Money rules changing in October 2026: PF, UPI, NPS, SBI and more
Every money change for October 2026 in one place: the ₹25,000 PF ceiling, UPI merchant fees, NPS charges, SBI ATM limits, small savings rates and deadlines.
A busy month. Here is what changes for your money in October 2026, with the date each one starts.
Already in force
- Repo rate up to 5.5% (7 October). RBI raised the repo rate from 5.25% to 5.5% because inflation has picked up. Floating-rate home and car loans linked to the repo rate will cost more from their next reset date, and FD rates may rise a little later. What it means for your EMI. Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of Baroda have raised their repo-linked loan rates by 0.25 percentage points, most from 8 October, as reported by PTI. SBI raised its repo-linked lending rates (EBLR and RLLR) by 0.25 percentage points and its MCLR by 0.15 percentage points from 15 October, taking its EBLR to 8.15% plus premiums and the one-year MCLR to 8.85%. RBI also said demat account holders will see their bank deposits in their NSDL or CDSL statement by 31 December 2026.
- EPF wage ceiling ₹25,000 (from 17 September). Compulsory PF now applies on pay up to ₹25,000 a month, up from ₹15,000. If your basic pay is above ₹15,000, your PF deduction may rise by up to ₹1,200 a month from your October payslip. What it means. On 15 October the Labour Ministry notified that the government's own 1.16% pension contribution stays on pay up to ₹15,000, at most ₹174 a month. The employer's pension share still goes up to the ₹25,000 ceiling.
- NPS charges (1 October). Accounts opened through a bank or other point of presence pay ₹200 at opening, ₹100 if fully online, and 0.20% of the corpus a year plus GST, which also applies to existing accounts. Dormant accounts, and accounts opened and funded through e-NPS, pay no point-of-presence charges.
- Open NPS on the BHIM app (14 October). Customers of SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda can open an NPS account in the BHIM app with Tatkal NPS, using the KYC their bank already has. The first contribution is at least ₹250 through UPI, and later ones can be as low as ₹10. It is open to Indian citizens aged 18 to 85, as announced by NPCI BHIM Services and reported by IANS.
- NPS Central (live since 1 October). PFRDA's new website, npscentral.in, lets you see and manage NPS accounts held with any of the three record-keeping agencies (Protean, KFintech and CAMS) in one place. You log in with your registered mobile number and date of birth and an OTP, without your PRAN. You can contribute, compare schemes and download statements, and opening a new account there costs nothing, under a PFRDA press release of 19 October 2026 reported by CNBC-TV18. Changing your pension fund, SIPs and Tier II services are to be added later.
- SBI salary accounts (1 October). Free transactions at other banks' ATMs drop from 10 to 5 a month; after that, ₹23 plus GST for each cash withdrawal and ₹11 plus GST for balance checks and other non-cash use.
- SBI basic savings accounts (1 October). The limit of 4 free cash withdrawals a month, then ₹15 plus GST each, now counts withdrawals by every route: branch, ATM, micro-ATM and Aadhaar-based. Digital payments stay free.
- IndusInd Bank savings accounts (1 October and 1 November). On Indus Delite, Indus Digi-start, Indus Online (minimum balance) and Indie accounts, IMPS transfers now cost ₹2.50 up to ₹10,000, ₹5 up to ₹1 lakh and ₹10 above that. Only 4 cash deposits or withdrawals, or ₹1 lakh, a month are free, whichever comes first; after that it is ₹5 per ₹1,000, at least ₹150. From 1 November, a card payment or IndusInd ATM withdrawal declined for low balance costs ₹25, and a cheque returned for a non-financial reason costs ₹50. All charges are plus GST, under the bank's notice.
- LPG subsidy (1 October). Booking a subsidised cylinder needs a one-time biometric Aadhaar check; if you have already done it, you do not need to repeat it.
- Buying property from an NRI (1 October). Buyers can deposit TDS with their PAN; a separate TAN is no longer needed.
- Bulk deposits (1 October). New RBI rules for fixed deposits of ₹3 crore or more. Regular FDs are not affected.
- Earning from clients abroad (1 October). Under RBI's new export rules, exporters of services file an Export Declaration Form with their bank and must bring the money in within 9 months of the invoice date. On 7 October RBI said individuals need not report personal contracts such as small tutoring or software jobs, as reported by Business Today. What freelancers need to know. From 15 October, a bank in the middle of a transfer should not convert your incoming dollars into rupees unless you or the sender ask, under FEDAI guidance to banks reported by The Economic Times.
- Gold mutual funds paused (15 and 16 October). About 17 fund houses, including HDFC, ICICI Prudential, SBI, Nippon India and Tata, stopped new lump sums, switch-ins and new SIP registrations in their gold fund of funds until further notice, as reported by Angel One and Business Standard. SIPs registered earlier continue and redemptions are allowed. What you can still do.
- Minimum wages for central sphere jobs (1 October). The variable dearness allowance for workers in construction, sweeping and cleaning, loading, watch and ward, agriculture and mines went up under orders dated 30 September 2026. An unskilled construction worker in an Area A city now gets at least ₹840 a day, as reported by StaffNews.
