Old vs new tax regime for salaried employees
A useful comparison must apply each regime's own deductions and exemptions.
The new-regime and old-regime calculations are run separately. HRA exemption and eligible old-regime deductions are not incorrectly carried into the new-regime calculation.
SalaryPath treats the result as a numerical comparison, not personalised tax advice.
A fair regime comparison needs separate calculations
The old and new tax regimes do not share the same deduction structure, so comparing them by applying the same deductions to both would be misleading. SalaryPath runs the supported calculations separately and only carries old-regime deductions and HRA treatment into the old-regime side.
The result can change materially with salary level, HRA, Chapter VI-A deductions and the applicable rebate or marginal-relief rules. A generic statement that one regime is always better is therefore less useful than a calculation using the taxpayer’s actual salary inputs.
The comparison is still limited to the supported salary-income scope. Capital gains, business income, special-rate income and unsupported deductions can change a return-level answer, so the tool is best used as a salary-tax planning comparison rather than personalised filing advice.
Checks before relying on the result
- Enter the same gross salary on both sides
- Add only deductions that genuinely apply to the old regime
- Use the final return calculation when income extends beyond supported salary