Not possible
With no tax under the new regime, the old one can at best match it.
Old vs new tax regime on ₹7 lakh salary
On a ₹7 lakh salary the new regime charges no tax for Tax Year 2026-27, so the old regime can at best match it, whatever the deductions.
- Tax Year 2026-27 · verified 29 September 2026
- Checked against the official calculator
- By the Accurio.in team
Tax for Tax Year 2026-27
New regimeCheaper₹0
Old regime₹44,200
The new regime saves ₹44,200.
The new regime takes the ₹75,000 standard deduction: none of the amounts you enter count in it (s.202(2)).
₹4,50,000
is the most that s.123, own NPS, both health-insurance groups and home-loan interest can bring together (more for senior citizens). HRA exemption comes on top.
₹2,080 less
old-regime tax for the next ₹10,000 of deductions or exemptions.
Both regimes at other amounts of deductions
₹7 lakh salary, below 60, no other income
| Deductions | New | Old |
|---|---|---|
| ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹44,200 |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
The new regime’s tax stays the same: none of these deductions count in it.
How this is calculated
The comparison
- New regime (s.202, the default): salary − the ₹75,000 standard deduction, taxed at its slabs with its rebate, surcharge and cess. The deductions below are not allowed in it (s.202(2)).
- Old regime (opting out under s.202(4)): salary − the ₹50,000 standard deduction − the exempt part of HRA − home-loan interest − the Chapter VIII deductions, each within its limit, then its own slabs, rebate, surcharge and cess.
- Break-even: the smallest total of deductions and exemptions at which the old regime’s tax is lower than the new regime’s. Each rupee that counts takes a rupee off taxable income.
The limits
- s.123 payments (Schedule XV, such as provident fund and life insurance premiums): up to ₹1,50,000.
- Your own NPS contribution, s.124(3): up to ₹50,000, on top of s.123.
- Health insurance, s.126: up to ₹25,000 for self and family and ₹25,000 for parents; ₹50,000 for a group with a senior citizen in it.
- Interest on a loan for a self-occupied house: up to ₹2,00,000 (s.22(2)), ₹30,000 where its conditions are not met.
Assumptions
- A resident individual, for Tax Year 2026-27 (FY 2026-27): income earned from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
- Salary is the only income. Professional tax and employer NPS contributions are not included.
- You enter the exempt part of your HRA, not the HRA you receive: work it out with the HRA calculator.
- Health insurance: the higher limit applies to a group when anyone insured in it is a senior citizen (s.126(8)(a)). Choose “Someone 60+” for a senior spouse, say; your own age of 60 or more counts on its own.
- Home-loan interest is for a self-occupied house that meets the conditions for the ₹2,00,000 limit (s.22(2)(a)); otherwise the limit is ₹30,000.
Why can the official calculator show a different figure?
For the old regime, the Income Tax Department’s Advance calculator matched our figures to the rupee in every case we checked, with three exceptions. Just above ₹2 crore of income it charged a 15% surcharge instead of 25% with marginal relief. Above ₹5 crore it charged 25% instead of 37%. And it does not round taxable income to ₹10: taxable income of ₹5,00,001 to ₹5,00,004 rounds down to ₹5,00,000 under the Act (s.516) and gets the full rebate, where the calculator shows tax. We follow the Act.
Which regime applies if I don’t choose?
The new regime (s.202) is the default. To be taxed under the old regime you opt out of it under s.202(4).
What changed (latest: 1 April 2026)
The rules this page uses, by the date each took effect, newest first. Each was last checked against its official source on 29 September 2026.
-
17 changes
- New-regime slab rates on taxable income
- Old-regime slab rates: individuals below 60, and non-residents of any age
- Old-regime slab rates: resident individuals aged 60 to 79
- Old-regime slab rates: resident individuals aged 80 or more
- Standard deduction on salary
- Rebate, new regime
- Rebate, old regime
- Surcharge rates
- Health and education cess
- Rounding of total income and of tax payable/refund
- Deduction for life insurance premia, provident fund and the other Schedule XV payments (s.123, formerly 80C)
- Deduction for the individual's own NPS contribution (s.124(3), formerly 80CCD(1B))
- Deduction for health insurance premia (s.126, formerly 80D)
- Deduction for interest on bank, co-operative bank and post office deposits (s.153, formerly 80TTA and 80TTB)
- Interest on a home loan for a self-occupied house (s.22(1)(b)–(c), capped by s.22(2); formerly s.24(b))
- Employer NPS contribution deduction (s.124, formerly 80CCD(2))
- Income-tax Act 2025 in force; "Tax Year" replaces previous year / assessment year
Mistakes we have fixed on any page are listed on Corrections.