Income Tax Calculator FY 2026-27 (AY 2027-28) — Old vs New Regime

Quick answer

For FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27, the new regime charges nil tax up to ₹4 lakh, then 5% to 30% in ₹4 lakh steps, with a ₹75,000 standard deduction for salaried people and a Section 87A rebate that makes tax nil up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income. The old regime has higher rates but allows deductions like 80C, 80D, HRA and home-loan interest. Enter your numbers above and this income tax calculator shows the cheaper regime.

How to use this income tax calculator

The calculator asks for yearly figures, not monthly ones. Keep your Form 16, salary slips or a rough estimate of the year's income handy. Every field is optional except that your salary and other income together must be more than zero.

1. Financial year — pick FY 2025-26 if you are filing the return for the year that ended on 31 March 2026. Pick FY 2026-27 if you are planning tax or declaring investments for the current year.
2. Your age — choose below 60, 60 to 79 (senior) or 80 and above (super senior). Age changes only the old regime's slabs. The new regime has the same slabs for everyone.
3. Gross salary / pension — your total yearly salary or pension before any deduction. Take the "gross salary" figure from Form 16 Part B. Do not reduce HRA or PF yourself; the calculator handles exemptions in their own fields. Leave it at 0 if you are not salaried.
4. Other income — savings and FD interest, net rent from a let-out house (after the 30% standard deduction on rent), and profit from freelancing or a small business. Do not put capital gains here.
5. HRA exemption — the tax-free part of your HRA, not the full HRA. If you are unsure, work it out first with our HRA exemption calculator and copy the result.
6. 80C — PPF, ELSS, life insurance premium, your own EPF contribution, children's tuition fees, home-loan principal and similar items. Enter the total; the calculator caps it at ₹1.5 lakh.
7. 80D — health insurance premium for yourself, your family and your parents, including preventive check-ups.
8. Home-loan interest (24b) — interest on a loan for a house you live in. The calculator caps it at ₹2 lakh.
9. Your NPS — 80CCD(1B) — your own voluntary NPS contribution, capped at ₹50,000.
10. Employer NPS — 80CCD(2) — the amount your employer puts into NPS for you. This is the only deduction in the form that the new regime also allows.
11. Other deductions — anything else allowed in the old regime, such as 80G donations, 80E education-loan interest, 80TTA savings interest or 80TTB for seniors.

The result appears instantly. You see which regime saves you money and by how much, plus a side-by-side table: gross income, standard deduction, other deductions, taxable income, slab tax, 87A rebate, surcharge, cess, total tax and the monthly equivalent.

How the calculation works, step by step

This income tax calculator follows the same order the income tax department follows when it processes a return. Knowing the order helps you read the result table and spot where a difference comes from.

Step 1: Gross total income

Salary or pension plus other income. Both regimes start from the same gross figure.

Step 2: Standard deduction

Salaried people and pensioners get ₹75,000 in the new regime and ₹50,000 in the old regime. If your salary is smaller than the standard deduction, the deduction is limited to your salary. People with no salary get no standard deduction.

Step 3: Exemptions and deductions

In the new regime, only employer NPS is subtracted. In the old regime, the calculator subtracts the HRA exemption (never more than your salary), 80C up to ₹1.5 lakh, 80D within the limits, home-loan interest up to ₹2 lakh, your own NPS up to ₹50,000, employer NPS and other deductions.

Step 4: Slab tax

Taxable income is run through the slabs for the regime and, in the old regime, for your age group. Each slice of income is taxed only at its own rate.

Step 5: Rebate, surcharge and cess

The Section 87A rebate is applied next, then surcharge if income is above ₹50 lakh, and finally 4% health and education cess on tax plus surcharge. The final figure is rounded to the nearest ₹10.

Income tax slabs for FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27

The slabs are the same for both years. The new regime is the default; you get the old regime only if you choose it.

New regime slabs (all ages)

Old regime slabs

A note on law: the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026 and uses the term "tax year". From tax year 2026-27 it renumbers sections like 80C, 87A and 24(b). This calculator keeps the familiar section names and applies the rates shown above.

