What is Income Tax Calculator?
This calculator estimates your Indian income tax for FY 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) under both the old and new regimes at once, so you can see which one costs you less. That comparison is the whole question for most salaried taxpayers — the regimes have different slabs, different standard deductions, and crucially the new regime does not allow the Chapter VI-A deductions (80C, 80D, HRA, home loan interest) that the old regime is built around.
The Finance Act 2025 substantially widened the new regime. The nil-tax slab now runs to ₹4 lakh, the standard deduction is ₹75,000, and the Section 87A rebate covers taxable income up to ₹12 lakh — meaning a salaried person earning up to about ₹12.75 lakh gross pays no tax at all under the new regime. That change moved the break-even point far enough that the old regime now only wins for people with genuinely large deductions.
Every figure is broken down: gross income, deductions, taxable income, tax on each slab, the 87A rebate, surcharge where applicable, and the 4% health and education cess. The slab table shows precisely how much tax each band contributed, which is the part most calculators hide and the part you need in order to check the result against your own Form 16.
Use Cases
Here are the most common ways people use Income Tax Calculator every day.
Choosing Between the Old and New Regime
Salaried taxpayers can switch regimes each year when filing. The right answer depends entirely on how much you actually claim in deductions, not on how much you could theoretically claim. Enter your real 80C, 80D, HRA, and home loan interest figures and the calculator shows both bills side by side. As a rough guide after the 2025 changes, the old regime only wins once total deductions exceed roughly ₹4–5 lakh, which in practice means a substantial home loan.
Checking Your Employer's TDS
Employers deduct tax at source based on the regime you declared and the investment proofs you submitted. If your take-home does not match your expectation, compute the annual liability here and compare it against twelve times your monthly TDS. A large gap usually means either the wrong regime is on file or proofs you submitted were not processed — both worth catching in December rather than in July.
Planning Investments Before the Financial Year Ends
If you are on the old regime, deductions only help up to a point — each additional rupee of 80C saves you tax at your marginal rate, and once you have exhausted the ₹1.5 lakh limit, further investment saves nothing. Model it: increase the deduction figure and watch how much the tax actually falls. Quite often the honest answer is that switching to the new regime beats locking money into tax-saving instruments you would not otherwise buy.
Negotiating or Evaluating a Salary Offer
A CTC figure tells you very little about what lands in your account. Enter the gross and see the tax and take-home under both regimes. Comparing two offers on take-home rather than CTC frequently changes which one looks better, particularly when one has a larger proportion of the package in taxable allowances.
Estimating Advance Tax Instalments
If your total tax liability exceeds ₹10,000 for the year, advance tax is payable in four instalments — 15% by 15 June, 45% cumulative by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, and 100% by 15 March. Compute your annual liability here first, then apply those percentages. Missing instalments attracts interest under sections 234B and 234C.
Understanding Where Your Tax Actually Goes
The slab table shows the tax contributed by each band, which makes marginal versus effective rate concrete. Someone in the 30% bracket is rarely paying 30% overall — the effective rate on ₹25 lakh is closer to 13% under the new regime. Seeing that laid out changes how people think about a raise pushing them "into a higher bracket".
Examples
A ₹12 Lakh Salary With No Deductions
The scenario the 2025 budget changes were designed around.
₹12,00,000 gross · no deductions · under 60 New regime: ₹0 (87A rebate covers it). Old regime: ₹1,17,000. New regime wins by ₹1,17,000. A ₹15 Lakh Salary With ₹1.5 Lakh in 80C
A typical salaried profile with standard tax-saving investments.
₹15,00,000 gross · ₹1,50,000 deductions · under 60 New regime: ₹97,500. Old regime: ₹2,10,600. New regime saves ₹1,13,100. A ₹25 Lakh Salary With ₹3 Lakh in Deductions
Higher income with 80C, 80D, and home loan interest claimed.
₹25,00,000 gross · ₹3,00,000 deductions · under 60 New regime: ₹3,19,800. Old regime: ₹4,75,800. New regime saves ₹1,56,000. Income Tax Calculator vs the Income Tax Department calculator
The official calculator on incometax.gov.in is authoritative. This one is faster for the comparison most people actually need.
| Feature | Toolorah | the Income Tax Department calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Both regimes side by side | Always, by default | One at a time |
| Slab-by-slab breakdown | Yes | Summary only |
| Speed to a first answer | Three fields | A longer form |
| Handles capital gains and other heads | No | Yes |
| Marginal relief on surcharge | Not modelled | Yes |
| Authoritative for filing | No — an estimate | Yes |
| Data leaves your device | Never | Submitted to the portal |
Tips for Using Income Tax Calculator
- Enter the deductions you genuinely claim, not the maximum permitted. Comparing against a theoretical best case will point you at the wrong regime.
