Old vs New Regime Comparator

The question is not which regime is better

It is which regime is better for you, and that turns on one number: how much you genuinely claim in deductions and exemptions. The new regime offers wider slabs and a lower headline rate but strips out almost everything you can subtract. The old regime keeps HRA, 80C, 80D, home-loan interest and the rest, but taxes what remains at higher rates.

So there is a break-even: a total deduction figure below which the new regime wins and above which the old one does. This tool computes that crossover for your salary rather than leaving you to guess, which is the part most comparisons skip.

What gets compared

Tax under both regimes on the same gross, with the standard deduction applied as each regime allows it, cess, surcharge and the marginal-relief band. On the old-regime side, HRA exemption, 80C, 80D, 80CCD(1B), home-loan interest under 24(b) and the common lesser sections are all enterable - and the comparison tells you not only which regime wins today but by how much, so you can judge whether the difference is worth reorganising your investments for.

Those are the 1961 Act numbers, which still apply to FY 2025-26. From FY 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbers them as sections 123, 126, 124(3) and 22, and the page prints whichever numbering the selected year uses. Employer NPS - section 124(1), formerly 80CCD(2) - is the one deduction both regimes allow, capped at 14% of basic plus DA in the new regime and 10% in the old for a non-government employer.

Why the break-even matters more than the verdict

A verdict is a snapshot; the break-even is a decision rule. If you are ₹40,000 of deductions short of the crossover, one additional 80C contribution changes the answer - and knowing that is worth considerably more than being told which regime happens to win on the numbers you typed today.

It also stops the most common mistake in this decision, which is choosing the old regime for deductions you intend to claim but never actually do.

What it will not do

This is an estimate for the assessment year shown on the result, not tax advice, and it cannot see your Form 16 or your actual investment proofs. Exempt allowances your employer structures in unusual ways, capital gains, and income from other heads all change the picture. If a large sum turns on the answer, take the output to a chartered accountant rather than to your payroll portal.