What each regime allows

The biggest difference between the two regimes is not the rates but the deductions. Here is how the items in the calculator are treated.

Because the new regime ignores most deductions, the only way to know which is cheaper is to compare both on your own figures. That is exactly what the calculator does.

Section 87A rebate, surcharge and cess

Rebate and marginal relief

In the new regime, if your taxable income is ₹12 lakh or less, the rebate wipes out tax up to ₹60,000. Slab tax on exactly ₹12 lakh is ₹60,000, so the full amount goes. Add the ₹75,000 standard deduction and a salary of ₹12.75 lakh pays no tax.

Just above ₹12 lakh, a sudden jump in tax would be unfair, so marginal relief applies. Your tax cannot be more than the amount by which your income exceeds ₹12 lakh. The calculator applies this automatically. On our maths, this relief stops mattering at a taxable income of roughly ₹12.70 lakh, after which normal slab tax is lower than the excess income.

In the old regime, the rebate is up to ₹12,500 when taxable income is ₹5 lakh or less. There is no marginal relief there, so ₹5,000 of extra income above ₹5 lakh can bring in the full slab tax.

Two limits to remember. The rebate is for resident individuals only; the calculator does not ask about residence, so NRIs should ignore the rebate line. And it does not cover special-rate income such as capital gains on shares or crypto.

Surcharge and cess

Surcharge is an extra tax on tax for high incomes. It is 10% when taxable income is above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore, 25% above ₹2 crore and 37% above ₹5 crore. The new regime caps surcharge at 25%, so the 37% rate applies only in the old regime.

When income crosses a threshold by a small amount, marginal relief limits the surcharge so that the extra tax is not more than the extra income. The calculator applies this too. After surcharge, 4% health and education cess is added on the total of tax and surcharge.

Worked examples with real numbers

All figures below come from the same rules the calculator uses. Try them yourself to see the table.

Example 1: Salary ₹12.75 lakh, small deductions

Priya earns a gross salary of ₹12,75,000. She has 80C of ₹1,50,000 and health insurance of ₹25,000.

• New regime: ₹12,75,000 − ₹75,000 = ₹12,00,000 taxable. Slab tax ₹60,000, rebate ₹60,000. Tax: nil.
• Old regime: ₹12,75,000 − ₹50,000 − ₹1,75,000 = ₹10,50,000 taxable. Slab tax ₹12,500 + ₹1,00,000 + ₹15,000 = ₹1,27,500. Cess ₹5,100. Tax: ₹1,32,600.

The new regime saves her ₹1,32,600. Her investments still make sense for savings, but they do not cut her tax.

Example 2: Salary ₹18 lakh with large deductions

Rahul earns ₹18,00,000. He has an HRA exemption of ₹2,40,000, 80C of ₹1,50,000, 80D of ₹25,000, home-loan interest of ₹2,00,000 and own NPS of ₹50,000 — ₹6,65,000 in all.

• New regime: taxable ₹17,25,000. Slab tax ₹1,45,000, cess ₹5,800. Tax: ₹1,50,800.
• Old regime: taxable ₹18,00,000 − ₹50,000 − ₹6,65,000 = ₹10,85,000. Slab tax ₹1,38,000, cess ₹5,520. Tax: ₹1,43,520.

The old regime saves him ₹7,280. Without the home loan, the new regime would win. This is why the answer changes from person to person.

Example 3: Salary ₹12.9 lakh — marginal relief

Ankit earns ₹12,90,000 and claims nothing. New regime taxable income is ₹12,15,000. Slab tax is ₹62,250, but income above ₹12 lakh is only ₹15,000, so tax is limited to ₹15,000 (rebate ₹47,250). With cess of ₹600, he pays ₹15,600. The old regime would cost ₹1,91,880.

Example 4: Senior citizen with pension and interest

Mrs Sharma, 66, gets a pension of ₹9,00,000 and FD interest of ₹3,00,000. In the old regime she has 80C of ₹1,00,000, 80D of ₹40,000 and 80TTB of ₹50,000 (entered under other deductions).

