Section 17(2)(vi) under the
Income-tax Act, 2025
ESOP / sweat equity perquisite
Topic
ESOP / sweat equity perquisite — Deductions provisions under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act 30 of 2025).
What carried over
The substance of this provision was not changed by the re-write. What moved is the citation.
Founders and startup employees: substance preserved. Fair-market-value valuation rule (old 17(2)(vi) Explanation) is s.17(2)(h). The eligible-startup ESOP TDS deferral (old 192(1C)) is now s.392(3), which cross-refers to s.17(1)(d) and to the eligible-startup definition in s.140 (old 80-IAC), with the payment timeline in s.289(3).
Source
Verified against bare text of s.17(1)(d) in ICAI publication: 'the value of any specified security or sweat equity shares allotted or transferred, directly or indirectly, by the current employer, or former employer, free of cost or at concessional rate to the assessee'.
CBDT publishes its own correspondence utility on incometaxindia.gov.in and that is the authority. Spot-check anything high-stakes there before you rely on it.
This is a navigational aid for the 1961 → 2025 transition, not tax advice. It helps you find the right place in the new Act when you already know the old section. Confirm every citation against the bare Act and against CBDT's own correspondence utility before relying on it in a return, certificate, notice reply or opinion. The source text used here is the Act as passed, so any rate or threshold amended by the Finance Act, 2026 is not reflected; section numbers are unaffected.