaneous'. In fact each has a precise subject and a precise section it is read with.
Three of them are lists — minerals, articles or things, and permitted investment modes. Two carry detailed rules — retirement funds and insurance business. And one, Schedule XV, is the qualifying list for the deduction most individual taxpayers claim.
None of them deals with tonnage tax, GAAR, transfer pricing or the transition from the 1961 Act. Those are sections 225 to 235, 178 to 184, 161 to 177 and 536 respectively.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 takes effect from 1 April 2026 and applies from tax year 2026-27. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every year up to 31 March 2026 because of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. The Schedule contents described here are taken from the Act as enacted, incorporating the corrigenda notified in the Gazette on 3 September 2025.
Where each provision actually sits
| Topic | Income-tax Act, 1961 | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement fund rules | Fourth Schedule | Schedule XI with section 2(91) |
| Minerals | Seventh Schedule | Schedule XII with section 51 |
| List of articles or things | Eleventh Schedule | Schedule XIII with section 45(2) |
| Insurance business | First Schedule | Schedule XIV with section 55 |
| Qualifying investments for 80C | Section 80C itself | Schedule XV with section 123 |
| Permitted modes of investment | Section 11(5) | Schedule XVI with section 350 |
| Tonnage tax | Sections 115V to 115VZC | Sections 225 to 235 |
| Repeal and savings | Section 297 | Section 536 |
What each Schedule contains
Schedule XI — retirement funds, with section 2(91)
Part A recognised provident funds, Part B approved superannuation and gratuity funds, Part C the power to make rules. Part A does not apply to funds governed by the Provident Funds Act, 1925. Paragraphs 6 and 11(2) of Part A are cross-referred by section 16(i) and (j) for taxable provident fund accretion.
Schedule XII — minerals, with section 51
Part A lists twenty-seven minerals and Part B lists groups of associated minerals. It supports section 51, amortisation of expenditure for prospecting certain minerals — the successor to section 35E.
Schedule XIII — articles or things, with section 45(2)
A list including beer, wine and other alcoholic spirits, tobacco preparations, cosmetics and toilet preparations, toothpaste and soap, aerated waters using blended flavouring concentrates, confectionery and chocolates, and various apparatus and office machines. It is read with section 45 on scientific research expenditure.
Schedule XIV — insurance business, with section 55
Part A — life insurance business. Profits of life insurance business are computed separately from any other business. They are the annual average of the surplus after adjusting the surplus or deficit disclosed by the actuarial valuation under the Insurance Act, 1938 for the last inter-valuation period ending before the tax year, excluding any surplus or deficit from an earlier inter-valuation period. Expenditure inadmissible under section 34 is added back.
Schedule XV — the section 123 deduction list
This is the Schedule most individuals actually need. It carries the sums qualifying for the section 123 deduction of up to ₹1,50,000 — life insurance premium, deferred annuity, provident fund contributions, notified savings and deposit schemes including for a girl child, savings certificates, unit-linked plans, LIC annuity plans, specified mutual fund units, pension funds, National Housing Bank deposits, housing finance deposits, tuition fees for any two children excluding development fees or donations, payment for purchase or construction of a residential house, and a term deposit of not less than five years with a scheduled bank.
Schedule XVI — permitted NPO investments, with section 350
The modes of investing or depositing money referred to in section 350: savings certificates under the Government Savings Certificates Act, 1959 and Small Savings Schemes; Post Office Savings Bank deposits; deposits with a scheduled bank or a co-operative society carrying on banking; units of the Unit Trust of India; Central or State Government securities; debentures fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Central or a State Government; investment or deposit in a public sector company, with transitional protection where it ceases to be one; and bonds of financial corporations and public companies providing long-term finance for industrial development or housing, eligible for deduction under section 32(e).
Worked example
Where six frequently misattributed topics actually sit.
| Topic | Correct provision |
|---|---|
| Charitable trusts and NGOs | Sections 332 to 355, with permitted investments in section 350 and Schedule XVI |
| Transfer pricing | Sections 161 to 177 |
| GAAR | Sections 178 to 184 |
| Tonnage tax | Sections 225 to 235 |
| IFSC exemptions | Schedule VI with section 11; also sections 147, 196(3), 198(4) and 206(1)(b)(i) |
| Transition from the 1961 Act | Section 536 — repeal and savings |
Only one of these — IFSC — involves a Schedule at all, and it is Schedule VI, not one of Schedules XI to XVI.
Compliance checklist
- For the ₹1,50,000 deduction, read Schedule XV to check whether a payment qualifies.
- For NPO investments, read Schedule XVI with section 350 before placing funds.
- For life insurance business, compute under Schedule XIV, Part A — separately, on the annual average of actuarial surplus.
- For prospecting amortisation, check the mineral against Schedule XII.
- For scientific research, check whether the article is in Schedule XIII.
- For retirement fund rules, read the right Part of Schedule XI.
- For trusts, transfer pricing, GAAR, tonnage tax and the transition, go to the sections, not the Schedules.
Common mistakes
- Treating Schedules XI to XVI as a 'miscellaneous' block; each has a precise subject.
- Looking for charitable trust provisions in the Schedules rather than in sections 332 to 355.
- Searching section 123 for the qualifying investment list, which is in Schedule XV.
- Assuming any five-year bank deposit qualifies under Schedule XV; the term must be not less than five years with a scheduled bank.
- Placing NPO funds outside the modes permitted by Schedule XVI.
All sixteen Schedules of the Income-tax Act, 2025
Because the numbering is widely misquoted, the full list is reproduced below from the Act as enacted. Note that Schedules II to VII are all exemption lists, split by who is claiming rather than by what the income is.
| Schedule | Read with | Subject as enacted |
|---|---|---|
| I | section 9(12) | Conditions for certain activities not to constitute business connection in India |
| II | section 11 | Income not to be included in total income |
| III | section 11 | Income not to be included in total income of eligible persons |
| IV | section 11 | Income not to be included in total income of eligible non-residents, foreign companies and other such persons |
| V | section 11 | Income not to be included in total income of certain eligible persons including investment funds, business trusts and their unit holders |
| VI | section 11 | Income not to be included in total income of certain eligible persons in an International Financial Services Centre or having income therefrom |
| VII | section 11 | Persons exempt from tax |
| VIII | section 12 | Income not to be included in the total income of political parties and electoral trusts |
| IX | section 48 | Deduction for tea, coffee and rubber development accounts |
| X | section 49 | Deduction for Site Restoration Fund |
| XI | section 2(91) | Recognised provident funds, approved superannuation funds and approved gratuity funds |
| XII | section 51 | Minerals, and groups of associated minerals |
| XIII | section 45(2) | List of articles or things |
| XIV | section 55 | Insurance business |
| XV | section 123 | Deduction for life insurance premia, contribution to provident fund, subscription to certain equity shares, etc. |
| XVI | section 350 | Permitted modes of investment or deposits by a registered non-profit organisation |
This is an explanatory guide, not tax advice, and it does not reproduce the section in full. Read the bare text of the section before you rely on it, and check for later amendments, the Income-tax Rules made under the new Act, and CBDT circulars and notifications.