Free Tool · Old Tax Regime · FY 2026-27
Enter your CTC and get the ideal component-wise breakdown — maximising HRA, employer NPS, LTA, and every available exemption. See your tax under Old vs New Regime and your actual monthly take-home.
FY 2026-27
Latest tax slabs
₹1.5L+ savings
Possible tax reduction
6 inputs
Personalised result
As stated in your offer letter or CTC breakup sheet
Affects HRA % (50% metro / 40% non-metro)
Enter 0 if you live in your own house (HRA will be taxable)
Home Loan
Claim ₹2L u/s 24(b) interest deduction
Senior Citizen Parents
Increases 80D limit to ₹75,000
NPS Subscriber
Employer NPS + ₹50K extra 80CCD(1B)
Fill in your details and click the button to see your optimised salary breakdown, tax comparison, and monthly take-home.
How This Works
We maximise: HRA exemption, employer NPS under 80CCD(2) (the most underused tax benefit in Indian payroll), LTA, and statutory deductions. We minimise: Special Allowance — the catch-all balancing component that is 100% taxable with no exemptions possible.
Maximise HRA
Set HRA at 50% of basic (metro) or 40% (non-metro). If you pay rent, the exemption formula takes the minimum of three conditions — HRA received, actual rent minus 10% of basic, or the 50%/40% of basic cap. For metro renters, this is typically the single largest exemption on the payslip.
Add employer NPS via 80CCD(2)
Ask your HR to allocate 10% of your basic salary as an employer NPS contribution. This money moves from Special Allowance (100% taxable) to NPS (0% tax). For a ₹12L CTC employee, this can mean ₹20,000–₹40,000 additional tax savings per year — beyond the ₹1.5L 80C limit.
Use LTA, Medical, and Professional Dev allowances
These are small but fully exempt components — ₹2,400/year for Professional Development and ₹15,000 for Medical Allowance. LTA covers 2 journeys in a 4-year block. Together they can save ₹5,000–₹8,000 in tax annually.
Minimise Special Allowance
Special Allowance is the balancing figure in your CTC and is 100% taxable. Every rupee moved from Special Allowance to an exempt component (NPS, LTA, HRA) saves you 20–30% in tax. This is the core principle: shift money away from Special Allowance.
FAQs
Optimise your basic salary to 40–50% of CTC, maximise HRA (especially if you pay rent in a metro city), add employer NPS contributions under Section 80CCD(2), and claim LTA. Together these minimise the portion of your CTC that is fully taxable (the Special Allowance). Under the Old Regime, combining 80C (₹1.5L), NPS (₹50K extra), and 80D can reduce taxable income by ₹3–5L.
The Old Regime wins when you have significant deductions — HRA in a metro city, active 80C investments, employer NPS, and a home loan. The New Regime wins when your deductions are minimal (e.g., no rent paid, no home loan, no extra 80C beyond employer PF). As a rule of thumb: if your total deductions exceed ₹3.75L for income up to ₹15L, Old Regime is better. Use the Tax Comparison section above to see which saves more for your exact numbers.
Yes, and this is one of the most tax-efficient restructuring moves available. Employer NPS contributions under Section 80CCD(2) are fully deductible for the employee — with no upper cap for private-sector employees — and they do not count against the ₹1.5L Section 80C limit. Effectively, the employer redirects a portion of salary (that would otherwise be Special Allowance, which is 100% taxable) into the employee's NPS Tier 1 account. The employee saves 20–30% tax on that amount.
The standard deduction is ₹75,000 for FY 2026-27 under both the Old and New Tax Regimes. It was increased from ₹50,000 (Old) and ₹75,000 (New) in Budget 2024. No receipts or proof are required — it is a flat deduction applied automatically to all salaried individuals.
No. HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) requires that you actually pay rent to a landlord. If you live in a self-owned property, you cannot claim HRA exemption even if your salary structure includes an HRA component. The HRA received would then be fully taxable under the Old Regime, and the New Regime does not allow HRA exemption at all.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for educational purposes only. Figures are approximations based on standard salary structure conventions for FY 2026-27. Actual tax liability depends on your specific CTC structure, investment declarations, rental agreements, and applicable surcharges. Consult a qualified CA for personalised tax advice. Tax laws as of FY 2026-27; please verify for subsequent years. Onsurity does not guarantee the accuracy of these calculations for individual tax filing.
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