Income tax slabs, year by year.

The financial year (FY) is the year you earn the income, 1 April to 31 March. The assessment year (AY) is the year after, when that income is filed and assessed. Slabs are usually quoted by assessment year.

The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. It names a year by when the income is earned - tax year 2026-27 - instead of the assessment year that follows.

The new regime has been the default since AY 2024-25. You can still choose the old regime; if you have business or professional income, that choice is made by filing Form 10-IEA.

The rebate does not cover tax on special-rate income such as capital gains. The AY 2024-25 rebate was up to ₹25,000 and the AY 2026-27 rebate is up to ₹60,000. For FY 2026-27 the rebate and standard deduction sit in the Income-tax Act, 2025; this table will add that column once the income tax department publishes its guide for the year.

These are the old regime slabs for AY 2026-27 and FY 2026-27. For people below 60 they were the same in AY 2025-26. The exemption limit depends on age.

For AY 2026-27, a resident under the old regime with total income up to ₹5 lakh pays no tax, through a section 87A rebate of up to ₹12,500. The old regime standard deduction is ₹50,000.

• Budget 2023, for AY 2024-25: the new regime became the default, with five slabs and ₹3 lakh tax-free. The rebate limit rose to ₹7 lakh, the ₹50,000 standard deduction was extended to the new regime, and the highest surcharge in the new regime was cut from 37% to 25%.
• Budget July 2024, for AY 2025-26: the 5% slab widened to ₹3-7 lakh and the 10% slab to ₹7-10 lakh. The new regime standard deduction went from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000. For sales from 23 July 2024, tax on short-term gains on listed shares rose from 15% to 20%, and on long-term gains from 10% to 12.5%, with the yearly exemption raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh.
• Budget 2025, for AY 2026-27: ₹4 lakh tax-free, slabs in ₹4 lakh steps, a new 25% slab for ₹20-24 lakh, and 30% only above ₹24 lakh. The rebate rose to ₹60,000, so income up to ₹12 lakh pays no tax.
• Budget 2026, for FY 2026-27: no change in tax rates. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026. Separately, returns with business income and no audit became due on 31 August instead of 31 July, and revised returns can be filed for 12 months after the year instead of 9 - both already apply to AY 2026-27.

Tax under the new regime on salary alone, after the standard deduction, including the 4% cess:

The AY 2024-25 and AY 2025-26 figures are the Ministry of Finance's own, from its Budget 2024-25 note. For your own salary and deductions, the old vs new regime calculator compares both regimes.

Section numbers on this page are from the Income-tax Act, 1961, which governs AY 2026-27. From AY 2027-28 (income earned from 1 April 2026) the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies, and section numbers change.