Income Tax Calculator (India)

Every salaried person in India now has to pick between two ways of being taxed, and the cheaper one depends on how much you can deduct. This page works out the tax under both from the same inputs and puts the answers next to each other, so you can see the winner and the size of the gap. It follows the rates for financial year 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) and says so on the page, because the Budget changes the numbers almost every year.

How the tax is built up

Both regimes follow the same steps. Start with gross income, subtract the deductions that regime allows, and apply the slabs to what remains. Subtract the section 87A rebate if the taxable income is low enough, add surcharge if it is very high, and add 4 percent health and education cess on the total. The side-by-side table shows each step in two columns, and two more tables list the slabs that were used, with the tax each slab produced.

The slabs

In the new regime, income up to 4,00,000 is untaxed, then 5 percent applies from 4 to 8 lakh, 10 percent from 8 to 12 lakh, 15 percent from 12 to 16 lakh, 20 percent from 16 to 20 lakh, 25 percent from 20 to 24 lakh and 30 percent above that. In the old regime the first 2,50,000 is untaxed (3,00,000 from age 60, 5,00,000 from age 80), then 5 percent applies up to 5 lakh, 20 percent up to 10 lakh and 30 percent above. The age box on the page changes only the old-regime slabs; the new regime does not vary by age.

Deductions in the old regime

You can enter HRA exemption, interest on a self-occupied home loan (counted up to 2,00,000), section 80C investments (up to 1,50,000), extra NPS under 80CCD(1B) (up to 50,000), health insurance under 80D (up to 1,00,000) and any other deductions such as 80E or 80G. The employer’s NPS contribution under 80CCD(2) is subtracted in both regimes, and the page does not cap it, so keep it within the limit that applies to you. The HRA Calculator works out the exemption figure to enter.

A worked example

The default is a salary of 15,00,000 with 1,50,000 under 80C and 25,000 under 80D. New regime: taxable income is 14,25,000, slab tax 93,750, and with cess the tax is 97,500, which is 6.50% of income. Old regime: deductions total 2,25,000, taxable income is 12,75,000, and the tax is 2,02,800, or 13.52%. The new regime is better by 1,05,300, costs 8,125 a month, and leaves 14,02,500 after tax. At 12,75,000 with no deductions, the new regime pays nothing and the old pays 1,87,200. At 30,00,000 with HRA 2,00,000, home loan interest 2,00,000, 80C 1,50,000, NPS 50,000 and 80D 50,000, the new regime costs 4,75,800 and the old 5,22,600, so the new still wins by 46,800. A senior citizen on 9,00,000 with 1,50,000 under 80C and the default 25,000 under 80D pays nothing in the new regime and 46,800 in the old.

Rebate, surcharge and cess

The new-regime rebate covers the whole slab tax when taxable income is up to 12,00,000. The old-regime rebate is up to 12,500 when taxable income is up to 5,00,000. Surcharge starts above 50 lakh at 10 percent, rises to 15 percent above 1 crore and 25 percent above 2 crore, and the old regime adds a 37 percent tier above 5 crore. Marginal relief limits the extra tax so that earning more never leaves you with less. Cess of 4 percent is charged last.

Edge cases

Taxable income is rounded down to the nearest 10 rupees, as returns do. The standard deduction cannot exceed the salary you enter. A pension counts as salary. Negative inputs are rejected, and the old-regime caps apply silently, so a 3,00,000 entry under 80C counts for 1,50,000.

Limits

Capital gains taxed at special rates, income from abroad, agricultural income and the tax already deducted by your employer are not included. Surcharge on special-rate income and the alternative minimum tax are not modelled. Check the Income Tax Department’s rules for the year you are filing, and treat the output as an estimate.

Related tools

• 80C Tax Calculator shows how much old-regime deduction room you still have.
• CTC to In-Hand Calculator turns a cost-to-company offer into monthly pay after tax.
• Advance Tax Calculator splits what you owe into instalment dates.
• Capital Gains Calculator handles the share and property gains left out here.