Coming this month
- UPI merchant fee (delayed). The 0.4% fee on UPI payments to merchants above ₹2,000, paid by the merchant, not you, will not start on 15 October. On 13 October NPCI said it will start after Diwali, on a date to be announced separately, as reported by Business Standard and PTI. Who pays what.
- September PF deadline for employers (31 October). EPFO has given employers until 31 October 2026, instead of 15 October, to pay PF for the September 2026 wage month, because the new ₹25,000 ceiling made them redo payrolls. This is under an EPFO circular dated 13 October 2026, as reported by The Tribune. Your September PF credit may show up a little late. PF for October is still due by 15 November.
- Tax audit deadlines (21 October and 21 November). CBDT extended the last date for 2025-26 returns that need a tax audit from 31 October to 21 November 2026. The tax audit report itself is now due by 21 October 2026, up from 30 September.
- Railway bonus and social pensions (decided 14 October). The Cabinet approved a bonus of 78 days' wages, up to ₹17,951 each, for about 11.4 lakh non-gazetted railway employees for 2025-26, usually paid before Dussehra. It also kept the old age, widow and disability pension schemes going until 2030-31 under new names. The disability pension will now cover people with 40% disability instead of 80%, from birth, at ₹375 a month up to age 79 and ₹625 from 80, once new guidelines are issued within three months. This is as reported by Business Standard and Daily Excelsior.
- Ad hoc bonus for central government staff (sanctioned 15 October). The Finance Ministry approved a bonus of 30 days' pay for 2025-26 for Group C and non-gazetted Group B central government employees who are not covered by a productivity-linked bonus, including the armed forces and central armed police forces. It is worked out on pay of at most ₹7,000 a month, so the most anyone gets is ₹6,908. You must have been in service on 31 March 2026 with at least six months of continuous service in 2025-26; shorter service gets a share by months. Eligible casual workers get ₹1,184. This is under a Department of Expenditure order dated 15 October 2026.
- Insurance on counter train tickets (27 October). The Supreme Court has directed Railways to insure every ticket sold at station counters, as it does online tickets, from 27 October 2026. Online, the cover costs 45 paise and pays ₹10 lakh for death or permanent total disability. Railways has not yet said what counter passengers will pay. What we know.
Not changing
- Small savings rates for October to December 2026 are unchanged: PPF 7.1%, Sukanya Samriddhi 8.2%, Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme 8.2%, NSC 7.7%, Kisan Vikas Patra 7.5%, monthly income scheme 7.4%. PPF calculator.
- EPF interest stays 8.25% for 2025-26.
- GPF interest for central government employees stays 7.1% for October to December 2026, under a Finance Ministry resolution of 5 October, as reported by StaffNews.
- GST rates stay the same. The GST Council met on 8 October and changed no rates on everyday goods and services. It recommended 5% GST on delivery through shopping and food apps, from a date still to be notified. What the GST Council decided.
Sources: SBI: EBLR and RLLR from 15 October 2026, SBI: MCLR rates from 15 October 2026, PIB: Recommendations of the 57th meeting of the GST Council, Business Standard: RBI hikes repo rate to 5.5%, CBDT: due date extended to 21 November 2026, Upstox: financial changes in October 2026, Outlook Money: new money rules from October 2026, Business Today: small savings rates unchanged, Ministry of Labour: wage ceiling note, Business Today: bank deposits in the CAS, Free Press Journal (PTI): banks begin raising lending rates, Siasat (PTI): banks raise lending rates after RBI rate hike, Business Standard: UPI MDR deferred until after Diwali, Siasat (PTI): Govt postpones charges on UPI transactions over Rs 2,000, StaffNews: GPF rate for October to December 2026, RBI: Export and Import of Goods and Services Regulations, 2026, Business Today: individuals not covered by the EDF framework, StaffNews: minimum wages with VDA from 1 October 2026, The Tribune: September 2026 PF deadline extended to 31 October, IndusInd Bank: revision in savings account charges, October and November 2026, Business Standard: Cabinet approves ₹2,009 crore bonus for railway employees, Business Standard: Cabinet extends social assistance scheme till 2030-31, Daily Excelsior: Cabinet revises disability pension norms, LiveLaw: Supreme Court directs Railways to insure counter tickets, Department of Expenditure: ad hoc bonus for 2025-26, 15 October 2026, Angel One: 17 mutual fund houses restrict gold ETF FoFs, Business Standard: Gold FoFs halt fresh investments before Diwali, NPS Central, CNBC-TV18: NPS Central platform launched, 19 October 2026, ETBFSI (IANS): Tatkal NPS on the BHIM app, The Economic Times: banks barred from converting foreign earnings as middlemen, Gazette of India: EPS 2026 amendment of 15 October 2026.
Rules, rates and limits change. Check the official source linked above before you rely on a figure here. Last checked 19 October 2026. Posts never contain referral or affiliate links from the writer.
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