Budget 2024: No Change In Income Tax Slabs; Here's New Regime vs Old Regime Tax Slab Comparison
Interim Budget 2024: The Union Budget which concluded on Feb. 1 did not have any major announcement about Income Tax relief for salaried class. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Interim Budget kept the income tax slab rates unchanged for both new and old income tax regimes.
Sitharaman while speaking at the CII Global Economic Policy Forum in December 2023 had hinted that no 'spectacular announcements' will be made during the Interim Budget.
"It is a matter of truth that February 1, 2024 budget that will be announced will just be a vote on account because we will be in an election mode. So the budget that the government presents will just be to meet the expenditure of the government till a new government comes to play," she said.
So, let's do a quick recap of the income tax slabs as per the old tax regime and the new income tax regime, which did not have any changes during this budget.
New Tax Regime: Income Tax Slabs
No tax would be levied for income up to Rs 3 lakh.
Income between Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh would be taxed at 5 per cent.
Income between Rs 6 to Rs 9 lakh would be taxed at 10 per cent.
Income between Rs 9 to Rs 12 lakh would be taxed at 15 per cent.
Income between Rs 12 to Rs 15 lakh would be taxed at 20 per cent.
Income of Rs 15 lakh and above will be taxed at 30 per cent.
In the new income tax regime introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the number of income tax slabs had increased, along with lower tax rates. The new tax regime also offers a basic exemption for income of up to Rs 2,50,000.
While the lower tax rates may seem attractive, the new tax regime does not offer any of the tax exemptions and tax deductions that are available under the old regime.
Old Tax Regime: Income Tax Slabs
No tax would be levied for income up to Rs 2.5 lakh.
Income between Rs 2.5 to Rs 5 lakh would be taxed at 5 per cent.
Income between Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh would be taxed at 20 per cent.
Income of Rs 10 lakh and above will be taxed at 30 per cent.
In the old tax regime, an income of up to Rs 2,50,000 is exempt from tax, and any income above Rs 2,50,000 is taxed as per the above-mentioned income tax rates. While the income tax rates in the old regime may seem high, this tax regime also offers over 70 tax exemptions and deduction options to bring down your tax liability.
The full-fledged budget will be presented around July by the elected government post the Assembly Elections which will take place around April-May 2024.
Salaried individuals and middle-class public can now look forward to this budget for some reforms in the income tax slabs that can reduce their tax outgo.
