Income Tax Calculator

It depends on how many deductions and exemptions you actually claim (80C, HRA, home loan interest, and similar). If your eligible deductions are substantial, the old regime often works out cheaper; if you claim few or none, the new regime's lower slab rates usually win. Compare both using your real numbers rather than assuming -- this calculator does that comparison directly.Read more: Rent in the City, Buy Farmland, Pay No Tax: The Advice That Raises Your Tax Bill

Under the old regime, Section 80C covers instruments like PPF, ELSS mutual funds, EPF, life insurance premiums, and 5-year tax-saving FDs, up to the annual 80C cap. The new regime doesn't offer most of these deductions, which is the core trade-off between the two regimes.Read more: The 80C Industry Lost Its Reason to Exist. Nobody Told the Sales Calls.

It depends on the holding period and asset type. Equity held over 12 months is taxed as long-term capital gains (with an annual exemption threshold); held less than 12 months, it's short-term and taxed differently. Debt funds follow their own, separate rules. Always check the current thresholds, since these are periodically revised.Read more: Salary / CTC Calculator: Your Real In-Hand Pay

TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) is income tax deducted upfront by whoever pays you -- an employer, a bank paying FD interest above a threshold, and similar -- and deposited with the tax department on your behalf. It's an advance payment toward your total tax liability, not an extra tax, and is adjusted when you file your return.Read more: Tax Deferment Techniques in India: What the Wealthy Use and Nobody Teaches You