Personal tax, not a CA substitute

New versus old income-tax regime: a working sketch

India now treats the new regime as the default for many salaried people, while the old regime still matters if you have a stack of deductions. This page explains how IndiaKit estimates tax, where HRA and the standard deduction sit, and why a website cannot file your return.

What the calculator is modelling

The new-regime sketch on IndiaKit uses wide slabs: no tax on the first ₹4 lakh of taxable income in the model, then 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 percent bands, with a 4 percent health and education cess on the tax. The old-regime sketch is simpler still — classic 2.5 / 5 / 20 / 30 bands — because the real old-regime outcome depends on 80C, 80D, HRA and housing-loan interest that only you know.

A ₹12 lakh taxable income in the new-regime model is therefore a teaching example, not an assessment order. Rebate rules, surcharge, and the difference between gross total income and taxable income after exemptions can move the number by tens of thousands of rupees.

When the old regime can still win

If you pay rent in a metro and claim HRA, contribute to EPF and PPF, and pay a housing-loan interest schedule, the old regime may still be cheaper. If you have almost no deductions, the new regime’s higher basic exemption in this model often wins. The only honest way to decide is to run both with the same taxable-income definition, then confirm in the Income Tax utility for the relevant assessment year.

IndiaKit will not ask for PAN, Form 16 uploads, or OTPs. File and pay on incometax.gov.in. Use our HRA and tax-refund tools as arithmetic, then let a return utility or a chartered accountant apply the year’s Finance Act.