• New regime: ₹12,00,000 − ₹75,000 = ₹11,25,000 taxable. Slab tax ₹52,500, fully rebated. Tax: nil.
• Old regime: taxable ₹9,60,000. Slab tax ₹1,02,000 plus cess ₹4,080. Tax: ₹1,06,080.

Example 5: Salary ₹55 lakh — surcharge

For a salary of ₹55,00,000 with no deductions, new regime taxable income is ₹54,25,000. Slab tax is ₹12,07,500, surcharge at 10% is ₹1,20,750 and cess is ₹53,130, for a total of ₹13,81,380.

How much deduction makes the old regime worth it?

A quick way to think about the choice: at your salary, how much in old-regime deductions (beyond the ₹50,000 standard deduction) would you need before the old regime matches the new one? We ran the calculator's rules for a person below 60 with only salary income.

If your actual deductions are below the figure in the last column, the new regime is likely cheaper. If they are well above it — usually because of a large HRA exemption plus home-loan interest — the old regime may win. Treat this as a rough guide and run your exact numbers in the calculator.

Profiles where each regime tends to win

The new regime usually comes out ahead for people who live in their own house or with family (so no HRA), have no home loan, and invest mainly through EPF. It also suits anyone whose taxable income stays within ₹12 lakh, because the rebate brings the tax to nil without any investment at all.

The old regime tends to win for people who pay high rent in a metro city and get a large HRA, and who also pay home-loan interest on a house in another city or claim the full 80C, 80D and NPS amounts every year. Senior citizens with large medical insurance and interest income may also find the old regime close, so they should always compare.

Families sometimes miss that the choice is personal. Husband and wife each pick their own regime, so one may be better off in the old regime because of a home loan in their name, while the other is better off in the new one. Run the calculator separately for each person.

Special cases the calculator handles — and does not

Capital gains and crypto

Gains on shares, mutual funds, property, gold and crypto are taxed at special rates, not at slab rates. For example, long-term gains on listed equity are taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh and short-term equity gains at 20%. Keep these out of "other income". Work them out separately with our capital gains calculator.

Rent from a let-out house

Enter net rent: rent received minus municipal tax paid, then minus 30% standard deduction, then minus interest on the loan for that house. If this gives a loss, the calculator cannot show it, and set-off rules differ between regimes, so get advice.

Two employers in one year

Add the gross salaries from both Form 16s. Each employer gives the standard deduction and rebate on its own, so TDS is often short when you combine them. The calculator shows your true tax for the year.

Freelancers and small businesses

Put your profit — not your receipts — in other income. If you use presumptive taxation under 44AD or 44ADA, the declared profit is what goes in. Remember that people with business income cannot switch regimes freely every year.

NRIs

Non-residents are taxed in India only on income earned or received in India, such as Indian rent or NRO interest. The 87A rebate is not available to them, and in the old regime the higher exemption limits for seniors apply only to residents. Use the calculator as a rough guide only and ignore the rebate line.

Salary arrears

If you received arrears of salary for earlier years, adding them to this year can push you into a higher slab. Relief under Section 89 can reduce the extra tax, but it needs Form 10E to be filed on the portal before the return. The calculator does not work out this relief.

Professional tax and other small items

Professional tax paid on salary is deductible in the old regime. There is no separate field, so add it to "other deductions" if you are comparing precisely.

Choosing your regime: employer vs return

At the start of the year, your employer asks which regime you want for TDS. This choice only decides how much tax is deducted each month. The final choice is made when you file your return.

If you have no business income, you can pick either regime each year in the return. To use the old regime, file the return by the due date, because a belated return is processed under the new regime. If you have business or professional income, opting out of the new regime is done through a separate form, and you can switch back only once.

If you told your employer one regime and the calculator shows the other is cheaper, you can still choose the better one in your return. Any extra TDS comes back as a refund; any shortfall is paid as self-assessment tax before filing.

