Mr Choubey — Income-tax filing guidance for salaried | mrchoubey.com
FY 2025-26 gives salaried employees two price lists for the same income; at Rs 15,00,000 of salary the difference is about Rs 1,53,750 when only the standard deduction is counted.
The new regime for FY 2025-26 runs seven bands: nil up to Rs 4,00,000, then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% across successive Rs 4,00,000 steps, and 30% above Rs 24,00,000. Salaried taxpayers first subtract a standard deduction of Rs 75,000.
The old regime keeps the long-standing schedule: nil up to Rs 2,50,000, 5% on the band to Rs 5,00,000, 20% on the band to Rs 10,00,000 and 30% above that, with a standard deduction of Rs 50,000.
The new regime's decisive feature is the section 87A rebate. When taxable income is Rs 12,00,000 or less, the rebate cancels the computed tax up to a cap of Rs 60,000 — and the slab tax on exactly Rs 12,00,000 is exactly Rs 60,000. A salary of Rs 12,75,000 therefore pays nil under the new regime.
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Worked comparison at Rs 15,00,000 of salary, counting only the standard deduction. New regime: taxable Rs 14,25,000, tax Rs 20,000 + Rs 40,000 + Rs 33,750 = Rs 93,750. Old regime: taxable Rs 14,50,000, tax Rs 12,500 + Rs 1,00,000 + Rs 1,35,000 = Rs 2,47,500.
At Rs 20,00,000 of salary the pattern holds. New regime: taxable Rs 19,25,000, tax Rs 1,85,000. Old regime: taxable Rs 19,50,000, tax Rs 12,500 + Rs 1,00,000 + Rs 2,85,000 = Rs 3,97,500.
These comparisons count only the standard deduction; other exemptions available under the old regime can narrow or reverse the gap, so both schedules should be computed on actual figures. Whichever regime is chosen, the due date is the same — see ITR Deadline and Late Fees — and the form choice is unaffected — see Which ITR Form to File.
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