How much tax do I pay on a ₹15 lakh salary?
On a ₹15,00,000 gross salary in FY 2025-26, the new regime costs ₹97,500 — taxable income of ₹14,25,000 after the ₹75,000 standard deduction, ₹93,750 of slab tax plus ₹3,750 cess. The old regime costs ₹2,57,400 with no deductions, falling to about ₹95,160 if you fully use ₹5.55 lakh of deductions.
Educational information, not investment advice · Muktify is not SEBI-registered
Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator (FY 2025-26)
Enter your salary and the deductions you already have — see which regime taxes you less.
CTC minus employer PF/gratuity — your gross taxable salary
EPF + PPF + ELSS + life insurance etc. (capped at ₹1.5L)
Self + family, capped at ₹25,000
Interest paid per year, capped at ₹2L in the old regime
Your eligible HRA exemption, if you rent (enter your computed amount)
New regime
₹97,500
tax per year, incl. 4% cess
Old regime
₹2.57L
tax per year, incl. 4% cess
You save ₹1.60L/year with the new regime.
Taxable income: ₹14.25L (new) · ₹14.50L (old, after your deductions)
Assumptions
- FY 2025-26 slabs; resident individual below 60, salaried.
- Standard deduction: ₹75,000 (new) / ₹50,000 (old). 4% cess included.
- Section 87A rebate applied in both regimes (incl. marginal relief in the new regime).
- Surcharge is not modelled — results above ₹50L income are underestimated.
- 80C is what you already invest — this tool never suggests investing more.
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New regime, slab by slab
Start with ₹15,00,000 gross and subtract the ₹75,000 standard deduction, leaving taxable income of ₹14,25,000. The FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs then apply in steps: nothing on the first ₹4,00,000; 5% on the next ₹4,00,000 (₹20,000); 10% on the next ₹4,00,000 (₹40,000); 15% on the next ₹2,25,000 up to ₹14,25,000 (₹33,750).
That totals ₹93,750 of slab tax. Health and Education Cess at 4% adds ₹3,750, giving ₹97,500 payable — an effective rate of about 6.5% on gross salary. No Section 87A rebate applies here, because taxable income is above the ₹12,00,000 limit.
₹0 + ₹20,000 + ₹40,000 + ₹33,750 = ₹93,750 → +4% cess = ₹97,500
Old regime, for comparison
Under the old regime the standard deduction is ₹50,000, so taxable income is ₹14,50,000 if you claim nothing else. The four slabs — nil to ₹2,50,000, 5% to ₹5,00,000, 20% to ₹10,00,000, then 30% — produce ₹2,47,500 of slab tax, and with cess the total is ₹2,57,400. That is ₹1,59,900 more than the new regime.
Deductions close that gap but slowly. A full ₹1,50,000 of 80C brings the old regime to ₹2,10,600 — still ₹1,13,100 worse. Stacking ₹1,50,000 of 80C, ₹25,000 of 80D, ₹2,00,000 of home-loan interest and ₹1,80,000 of HRA exemption brings taxable income down to ₹8,95,000 and the total to ₹95,160, which finally undercuts the new regime by ₹2,340.
What changes the answer
Two things move this figure most. The first is your salary structure rather than its total: a larger basic+DA raises how much HRA exemption and employer-NPS deduction you can access, and employer NPS under 80CCD(2) is deductible in both regimes. The second is whether your deductions are real. A ₹1,50,000 80C figure you intend to invest is not the same as one you have.
These numbers assume a resident individual below 60 with salary income only. They exclude surcharge (income above ₹50,00,000), capital gains, business income, more than one house property, and senior-citizen slabs.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax on ₹15 lakh salary in FY 2025-26?
₹97,500 under the new regime — ₹93,750 of slab tax on taxable income of ₹14,25,000, plus ₹3,750 of 4% cess. Under the old regime it is ₹2,57,400 with no deductions claimed.
What is the in-hand salary for a ₹15 lakh package?
Tax is only part of it. In-hand pay also depends on your provident-fund contribution, professional tax and any other deductions your employer applies, and on how much of the package is fixed versus variable. The salary-in-hand calculator works it out from your own structure.
How can I reduce tax on a ₹15 lakh salary?
Under the new regime the main lever is your salary structure — particularly employer NPS under 80CCD(2), which stays deductible. Under the old regime it is fully using the deductions available to you: 80C, 80D, HRA and home-loan interest. Which route is cheaper depends on your own numbers, and the comparison above shows how to check.
Is ₹15 lakh a good salary in India?
That is a question about your costs, not the number. A more useful version is how many months of your own expenses ₹15 lakh covers, and what it leaves over each month — which is what the free Muktify scan works out from figures you enter.
Does the ₹12 lakh nil-tax rule help at ₹15 lakh?
No. The Section 87A full rebate applies only up to ₹12,00,000 of taxable income. At ₹14,25,000 taxable you are past it, and marginal relief has also run out, so the full slab tax applies.
Related
- Salary in-hand calculator →
- Old vs new tax regime — which is better for me? →
- Can I claim HRA if I pay rent to my parents? →
See all of this on your own numbers
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Start the free scan →Last updated 2026-07-25. Figures reflect FY 2025-26 and are educational estimates, not advice. Muktify is not SEBI-registered and never recommends or ranks any instrument.