What were the income-tax slabs for FY 2023-24?
For FY 2023-24 the new regime, which was the default, charged nil tax up to ₹3 lakh, 5 percent from ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh, 10 percent to ₹9 lakh, 15 percent to ₹12 lakh, 20 percent to ₹15 lakh, and 30 percent above ₹15 lakh. Those slabs do not apply to income of FY 2025-26.
What was the new regime that year?
The bands applied to an individual and a Hindu undivided family for FY 2023-24, assessment year 2024-25.
| Income | New-regime rate for FY 2023-24 |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹3 lakh | Nil |
| ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh | 5 percent |
| ₹6 lakh to ₹9 lakh | 10 percent |
| ₹9 lakh to ₹12 lakh | 15 percent |
| ₹12 lakh to ₹15 lakh | 20 percent |
| Above ₹15 lakh | 30 percent |
Section 87A, in that year’s new regime, gave a rebate so that income up to ₹7 lakh paid no tax. The highest surcharge rate in the new regime was reduced from 37 percent to 25 percent. The year before, FY 2022-23, had used a different optional table, starting at ₹2.5 lakh and stepping through 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent up to ₹15 lakh. That earlier table was not the FY 2023-24 table.
What was the old regime that year?
The old regime was not rewritten. For a person below 60, income up to ₹2.5 lakh was nil, ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh was 5 percent, ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh was 20 percent, and income above ₹10 lakh was 30 percent. The rebate in the old regime stayed at income up to ₹5 lakh. A person who stayed in the old regime kept the deductions that regime allowed, and gave up the new-regime bands.
Which slabs apply now?
Income of FY 2025-26, assessed in AY 2026-27, uses the Budget 2025 new-regime slabs: nil up to ₹4 lakh, then 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent through the bands up to ₹24 lakh, and 30 percent above ₹24 lakh. The rebate for that year leaves tax at nil up to ₹12 lakh of income taxed at normal rates. Those figures are on the Budget 2025 page. Filing the return is on the income-tax return page.
What did the new regime give up?
A person on the FY 2023-24 new regime did not claim house rent allowance, leave travel allowance, or the Chapter VI-A deductions that regime disallowed, other than the deductions that regime kept. Budget 2023 did extend the standard deduction to the new regime, at ₹50,000. It was not the ₹75,000 standard deduction that the new regime allows for FY 2025-26. Professional tax was not allowed in that new regime.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover FY 2025-26, the ₹12 lakh rebate, the standard deduction, and the old regime.
Can these slabs be used for FY 2025-26?
No. FY 2023-24 is a closed year. Income of FY 2025-26 is taxed on the Budget 2025 new-regime slabs.
Was the rebate that year up to ₹12 lakh?
No. In the new regime for FY 2023-24 the section 87A rebate applied to income up to ₹7 lakh. The ₹12 lakh rebate is the later rule, for FY 2025-26.
Was the standard deduction ₹75,000 that year?
No. Budget 2023 extended the standard deduction into the new regime at the amount the law then allowed, which was ₹50,000. The ₹75,000 figure is the new-regime standard deduction for FY 2025-26.
Did the old regime change in that budget?
No. For a person under 60 the old-regime bands stayed at nil up to ₹2.5 lakh, 5 percent to ₹5 lakh, 20 percent to ₹10 lakh, and 30 percent above ₹10 lakh.
Sources
The slabs below are the Finance Act, 2023, for FY 2023-24, assessed in AY 2024-25. They are not the slabs for FY 2025-26.