New vs Old Tax Regime
India Uses Indian income-tax, provident fund, ESI and professional tax rules.
Income tax calculator new regime vs old for FY 2026-27: compare both on your salary and see how much deduction the old regime needs to win.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Results
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
Assumptions and formula
The calculator computes your whole-year tax twice, once under each regime, on the same salary. The new regime gets the larger standard deduction and the Section 87A rebate with marginal relief; the old regime gets HRA on the rent you actually pay, Chapter VI-A deductions, and the professional tax deduction under Section 16(iii) that Section 115BAC withdraws. It then solves for the additional deduction the old regime would need to overtake the new one.
Income tax, EPF, ESI and gratuity rules run locally from rule data verified against the Income Tax Department, EPFO, ESIC and the Code on Wages. Professional tax is a state levy: schedules confirmed against the state own notification are labelled as such, and a state whose schedule is not sourced is never silently treated as nil. This is an estimate, not a payslip, a Form 16 or tax advice.
Worked example
On a 15,00,000 package with 25,000 a month of rent in a metro and a full 1,50,000 under Section 80C, the old regime claws back a large HRA exemption but usually still trails the new regime. The page reports by how much, and what would close the gap.
Frequently asked questions
Which tax regime is better, old or new?
It depends on how much you can deduct. The new regime has lower slab rates and a higher rebate but allows almost no deductions beyond the standard deduction and employer NPS; the old regime keeps the higher rates but lets you claim 80C, HRA, home loan interest, health insurance and the rest. There is therefore a break-even level of deductions for every salary: below it the new regime wins, above it the old one does. This calculator finds that break-even for your income, so instead of guessing you can compare it with the deductions you actually have. Run as an income tax calculator new regime only, it gives the tax under the new slabs; run as an income tax calculator FY 2026-27 under both regimes, it gives the comparison. Whether you call it an old vs new tax regime calculator or a which tax regime is better calculator, that break-even deduction figure is the answer it exists to give. Use it as an income tax calculator for the new regime, or as a new tax regime calculator beside the old one: it shows the tax under each so the cheaper regime is clear.
Should I choose the new tax regime or the old one?
The new regime is the default and wins for most people because its slabs are wider and it gives a ₹75,000 standard deduction with no paperwork. The old regime only wins if you have substantial deductions — typically rent paid with HRA, a full ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80C, health insurance under 80D and home loan interest under Section 24(b). This calculator computes both on your actual numbers and tells you how much extra deduction the old regime would need to overtake the new one.
Is income up to ₹12 lakh really tax free?
Under the new regime, taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 attracts a Section 87A rebate of ₹60,000, which reduces the tax to nil. With the ₹75,000 standard deduction that means a gross salary of about ₹12.75 lakh pays no tax. Just above ₹12 lakh, marginal relief applies so your tax can never exceed the income by which you crossed the threshold — at ₹12,10,000 of taxable income the tax is about ₹10,400, not the ₹63,960 that naive slab arithmetic produces.
How much HRA exemption can I claim?
HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) is the least of three figures: the HRA you actually received, the rent you paid minus 10 per cent of your basic salary, and 50 per cent of basic if you live in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai (40 per cent everywhere else). If you pay no rent you get no exemption at all, whatever your HRA component says. Note that Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurugram are non-metro for this rule regardless of how expensive they are.
How much professional tax will I pay?
Professional tax is a state levy, capped at ₹2,500 a year by Article 276(2) of the Constitution. States differ widely: Karnataka charges ₹200 a month above ₹25,000 salary, Maharashtra exempts women below ₹25,000 a month but men only below ₹7,500, Tamil Nadu and Kerala assess half-yearly, and Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan do not levy it at all.
Why is my in-hand salary so much lower than my CTC?
CTC includes money that never reaches your bank account. Your employer’s provident fund contribution, gratuity accrual, employer NPS and any insurance premium are all counted inside CTC but are never paid to you as cash. Your own PF, professional tax, ESI and TDS then come out of what is left. The gap between CTC and cash is usually 20 to 30 per cent.