- The new regime is now the default when filing. If you want the old one, you must actively opt for it — and salaried taxpayers can switch each year.
- The ₹75,000 standard deduction under the new regime applies automatically to salary income and is already included here. You do not need to enter it.
- The 87A rebate is a cliff, not a taper: at ₹12,00,000 taxable your tax is nil, and just above it the full slab tax applies. Marginal relief exists to soften this but is not modelled here.
- This covers salary income only. Capital gains, rental income, and business income are taxed under different rules and will change the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which regime should I choose?
Compute both — that is what this page does. As a rule of thumb for FY 2025-26, the new regime wins for most salaried taxpayers because its slabs are wide and the 87A rebate now extends to ₹12 lakh of taxable income. The old regime only comes out ahead when your total deductions are large, typically above ₹4–5 lakh, which in practice means a significant home loan interest claim plus full 80C and HRA. Enter your actual numbers rather than relying on the rule of thumb.
What are the new regime slabs for FY 2025-26?
Up to ₹4,00,000: nil. ₹4,00,001–₹8,00,000: 5%. ₹8,00,001–₹12,00,000: 10%. ₹12,00,001–₹16,00,000: 15%. ₹16,00,001–₹20,00,000: 20%. ₹20,00,001–₹24,00,000: 25%. Above ₹24,00,000: 30%. A 4% health and education cess applies on the tax. The standard deduction for salary income is ₹75,000, and the Section 87A rebate of up to ₹60,000 makes taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 effectively tax-free.
What are the old regime slabs?
Up to ₹2,50,000: nil. ₹2,50,001–₹5,00,000: 5%. ₹5,00,001–₹10,00,000: 20%. Above ₹10,00,000: 30%, plus 4% cess. The exemption limit rises to ₹3,00,000 for taxpayers aged 60–79 and ₹5,00,000 for those 80 and above. The standard deduction is ₹50,000 and the 87A rebate of up to ₹12,500 applies to taxable income up to ₹5,00,000.
Which deductions can I claim in the new regime?
Very few. The ₹75,000 standard deduction on salary applies, as does the employer's contribution to NPS under 80CCD(2) and a handful of specific exemptions. What you lose is the bulk of what people actually claim: 80C investments, 80D health insurance, HRA, LTA, and home loan interest on a self-occupied property. That is precisely the trade — wider slabs in exchange for giving up deductions. The deductions field here therefore only affects the old regime column.
Is the ₹12 lakh tax-free claim accurate?
For salary income under the new regime, broadly yes. Taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 attracts a full rebate under Section 87A, and with the ₹75,000 standard deduction that corresponds to gross salary of about ₹12,75,000. Above that threshold the rebate disappears entirely and slab tax applies to the whole taxable amount, though marginal relief limits how sharply the bill jumps just past the line. Note the rebate does not apply to income taxed at special rates, such as capital gains.
Does this include surcharge and cess?
Yes. The 4% health and education cess is applied to the tax after rebate. Surcharge is applied at 10% above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore, 25% above ₹2 crore, and 37% above ₹5 crore — with the new regime capping surcharge at 25%. Marginal relief, which limits the surcharge when income only just crosses a threshold, is deliberately not modelled: it only applies in narrow bands and modelling it without your full income picture would mislead more than it helps.
Does this work for business or capital gains income?
No. This calculator assumes salary income taxed at slab rates for a resident individual. Capital gains are taxed at special rates (12.5% LTCG on equity above ₹1.25 lakh, 20% STCG) and sit outside the slab structure entirely. Business and professional income brings presumptive taxation, depreciation, and different regime-switching rules. If any of those apply to you, use this only as a rough starting point and consult a chartered accountant.
How accurate is this estimate?
The slab arithmetic, standard deduction, 87A rebate, surcharge, and cess are computed exactly as specified in the Finance Act 2025 for a resident individual with salary income. It will match your actual liability closely for a straightforward salaried profile. It will not match if you have capital gains, multiple income heads, foreign income, relief under sections 89 or 90, or if you fall in a surcharge marginal relief band. Treat it as an estimate for planning, and verify against the Income Tax Department's own calculator or your CA before filing.