It depends entirely on what you can claim, and there is a level of deductions at which the answer flips. This works out where that line falls for your income.
FY 2026-27 (AY 2027-28). Rules checked 20 August 2026.
Old regime only. The new regime allows none of these, which is the whole trade.
Capped at ₹1,50,000
Capped at ₹50,000
Capped at ₹2,00,000
On ₹18.00 L, the new regime costs ₹67,600 less at the deductions you have entered. The old regime becomes the cheaper of the two once your deductions pass ₹6.42 L.
Difference ₹67,600
| Old regime | New regime | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross income | ₹18.00 L | ₹18.00 L |
| Standard deduction | -₹50,000 | -₹75,000 |
| Deductions claimed | ₹-4.25 L | -₹0 |
| Taxable income | ₹13.25 L | ₹17.25 L |
| Tax before rebate | ₹2.10 L | ₹1.45 L |
| Rebate, Section 87A | -₹0 | -₹0 |
| Surcharge | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| Health and education cess | ₹8,400 | ₹5,800 |
| Total tax | ₹2.18 L | ₹1.51 L |
FY 2026-27, AY 2027-28. Your band is marked.
| Up to ₹4.00 L | 0% | |
| ₹4.00 L to ₹8.00 L | 5% | |
| ₹8.00 L to ₹12.00 L | 10% | |
| ₹12.00 L to ₹16.00 L | 15% | |
| ₹16.00 L to ₹20.00 L | 20% | you |
| ₹20.00 L to ₹24.00 L | 25% | |
| Above ₹24.00 L | 30% |
FY 2026-27, AY 2027-28. Your band is marked.
| Up to ₹2.50 L | 0% | |
| ₹2.50 L to ₹5.00 L | 5% | |
| ₹5.00 L to ₹10.00 L | 20% | |
| Above ₹10.00 L | 30% | you |
The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act on 1 April 2026 and renumbered the statute. What everyone still calls Section 80C is now Section 123, and Section 80D is now Section 126. The deduction limits are unchanged, so nothing about what you can claim has moved. Only the numbering has.
Gross income, less the standard deduction where you are salaried, less the deductions you have entered, gives taxable income. The slab rates for that regime are applied band by band, the Section 87A rebate is deducted where it applies, surcharge is added above the thresholds and the 4% health and education cess sits on top of both.
Marginal relief is implemented, which is where a naive calculator gives a visibly wrong answer. A single rupee over a surcharge threshold cannot cost lakhs, because relief caps the surcharge at the income above the threshold that triggered it.
The breakeven is solved rather than estimated: the deduction level at which the old regime’s tax exactly equals the new regime’s, found by bisection on the same functions that produce the two columns.
It computes tax on salary and comparable income. It does not handle capital gains, business or professional income, foreign income or relief under Section 89 for arrears.
It assumes every deduction you enter is one you can actually substantiate, and it applies the statutory cap where there is one but cannot check your eligibility.
This is arithmetic on published rules, not tax advice. Zenith distributes investment products and is not a tax practitioner. For anything with a filing consequence, use a chartered accountant.
The new regime wins unless you claim a lot. At most salary levels the old regime only becomes cheaper once total deductions run past roughly four to four and a half lakh, which in practice means a full Section 123, a home loan interest claim and HRA together. The calculator above prints the exact figure for your income rather than the rule of thumb.
The statute was reorganised and renumbered on 1 April 2026, replacing the 1961 Act. Rates, slabs and deduction limits were not changed by it. What changed is where things sit: Section 80C became Section 123, Section 80D became Section 126, and a number of provisions were consolidated. Your filing arithmetic is the same; the references on your paperwork are not.
No. The deduction is intact at ₹1,50,000 and it is old regime only, exactly as before. It now lives at Section 123. If a form, a payslip or an insurer’s certificate still says 80C, it means the same thing, and both numbers appear on this page for that reason.
Enter your income above and the page states it as a rupee figure. The principle is that the new regime buys you lower rates and a higher rebate in exchange for giving up almost every deduction, so the old regime only pays if what you give up is worth more than what you gain. That crossing point rises with income.
A salaried taxpayer without business income can generally choose afresh each year at the time of filing, and the regime you declared to your employer for TDS does not bind the one you file under. Someone with business income faces a stricter, largely one-way rule. Confirm your own position with a chartered accountant before relying on it.
The rebate is a direct reduction of tax rather than of income. Under the new regime for this year it is ₹60,000, which is exactly the tax payable on ₹12,00,000 of taxable income under the current slabs. So tax computes normally and is then wiped out entirely at or below that figure. Above it, the rebate falls away and the full slab tax applies.
Surcharge is an additional percentage of the tax itself, stepping up at ₹50 lakh, ₹1 crore, ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore, with the new regime capped below the old regime’s top rate. Marginal relief stops the cliff: crossing a threshold by a rupee cannot increase your total tax by more than roughly that rupee, and this calculator applies it.
Yes. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force since 1 April 2026, the deduction formerly at Section 80C sits at Section 123 with the same ₹1,50,000 limit and the same old-regime-only restriction. Section 80D is now Section 126.
Under the new regime: nil up to ₹4,00,000, then 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. The old regime keeps nil to ₹2,50,000, 5% to ₹5,00,000, 20% to ₹10,00,000 and 30% above.
Under the new regime, yes, for taxable income at or below ₹12,00,000. The Section 87A rebate of ₹60,000 exactly cancels the tax computed on that amount. Above ₹12,00,000 the rebate does not apply and tax is payable on the whole taxable income under the slabs.
Very few. The standard deduction for salaried taxpayers and the employer's contribution to NPS are the notable ones. Section 123, Section 126, HRA and home loan interest on a self-occupied property are not available under it, which is the trade this calculator is built to price.
The new regime is the default. You have to opt into the old one. That matters for anyone whose deductions would make the old regime cheaper, because doing nothing costs them money.
Only under the old one. The basic exemption rises to ₹3,00,000 between 60 and 80 and ₹5,00,000 above 80. The new regime has a single exemption limit regardless of age, so the age advantage is one more thing given up by moving to it.
No. Capital gains are taxed at their own rates rather than at slab rates, and mixing them into a slab calculation would give a wrong answer. A separate capital gains calculator is in build.
No. This page computes tax under published rules for the stated assessment year, and it says on its face when those rules were last checked. Zenith Wealth distributes investment products and is not a tax practitioner. For a filing decision, speak to a chartered accountant.
Talk to the desk
Choosing investments to fit a deduction is how people end up holding products they did not want. If you are looking at a Section 123 gap, the useful conversation is about what the money is actually for, and the tax treatment falls out of that. Bring your numbers.
Computed under the Income-tax Act, 2025 for FY 2026-27 (AY 2027-28), on rules last checked 20 August 2026. This page is arithmetic on published rules and is not tax advice. Zenith Wealth is a distributor of investment products and is not a tax practitioner.
