Methodology

The new regime applies a ₹75,000 standard deduction, then taxes the remainder across seven slabs: nil up to ₹4,00,000, 5% to ₹8,00,000, 10% to ₹12,00,000, 15% to ₹16,00,000, 20% to ₹20,00,000, 25% to ₹24,00,000, and 30% above that.

A section 87A rebate of up to ₹60,000 applies where taxable income does not exceed ₹12,00,000. We also model marginal relief just above that threshold, so income slightly over the limit is never taxed by more than the amount by which it exceeds it.

The old regime applies a ₹50,000 standard deduction and four slabs: nil to ₹2,50,000, 5% to ₹5,00,000, 20% to ₹10,00,000, and 30% above that. Its section 87A rebate is capped at ₹12,500 and stops at ₹5,00,000 of taxable income with no marginal relief, so it behaves as a hard cliff rather than a taper.

Surcharge applies on the tax amount above ₹50,00,000 of taxable income at 10%, above ₹1,00,00,000 at 15%, and above ₹2,00,00,000 at 25% in the new regime, with an additional 37% band above ₹5,00,00,000 in the old regime. Health and education cess of 4% is applied to tax plus surcharge. Surcharge marginal relief is modelled so crossing a threshold never costs more than the income that caused it.

Note that surcharge is assessed on taxable income, not CTC. A ₹50 lakh CTC produces roughly ₹49,03,400 of taxable income under our default assumptions, which sits below the first surcharge threshold.

Where a page does not ask you for a value, these defaults apply: employer provident fund of ₹21,600 is removed from CTC before salary is computed, employee provident fund of ₹21,600 is deducted from pay, professional tax is ₹2,400 per year, and old-regime deductions are assumed to be ₹1,50,000 unless stated otherwise. Bonus is treated as zero on the pre-set salary pages so the comparison is clean.

Professional tax varies by state; ₹2,400 is a common annual figure and not a national rule. Provident fund contributions depend on your salary structure and your employer's policy.

The calculators do not model capital gains, income from house property, business or professional income, foreign income and treaty relief, advance tax scheduling, or TDS timing. Multi-country take-home estimates outside India use simplified payroll assumptions and are directional rather than filing-grade.

The rules above are implemented from the following published sources. Where the statute and a departmental summary differ in presentation, we follow the statute.

• Income Tax Department — Tax slabs and rates — Slab rates for both regimes, published by the tax department.
• Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 115BAC — The provision that defines the new tax regime and its rates.
• Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 87A — The rebate applied below the ₹12,00,000 threshold in the new regime.
• Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 80CCD(2) — Employer NPS contributions, one of the few deductions available inside the new regime.
• EPFO — Employees' Provident Fund — Provident fund contribution structure used for the PF assumptions.

If a rule here is out of date or wrong, we want to know. Tell us via the contact page and we will correct it and update the review date above. Rates are reviewed each time the Union Budget changes them. See also our disclaimer.