New vs old tax regime, FY 2025–26

The new regime now starts taxing only after 4 lakh, with a rebate that makes tax nil up to 12 lakh of taxable income, plus a 75,000 standard deduction.

The old regime still wins if you have a large home-loan interest deduction, HRA in a high-rent metro, and a full 1.5 lakh of 80C that isn’t just EPF.

Do not pick a regime because a colleague did. Run both sides in the salary calculator.