The year 2025 is now towards its final stage and only a short time is left for it to end. As soon as the hands of the clock reach 12:01 on the night of 31st December, many important rules will change in the country. These changes are going to have a direct impact on your salary, pension, tax planning, banking transactions and even rail travel.

These rules, which will come into effect from January 2026, are very important for the working class, pensioners, taxpayers and bank customers. If you do not prepare for these changes in time, you may have to face problems in the new year. Let us understand in detail what are the big changes that will affect your pocket and life.

Central employees and pensioners can get the biggest gift of the New Year, there is a strong possibility of the tenure of the 8th Pay Commission starting from January 1.

In the new year, most of the eyes of central employees and pensioners are fixed on the 8th Pay Commission. Although no formal announcement has been made by the government yet, but if we look at government traditions, the new pay commission is considered effective from the next day after the expiry of the previous commission. The tenure of the current 7th Pay Commission ends on 31 December 2025.

Accordingly, there is every possibility that the tenure of the 8th Pay Commission will start from January 1, 2026. If this happens, employees and pensioners can get the benefit of arrears, which will lead to a huge increase in their monthly income and pension. This change can prove to be the biggest good news of the new year for millions of government families.

Red alert for taxpayers: If PAN-Aadhaar is not linked by December 31, PAN card will become useless, important money work may get stuck.

According to the rules of the Income Tax Department, this is the time for taxpayers to be very cautious. If you do not link your PAN card with Aadhaar by 31 December 2025, then your PAN card will become ‘inactive’ from 1 January 2026.

Once PAN is deactivated, you will neither be able to file your Income Tax Return (ITR) nor will your tax refund be processed. Apart from this, many work to banking transactions and investment in stock market or mutual funds may also come to a halt. Therefore, to avoid any financial loss, it is mandatory to link PAN and Aadhaar before the deadline.

The method of ticket booking will change for railway passengers, Aadhar verified users will get priority and fake booking will be curbed.

Indian Railways and IRCTC are also going to make major changes in the rules for passengers in the new year. Railway Board has decided to promote Aadhaar authentication to bring transparency in ticket booking during Advance Reservation Period (ARP).

According to the new rules, from January 5, 2026, Aadhaar-verified users will be able to book tickets from 8 am to 4 pm on the first day of booking opening. After this, from January 12, 2026, this time limit will be increased from 8 am to 12 midnight. The main objective of this step is to stop booking through brokers and fake IDs, so that common passengers can easily get confirmed tickets.

Customers using credit and debit cards will get a shock, many big banks including SBI and HDFC have changed their rules.

The new year is also starting with many changes in the banking sector. If you use SBI Card, then the rules for domestic airport lounge access will change from January 10, 2026. Now lounge facilities will depend on the type of card (Set A and Set B).

At the same time, HDFC Bank has also changed the system of airport lounge access for its debit card holders from January 10, 2026. Now this facility will be available completely through expenditure based voucher system. Apart from this, ICICI Bank has announced changes in credit card reward points, movie benefits, add-on card fees and transaction fees between January and February 2026, which will have a direct impact on your savings.

Before celebrating the New Year, make complete preparations on the financial front, so that the year 2026 starts without any problems.

All these rules, which will come into effect after midnight on December 31, 2025, are an important part of your financial planning. Be it the benefits of Pay Commission or validity of PAN card, or new bank charges – the impact of all these will be visible on your daily life. It is wise that you update your important documents in time and plan your expenses after understanding the banking rules, so that you do not face any inconvenience in the new year.