Dividends, Capital Gains, Pensions and Gifts: What Counts as Income?

Four payments reach Asha's bank account: a dividend, the sale of an investment, a pension payment and a gift. Does she just add them up and call it taxable income? This beginner explainer shows why each receipt must be identified first, what dividends, capital gains, pensions and gifts are in plain words, the five heads of income, the difference between taxable and exempt income, and why receiving money is not always earning income. 0:00 Four credits, one question 0:20 Dividends and capital gains 0:42 Pensions and gifts 1:08 Five heads of income 1:32 Taxable, exempt, or not income 1:57 The test Tax-year note: Rules shown are as of the research date (28 October 2026); check the tax year, Act and conditions. Returns for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) remain under the Income-tax Act, 1961; the Income-tax Act, 2025 has applied since 1 April 2026. The list of five heads of income is the same in both Acts (1961 Act section 14, 2025 Act section 13). This video states no tax rates, thresholds, exemption amounts or holding periods. It is education, not advice about your own filing. Honest labels: every picture is an illustrative 3D model made for this video, not footage. Asha, the giver and the buyer are fictional figures. Stacks of tokens and bars stand for amounts but are not real figures; certificates, slips, bins and passbooks are generic props with no real document, seal or emblem. A prize is deliberately not placed in any head, and no real taxpayer outcome is implied: whether a receipt is income, exempt or neither depends on its facts and on the law that applies. The Act-and-section label next to the five heads shows which law that list comes from. The narration is a synthetic voice (Kokoro). Music plays only at the start and at the end. A question to chase: Who makes the rules of income tax? The Fun is in finding out. Sources (opened on 28 October 2026): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePa... https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/fopo... https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/fopo... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/t... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/t... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/t... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/t... https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/s... Part of Income Tax — From Zero (India), from Make Learning Fun Again. #IncomeTax #CapitalGains #TaxBasics