Compare old vs new regime for FY 2026-27.
Old regime tax
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New regime tax
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Your breakdown
Updates live as you type| Step | Old regime | New regime |
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Two regimes, two completely different philosophies
India runs two parallel income-tax systems and you pick one each year. The old regime has higher slab rates but rewards you for saving and spending in approved ways: 80C investments up to 1.5 lakh, 80D health insurance, HRA, the Section 24(b) home-loan interest deduction up to 2 lakh, and dozens of smaller reliefs. The new regime, the default since FY 2023-24 and sweetened again in Budget 2025, offers much lower slabs and a nil band up to 4 lakh, but strips away almost every deduction except the 75,000 standard deduction and the employer NPS contribution. This calculator runs your numbers through both and tells you which one leaves more in your hand for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27).
How the tool computes each side
On the old side it subtracts the 50,000 standard deduction plus whatever 80C, 80D, HRA, and 24(b) figures you enter, then applies the four old slabs and the narrow 12,500 rebate that vanishes above 5 lakh. On the new side it subtracts the 75,000 standard deduction only, applies the wider seven-band slabs, and applies the generous 60,000 rebate that makes income up to 12 lakh tax-free, with marginal relief just above that so a small overshoot is not punished. Both then add 4% cess. The comparison is honest only if your deduction inputs are realistic, so enter what you can actually claim, not what you wish you could.
A 15 lakh earner with typical deductions
Take someone earning 15 lakh gross who can claim a full 1.5 lakh under 80C, 25,000 of 80D health cover, and 1.2 lakh of HRA, with no home loan. Here is the head-to-head.
Even with a healthy 2.95 lakh of deductions, the new regime wins by 67,860 here. The bars make the gap clear.
Where the old regime still wins
The new regime is not a blanket winner. The old regime pulls ahead when your legitimate deductions are large relative to income, the classic case being someone with a home loan claiming the full 2 lakh of 24(b) interest on top of 1.5 lakh of 80C, 50,000 of NPS under 80CCD(1B), 75,000 of 80D for self and senior parents, and substantial HRA. Stack those and total deductions can cross 4.5 to 5 lakh, at which point the old regime’s higher rates are more than offset. As a rough break-even, if you can claim deductions beyond roughly 4 to 4.5 lakh at a 15 lakh income level, run both, because the answer flips. There is no universal rule; the only honest method is to compute, which is what this tool does.
Can I switch between regimes every year?
If your income is from salary or pension, yes, you may choose afresh each financial year, and a salaried person can even tell the employer one regime for TDS and then change it when filing the return. If you have business or professional income, the choice is sticky: you can opt out of the new regime back to the old one only once, after which you generally cannot return to the new regime while that business continues, and you must file Form 10-IEA to make the switch. Verify the current year’s procedure before relying on this.
Does the employer’s choice lock me in?
No. Whatever regime your employer used to deduct TDS through the year, you are free to pick the other one when you file your return, and the system squares up via refund or balance payable. Many people let the employer default to the new regime for convenience and then switch to the old regime at filing if their deductions justify it.