Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
Pick the old regime if…
You claim a home-loan interest deduction, max out 80C/80D, and get meaningful HRA — the deductions can outweigh the lower new-regime rates.
Pick the new regime if…
You have few deductions. Run both with our income tax calculator — it’s the only reliable way to compare for your numbers. Confirm current slabs/limits.
A break-even way to decide
The decision is really arithmetic, and there’s a rough break-even worth knowing. Under the old regime your tax falls as your deductions rise; under the new regime the rates are lower but most deductions are gone. So the question is whether your total deductions clear the level at which the old regime’s saving overtakes the new regime’s lower rates. For many salaried people that break-even sits around the point where claimed deductions — 80C, 80D, home-loan interest under Section 24(b), HRA, NPS — add up to a few lakh; below that the new regime usually wins, above it the old regime can. A person with a running home loan and full 80C/80D and meaningful HRA often still does better on the old regime; someone renting modestly with little invested usually does better on the new one. The only reliable answer is to compute both on your actual numbers, which our income-tax calculator does in a minute. Remember the new regime is now the default, so to use the old one you actively opt in (and, with business income, via Form 10-IEA). Re-run the comparison each year, since slabs, the rebate and your own deductions change.