How much income tax do I pay on a ₹15 lakh salary?
Income tax on a ₹15 lakh salary is ₹97,500 under the new regime in FY 2026-27, about ₹8,125 a month. That is ₹93,750 of slab tax on taxable income of ₹14,25,000, after the ₹75,000 standard deduction, plus ₹3,750 cess. The old regime costs ₹2,57,400 with no deductions. If ₹15 lakh is your CTC rather than your gross, tax is ₹83,460 and in-hand pay is about ₹1,02,845 a month.
Try it on your numbers in the Old vs new regime calculatorNew 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 2026-27 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, or ₹8,125 a month if your employer spreads the TDS evenly over twelve salaries. No Section 87A rebate applies here, because taxable income is above the ₹12,00,000 limit.
Income tax from ₹12 lakh to ₹16 lakh, side by side
The table runs the same calculation at the salaries either side of ₹15 lakh: gross salary, a resident below 60, FY 2026-27, nothing claimed beyond the standard deduction. Up to ₹12,75,000 gross the new regime charges nothing at all, because the Section 87A rebate covers taxable income up to ₹12,00,000.
Just above that line, marginal relief caps the tax at the income above it. On ₹13,00,000 gross, taxable income is ₹12,25,000, so the tax before cess is held to ₹25,000 instead of the full slab tax of ₹63,750, and ₹26,000 is payable. By ₹13,50,000 the relief has run out and every slab applies in full. The old regime, with nothing claimed, costs more than twice the new regime at every row.
| Gross salary | Taxable income (new) | New regime tax | New regime, per month | Old regime tax (nothing claimed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹12,00,000 | ₹11,25,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹1,63,800 |
| ₹12,75,000 | ₹12,00,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹1,87,200 |
| ₹13,00,000 | ₹12,25,000 | ₹26,000 | ₹2,167 | ₹1,95,000 |
| ₹13,50,000 | ₹12,75,000 | ₹74,100 | ₹6,175 | ₹2,10,600 |
| ₹14,00,000 | ₹13,25,000 | ₹81,900 | ₹6,825 | ₹2,26,200 |
| ₹15,00,000 | ₹14,25,000 | ₹97,500 | ₹8,125 | ₹2,57,400 |
| ₹16,00,000 | ₹15,25,000 | ₹1,13,100 | ₹9,425 | ₹2,88,600 |
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.
If ₹15 lakh is your CTC, not your gross
Offer letters quote CTC, and CTC includes the employer’s provident fund contribution, which never reaches your bank account. Take a ₹15,00,000 CTC with basic at 40%, the employer’s provident fund inside the package and ₹200 a month of professional tax: gross salary is ₹14,10,000, new-regime income tax is ₹83,460 (about ₹6,955 a month), your own provident fund takes ₹90,000 a year, and in-hand pay is about ₹1,02,845 a month.
The same structure at a ₹14,00,000 CTC pays ₹42,640 of tax and about ₹98,913 a month in hand; at ₹16,00,000 CTC it pays ₹98,124 of tax and about ₹1,08,956 a month. The salary in-hand calculator works it out from your own basic and deductions.
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.
Old vs new regime
Questions people ask
How much income tax on a ₹15 lakh salary in the new regime?
₹97,500 in FY 2026-27 — ₹93,750 of slab tax on taxable income of ₹14,25,000, plus ₹3,750 of 4% cess. Spread across twelve salaries that is ₹8,125 a month. Under the old regime it is ₹2,57,400 with no deductions claimed.
How much income tax on a ₹13 lakh salary (13 LPA)?
On ₹13,00,000 gross the new regime charges ₹26,000 in FY 2026-27. Taxable income is ₹12,25,000, only ₹25,000 above the ₹12,00,000 rebate line, and marginal relief holds the tax before cess to that ₹25,000. At ₹13,50,000 the relief has run out and the tax is ₹74,100. The old regime with nothing claimed charges ₹1,95,000 on ₹13,00,000.
What is the income tax on a ₹14 lakh or ₹16 lakh salary?
₹81,900 on ₹14,00,000 gross and ₹1,13,100 on ₹16,00,000 under the new regime in FY 2026-27, against ₹2,26,200 and ₹2,88,600 under the old regime with nothing claimed. The table above lists each step from ₹12 lakh to ₹16 lakh.
What is the in-hand salary for a ₹15 lakh package?
About ₹1,02,845 a month if ₹15,00,000 is your CTC, with basic at 40%, the employer’s provident fund inside the package and ₹200 a month of professional tax. Gross salary is then ₹14,10,000, so new-regime tax is ₹83,460 rather than the ₹97,500 on a ₹15,00,000 gross, and ₹90,000 a year goes to your own provident fund. The salary-in-hand calculator works it out from your own structure.
How much tax is deducted each month on a ₹15 lakh salary?
If ₹15,00,000 is your gross and you are on the new regime, the year’s ₹97,500 spread evenly is ₹8,125 a month. If ₹15,00,000 is your CTC, gross is lower once the employer’s provident fund comes out, so the tax is ₹83,460 a year, about ₹6,955 a month. Employers adjust TDS during the year as declarations change, so individual months can differ.
Is the old regime ever cheaper on a ₹15 lakh salary?
Only with a very large deduction stack. ₹1,50,000 of 80C alone still leaves the old regime at ₹2,10,600. 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 it to ₹95,160, which is ₹2,340 below the new regime’s ₹97,500.
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.
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.
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 calculator on the Muktify home page works out from figures you enter.
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Try it nowLast updated 3 October 2026. Figures reflect FY 2026-27 and are educational estimates, not advice. Muktify is not SEBI-registered and never recommends or ranks any instrument. How we write and check guides.