The Finance Act 2026 (অর্থ আইন, ২০২৬) was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on 29 June 2026 and gazetted with presidential assent on 30 June 2026 as Act No. 96 of 2026. It amends the VAT & Supplementary Duty Act 2012, the Income Tax Act 2023 and the Customs Act 2023, and almost all of it took effect on 1 July 2026 — the start of FY 2026–27. For Certificate and Professional Level students, this Act is now the law your Principles of Taxation and Business Law answers must reflect.
Individual tax: higher thresholds, and a 35% top slab is coming
Parliament raised the general tax-free threshold to ৳4,00,000 for assessment years 2026–27 and 2027–28 (the Bill had proposed ৳3,75,000). It then steps up to ৳4,50,000 for 2028–29/2029–30 and ৳5,00,000 for 2030–31. Women and taxpayers aged 65+, third-gender and disabled taxpayers, and war-wounded freedom fighters (including those injured in the July 2024 uprising) all get higher thresholds. From assessment year 2028–29 a brand-new 35% marginal rate applies to total income above ৳3 crore — the first time Bangladesh's top personal rate moves above 30%.
Exam tip
Minimum tax is now ৳5,000 once income crosses the threshold — but only ৳1,000 for a first-time filer. Slab questions for AY 2026–27 must use the ৳4,00,000 threshold and the 10/15/20/25/30 ladder; the 35% band only enters from AY 2028–29.
Corporate rates: banking-channel discounts everywhere
Listed companies floating at least 10% of paid-up capital pay 22.5% (20% if every receipt and payment runs through bank transfer). Listed companies with under 10% floated pay 25%, and all other companies 27.5% — each with a 2.5-point discount for fully banked transactions. Banks and insurers stay at 37.5%/40%, tobacco manufacturers and mobile operators at 45%, cooperatives at 20%, and private universities and medical, dental, engineering and ICT-only colleges drop to just 5%.
New regimes to learn: Startup Sandbox and Free Trade Zones
- Startup Tax Sandbox (Eighth Schedule, Part 2): registered startups get a 9-year growth period with 0% turnover tax, 9-year loss carry-forward that survives shareholding changes, and relief from Sections 55–56 TDS-disallowance penalties.
- Free Trade Zones (new Customs Act Chapter 16-Ka): a duty-free import-manufacture-export regime built around a licensed Zone Operator and an 'Importer on Record', with 48-month storage and dedicated enforcement powers.
- Wealth surcharge of 0–35% on net worth (starting above ৳4 crore) and a new environment surcharge of ৳25,000–৳3,50,000 per extra motor car, collected at BRTA registration/fitness renewal.
- Dividend TDS is now 15% for individuals and 20% for everyone else; new withholding heads cover precious metals (0.5%), e-commerce retail supplies (0.2%), club fees (10%) and lottery/game-show winnings (25%).
The interactive summary linked above walks through every chapter of the Act — VAT amendments section by section, all three income-tax rate schedules, the full corporate table, TDS changes, the FTZ chapter and the tariff highlights — with search, charts and a compliance calendar. Keep the gazette PDF beside it for the authoritative Bengali text.
Which law applies in your exam?
For assessment year 2026–27 questions, apply the Income Tax Act 2023 as amended by the Finance Act 2026. Sections 20, 21, 22 and 179 (the VAT schedules and the customs tariff) were in force immediately from the gazette date under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1931; everything else runs from 1 July 2026.
