How the calculator works
Tax year 2026-27 runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. It is the first year under the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced the 1961 Act and uses a single “tax year” instead of “previous year” and “assessment year”. The rates themselves did not change from 2025-26.
The calculator works out your tax twice, once under each regime, in the same order the law does:
Tax = slab tax − rebate + surcharge − marginal relief, then + 4% health and education cess
New regime slabs for 2026-27 (default)
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹4,00,000 | Nil |
| ₹4,00,001 to ₹8,00,000 | 5% |
| ₹8,00,001 to ₹12,00,000 | 10% |
| ₹12,00,001 to ₹16,00,000 | 15% |
| ₹16,00,001 to ₹20,00,000 | 20% |
| ₹20,00,001 to ₹24,00,000 | 25% |
| Above ₹24,00,000 | 30% |
Salaried people get a ₹75,000 standard deduction. If taxable income is ₹12 lakh or less, the rebate under section 156 (the old section 87A) wipes out the tax, up to ₹60,000. Just above ₹12 lakh, marginal relief means your tax can never be more than the amount by which you crossed ₹12 lakh. Surcharge is 10% above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore and 25% above ₹2 crore, and never more than 25%.
Old regime slabs for 2026-27
| Taxable income | Below 60 | 60 to 79 | 80 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹2,50,000 | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| ₹2,50,001 to ₹3,00,000 | 5% | Nil | Nil |
| ₹3,00,001 to ₹5,00,000 | 5% | 5% | Nil |
| ₹5,00,001 to ₹10,00,000 | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Above ₹10,00,000 | 30% | 30% | 30% |
The old regime keeps a ₹50,000 standard deduction and the familiar deductions: 80C up to ₹1.5 lakh (now section 123), your own NPS contribution up to ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B) (section 124), health insurance under 80D (section 126), HRA, and up to ₹2 lakh of interest on a home you live in. The rebate is smaller: up to ₹12,500 when taxable income is ₹5 lakh or less, with no marginal relief. Surcharge goes up to 37% above ₹5 crore.
Sources: Income-tax Act, 2025 (sections 19, 22, 123, 124, 126, 156 and 202) and the First Schedule of the Finance Bill, 2026, checked on 21 October 2026.
Worked example: ₹15 lakh salary
Priya earns ₹15,00,000 a year, including ₹3,00,000 HRA on a basic salary of ₹6,00,000. She pays ₹20,000 a month rent in Mumbai, puts ₹1,50,000 into 80C investments and ₹50,000 into NPS, pays ₹25,000 for health insurance and ₹2,500 professional tax.
New regime: ₹15,00,000 − ₹75,000 = ₹14,25,000 taxable. Tax is ₹60,000 on the first ₹12 lakh plus 15% of ₹2,25,000 (₹33,750) = ₹93,750. Add 4% cess: ₹97,500.
Old regime: the HRA exemption is the least of ₹3,00,000 (HRA), ₹2,40,000 − ₹60,000 = ₹1,80,000 (rent minus 10% of basic) and ₹3,00,000 (50% of basic), so ₹1,80,000. Taxable income is ₹15,00,000 − ₹1,80,000 − ₹50,000 − ₹2,500 − ₹2,25,000 = ₹10,42,500. Tax is ₹1,12,500 + 30% of ₹42,500 = ₹1,25,250, plus cess: ₹1,30,260.
The new regime saves her ₹32,760 a year, even with HRA and full 80C. She would need about ₹1,36,250 more in deductions for the old regime to break even.
When the old regime still wins
The old regime tends to win when your deductions are large compared with your income, for example:
- you pay high rent in a metro city and get a big HRA,
- you pay home-loan interest close to ₹2 lakh on the house you live in,
- you use the full ₹1.5 lakh 80C, ₹50,000 NPS and 80D for yourself and senior parents.
Even then, check the numbers: at higher incomes the new regime’s wider slabs often beat a large deduction total. The break-even figure in the result tells you how far away you are.
Tips and limits
- Tell your employer early. You choose your regime when you file your return, but your employer deducts TDS based on what you declare at the start of the year. A wrong choice means a bigger bill or a refund later.
- Employer NPS still counts. Your employer’s NPS contribution is deductible in both regimes (up to 14% of salary in the new regime). The calculator does not ask for it. While it stays within that limit it is taxed and deducted in equal amounts, so you can leave it out of gross salary.
- Capital gains are separate. Gains on shares and mutual funds are taxed at special rates, and the ₹60,000 rebate does not cover them.
- Rounding. Your return rounds income and tax to the nearest ₹10, so expect small differences.
To plan a home or car loan from your take-home pay, use the EMI calculator. To see what a raise means in percentage terms, try the percentage calculator. Our guide to the new vs old tax regime for 2026-27 has more examples.