New Tax Regime Vs Old: Income Tax Department Launches e-Calculator To Compare

On Thursday, Income Tax officials said that it has launched an e-calculator for individuals to estimate their tax liability if they opt for the new tax slabs in the financial year 2020-21 (assessment year 2021-22) that comes without certain deductions and exemptions.

The calculator comes with a table to compare taxes in the old and the new tax regime, for resident individuals and has been hosted on the Income Tax department's official e-filing website that is used by taxpayers to file their income tax returns (ITR).

Taxpayers in three age categories of normal citizen (below 60 years), senior citizen (60-79 years) and super senior citizen (above 79 years) can enter in their estimated annual income from all sources, total eligible deductions and exemptions to see what will be their total taxable income if they continue in the old regime or opt for the new one.

The calculator takes into account eligible exemptions and deductions, as proposed under the new regime.

Under the new personal income tax regime proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech, the following tax rate changes were made:

Taxable Income Slab (Rs)	Existing Tax Rates	New Optional Tax Rates For FY 2020-21
0-2.5 Lakh	Exempt	Exempt
2.5-5 Lakh	5%	5%
5-7.5 Lakh	20%	10%
7.5-10 Lakh	20%	15%
10-12.5 Lakh	30%	20%
12.5-15 Lakh	30%	25%
Above 15 Lakh	30%	30%

Popular tax deduction and exemptions like standard deduction of Rs 50,000 and section 80C cannot be availed if individuals choose the new tax regime.