Income Tax Slabs 2026-27: New and Old Regime Rates

The income tax slabs for tax year 2026-27 (April 2026 to March 2027) are the same as last year. In the new regime, income up to ₹4 lakh is tax-free and the rate rises by 5% for every ₹4 lakh after that, reaching 30% above ₹24 lakh. With the ₹75,000 standard deduction and the rebate in section 156, a salary of up to ₹12.75 lakh pays no tax at all.

The rates below come from the Finance Act, 2026. The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026, which is why the year is now called a "tax year"; it did not change the rates.

New regime slabs for 2026-27

The new regime is the default, now under section 202. It applies the same slabs whatever your age.

Old regime slabs for 2026-27

The old regime keeps the deductions: section 123 (the old 80C) up to ₹1.5 lakh, health insurance under section 126, HRA, home loan interest and the rest. You opt into it; if you say nothing, the new regime applies.

What sits on top of the slabs

• Standard deduction: ₹75,000 in the new regime and ₹50,000 in the old, taken off salary before the slabs apply. It is in section 19.
• Rebate: in the new regime, up to ₹60,000 off the tax when taxable income is ₹12 lakh or less. In the old regime, up to ₹12,500 when taxable income is ₹5 lakh or less. Both are in section 156, the old 87A.
• Marginal relief: just above ₹12 lakh of taxable income in the new regime, your tax cannot exceed the amount by which you crossed ₹12 lakh. A salary of ₹13 lakh, for example, pays ₹26,000 including cess instead of the ₹66,300 the slabs alone would give.
• Surcharge: 10% of the tax above ₹50 lakh of income, 15% above ₹1 crore and 25% above ₹2 crore. The old regime adds a 37% band above ₹5 crore; the new regime stops at 25%.
• Cess: 4% health and education cess on the tax plus surcharge, in both regimes.

What the slabs mean for your salary

These are the full-year taxes for a salaried person with no other income, worked out with the income tax calculator. The old-regime column assumes ₹2 lakh of deductions, a typical section 123 plus health insurance claim.

At every level in this table the new regime costs less. The old regime only catches up when deductions are much larger than ₹2 lakh: about ₹5.4 lakh at a ₹15 lakh salary and ₹8 lakh from ₹25 lakh upwards. The new vs old regime guide goes through that decision in detail.

From tax to take-home

Tax is one of three things between your gross salary and what reaches your bank each month, alongside employee PF and professional tax. The in-hand salary calculator does the whole journey from CTC, and the in-hand salary by package pages give the answer for common LPA figures.

Frequently asked questions

Are the income tax slabs for 2026-27 different from 2025-26?

No. The slab rates, the ₹75,000 standard deduction and the ₹60,000 rebate are the same as in FY 2025-26. Only the name changed, from financial year to tax year.

Up to how much salary is tax-free in 2026-27?

₹12.75 lakh in the new regime. The ₹75,000 standard deduction brings that down to ₹12 lakh of taxable income, and the section 156 rebate cancels the tax on it.

What are the slabs for senior citizens in 2026-27?

In the new regime, the same as everyone else. In the old regime, people aged 60 to 79 pay nothing up to ₹3 lakh and people aged 80 or more pay nothing up to ₹5 lakh, with the same 20% and 30% bands above that.

Which regime should I choose for 2026-27?

Most salaried people pay less in the new regime. The old regime wins only with large deductions, roughly ₹5.4 lakh or more at a ₹15 lakh salary. Enter your own numbers in the income tax calculator to see both.