Which Income Tax Regime is better for me for AY 2021-22?

Which Income Tax Regime is better for me for AY 2021-22?

While figuring out whether to choose the old or the new tax regime might look complicated, if you approach it in a systematic way, it is not that difficult to figure out. 

Here is what you need to do –

  1. Calculate all the exemptions that you are availing: If you are living on rent, you would be claiming HRA which is the biggest salary exemption one enjoys. Apart from that, other tax-free components include LTA, Food Bill, Phone Bills, etc. All these will become taxable if you choose to shift to the new tax regime.
  2. Look at the deductions that you claim: As a salaried employee, two deductions that you automatically get are standard deduction of Rs 50,000 and your contribution towards your Employee Provident Fund (EPF). In the new regime, you won’t be able to claim these deductions even though you will continue to contribute to EPF. Over and above, you cannot claim deductions against your home loan (if you have one) or insurance policies, which till now has helped to reduce your taxable income.

Now, combine these exemptions and deductions and minus them from your salary to see what is your taxable income and what it would be if you let go of these deductions. This should be the deciding factor for which regime you should go for.