How Income Tax Works in FY 2026-27
India taxes individuals under two regimes, and you choose one each year. The new regime is the default. It uses the slabs introduced by Budget 2025 and carried forward unchanged by Budget 2026: no tax up to ₹4 lakh, then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% across ₹4-lakh bands, and 30% above ₹24 lakh. A rebate under Section 87A of up to ₹60,000 means taxable income up to ₹12 lakh pays zero tax. For salaried people, the ₹75,000 standard deduction stretches that to a ₹12.75 lakh salary.
The old regime is optional. It keeps the historic slabs: nil up to ₹2.5 lakh, 5% up to ₹5 lakh, 20% up to ₹10 lakh, and 30% beyond. In exchange, it allows the full menu of deductions, including 80C up to ₹1.5 lakh, 80D for health insurance, ₹50,000 extra for NPS under 80CCD(1B), up to ₹2 lakh of home-loan interest, and HRA.
Worked Examples for the New Regime
Three examples show how the pieces fit together. A ₹12.75 lakh salary, minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction, leaves ₹12 lakh taxable. The slab tax of ₹60,000 is fully cancelled by the rebate, so the tax is zero. A ₹12.85 lakh salary leaves ₹12.10 lakh taxable, which is ₹10,000 over the rebate line. Marginal relief caps the tax at that excess, so you pay ₹10,000 plus cess, or ₹10,400, instead of the ₹63,960 the slabs alone would demand. And a ₹25 lakh salary leaves ₹24.25 lakh taxable, giving a slab tax of ₹3,07,500 plus ₹12,300 cess, a total of ₹3,19,800.
Which Regime Should You Choose?
The fewer deductions you actually claim, the more the new regime wins. Up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income it is almost always better, since the tax is zero. The old-versus-new regime decision can still tip the other way for people who claim large HRA, 80C and home-loan interest together. As a rule of thumb at higher incomes, you need roughly ₹4.5 to 5 lakh of combined deductions before the old regime beats the new one, and few taxpayers clear that bar without both HRA and a home loan. This calculator shows both regimes side by side, so you do not have to guess.
What Else Applies on Top?
Above ₹50 lakh of income, a surcharge applies: 10% rising to 37% in the old regime, capped at 25% in the new. Everyone pays a 4% Health and Education Cess on the tax plus surcharge. One more change worth knowing: from 1 April 2026, the new Income-tax Act, 2025 replaces the 1961 Act. It renumbers sections, so 80C becomes Section 123, but it changes no rates or slabs.
Capital Gains Are Taxed at Their Own Rates
Gains from selling listed shares or equity mutual funds do not go into the slabs at all. Short-term gains (held one year or less) are taxed flat at 20% under Section 111A. Long-term gains get a ₹1.25 lakh yearly exemption, and the portion above it is taxed at 12.5% under Section 112A. The Section 87A rebate never applies to these — so a salary that would be tax-free on its own can still leave tax payable on the gains, and gains that push your total income past ₹12 lakh can cost you the rebate on your salary too. This calculator has separate fields for short-term and long-term equity gains and applies these rules automatically, including the rule that lets residents set an unused basic exemption against the gains. Gains taxed at slab rates, such as short-term gains on property or unlisted shares, go in the "Other Capital Gains" field.
This calculator covers salary, interest, rent and listed-equity capital gains. Property sales with indexation, reinvestment exemptions under Sections 54 and 54F, lottery winnings and other complex situations need professional advice. Please consult a chartered accountant for your actual filing.