Planning the current year with the calculator

The income tax calculator is not only for filing. Run it in April or May with FY 2026-27 selected, using your expected salary for the year. The result tells you which regime to declare to your employer, so that the right TDS is cut from the very first month instead of a big deduction in February and March.

Test "what if" changes

Change one field at a time and watch the gap between the regimes. Add ₹50,000 of own NPS, or raise 80C to the full ₹1.5 lakh, and see whether the old regime overtakes the new one. If the old regime wins only after investments you were not planning to make anyway, the new regime is usually the simpler choice.

A salary hike is worth testing too. Someone just under ₹12.75 lakh of salary pays nil tax in the new regime; a hike that takes taxable income a little above ₹12 lakh brings tax back, softened by marginal relief. Seeing the real number helps when you negotiate how a hike is structured, for example a larger employer NPS contribution, which stays deductible in the new regime.

Read the "per month" line

The last row of the result divides the yearly tax by 12. Compare it with the TDS on your salary slip. If your slip shows much less, you may face a balance at filing time; if it shows much more, you may have forgotten to declare rent or investments. Declarations are made to your employer through Form 12BB, which you can prepare with our Form 12BB generator.

Keep proofs from day one

If the old regime is better for you, the deductions only count when backed by proof: rent receipts, premium receipts, the home-loan interest certificate and investment statements. Collect them as you pay, not in a rush when your employer asks in January.

Common mistakes people make

• Entering full HRA instead of the exempt part. Only the tax-free portion goes in the HRA field. Entering full HRA overstates old-regime savings.
• Counting EPF twice. Your own EPF contribution is part of 80C. Do not add it separately in other deductions.
• Overstating 80D. The calculator allows up to ₹50,000 for parents, which is the senior-parent limit. If your parents are below 60, their limit is ₹25,000, so enter only what you can actually claim.
• Employer NPS above the limit. 80CCD(2) is limited to 14% of basic plus DA in the new regime and 10% in the old. The calculator takes the amount you enter, so enter the allowed figure.
• Mixing capital gains with other income. This applies slab rates to gains that should be taxed at special rates and can wrongly remove the 87A rebate.
• Forgetting interest income. Savings and FD interest is fully taxable and shows in your AIS. Leaving it out makes the result too low and can lead to a notice later.
• Treating pension as "other income". Pension from a former employer is taxed as salary and gets the standard deduction. Put it in the salary/pension field, not in other income, or the result will be too high.
• Using the wrong year. Use FY 2025-26 for the return you file in 2026, and FY 2026-27 for current-year planning.

From the calculator to your return

Once you know your tax, the next step is filing. First compare your figures with Form 16, Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income tax e-filing portal. Every interest, dividend and TDS entry there should be in your income.

Then check which form applies to you. Salary with small extras usually means ITR-1; capital gains beyond the small limit or income above ₹50 lakh means ITR-2. Our Which ITR form tool tells you in a few clicks.

Keep these ready: PAN and Aadhaar, Form 16 from every employer, bank interest certificates, rent receipts and landlord PAN (if claiming HRA), home-loan interest certificate, 80C and 80D proofs, and broker statements for any share sales. If the calculator's tax is more than your TDS, pay the balance as self-assessment tax before filing to avoid interest.

Filing after the due date costs a late fee of ₹5,000 (₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh) and, as explained above, takes away the option of the old regime for salaried people. Check your exact deadline with our ITR due date checker.

When expert help is worth it

An online income tax calculator is accurate for salary, pension and simple other income. Get help when your situation has moving parts: capital gains along with salary, a let-out property with a loss, income from abroad, ESOPs, arrears of salary, business income with a regime choice to protect, or a big gap between your TDS and your real tax. These are the cases where a small error changes the regime decision or invites a notice.

Get it checked by an expert

Not sure your numbers are complete? A TaxCaller tax expert can check your income, deductions and regime choice against your Form 16 and AIS, and then file your return for you. You are told the fee upfront before any work starts, and the first call is free. Start with our income tax filing service and share your documents securely.