Tax on ₹20 Lakh Salary FY 2026-27: ₹1,92,400 New Regime

Part of the system: Old vs new regime in 3 steps. Steps, checks and a free printable page.

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Rates checked on 6 October 2026 against the CBDT Tax Reference Tables for the Income-tax Act, 2025 on incometaxindia.gov.in (Tax Rates page, last reviewed 28 September 2026): new-regime slabs under section 202, old-regime slabs, and 4% health and education cess. The ₹1,92,400 new-regime figure was cross-checked by hand and against two public calculator pages on 9 October 2026.

Short answer

Under the new regime a ₹20 lakh salary pays ₹1,92,400 in tax for tax year 2026-27, or ₹16,033 a month. The ₹75,000 standard deduction leaves ₹19,25,000 taxable, slab tax on that is ₹1,85,000, and 4% cess adds ₹7,400. The old regime only matches it when your deductions reach ₹7,08,334 on top of its ₹50,000 standard deduction. Section 123 (old 80C), your own NPS, ₹25,000 of health insurance, ₹2 lakh of home loan interest and professional tax come to ₹4,27,500, so the other ₹2.81 lakh would have to be HRA exemption. Without a large HRA claim, the new regime gives the lower tax.

How ₹1,92,400 is worked out

Salary ₹20,00,000 minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction (section 19) leaves ₹19,25,000 of taxable income.
Slab tax: nothing on the first ₹4 lakh, 5% on ₹4 to 8 lakh (₹20,000), 10% on ₹8 to 12 lakh (₹40,000), 15% on ₹12 to 16 lakh (₹60,000) and 20% on the last ₹3,25,000 (₹65,000). Total ₹1,85,000.
No rebate. The section 156 rebate (old 87A) stops at ₹12 lakh of taxable income.
Health and education cess at 4% adds ₹7,400. Total tax: ₹1,92,400, which is 9.6% of the salary.

You are near the top of the 20% slab. It ends at ₹20 lakh of taxable income, which is a ₹20.75 lakh salary. Up to there each extra ₹1,000 of salary costs ₹208 in tax with cess; above it the cost is ₹260.

Why old-regime figures for ₹20 lakh disagree

Search for the old-regime tax on ₹20 lakh and you will find answers from about ₹2.5 lakh to more than ₹4 lakh. Each one is correct for the deductions it assumes. The table shows what each figure needs.

Deductions assumed (on top of the ₹50,000 standard deduction)	Old-regime taxable income	Old-regime tax	Against ₹1,92,400 new
None	₹19,50,000	₹4,13,400	₹2,21,000 more
s.123 ₹1.5 lakh, s.126 ₹25,000, own NPS ₹50,000, professional tax ₹2,500 (₹2,27,500)	₹17,22,500	₹3,42,420	₹1,50,020 more
The same plus ₹2 lakh home loan interest (₹4,27,500)	₹15,22,500	₹2,80,020	₹87,620 more
₹5,25,000 in all	₹14,25,000	₹2,49,600	₹57,200 more
₹7,08,334 in all (the break-even)	₹12,41,666	₹1,92,400	Equal

A second reason for different numbers is the cess. One worked example that circulates shows ₹1,87,200 of tax on ₹12,49,000 of old-regime taxable income. That is the slab tax alone; with the 4% cess it is ₹1,94,688, which is more than the new regime. Before you trust an old-regime figure, check which deductions it counts and whether the cess is in it.

Tax on ₹20 lakh: one new-regime figure, five old-regime figures

Bars drawn to scale. Each old-regime bar is labelled with the deductions it assumes on top of the ₹50,000 standard deduction; all figures include 4% cess.

How much HRA the old regime needs at ₹20 lakh

HRA exemption is the smallest of three amounts: the HRA your employer pays, your rent minus 10% of basic plus DA, and 50% of basic plus DA (40% outside Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad). The 50% or 40% cap usually decides the answer at this salary.

Other deductions you already claim	HRA exemption needed	Basic + DA needed, 50% city	Basic + DA needed, other city
₹2,27,500 (renter, no home loan)	₹4,80,834	₹9,61,668 (48% of salary)	₹12,02,085 (60% of salary)
₹4,27,500 (home loan on a house elsewhere)	₹2,80,834	₹5,61,668 (28%)	₹7,02,085 (35%)

A renter without a home loan needs a basic pay of nearly half the salary in one of the eight cities, and an HRA allowance and rent to match. Outside those cities the basic would have to be 60% of the salary, which few pay structures allow. The second row is more common than it looks: someone who owns a house with a loan in their home town and rents in the city where they work can claim both the loan interest and HRA.

Employer NPS at ₹20 lakh: the arithmetic

If your salary structure includes an employer NPS contribution, the new regime deducts it under section 124(1) (old 80CCD(2)) up to 14% of basic plus DA. On an ₹8 lakh basic that is ₹1,12,000. Taxable income falls to ₹18,13,000 and the tax to ₹1,69,100, which is ₹23,300 less. The old regime allows only 10% (₹80,000), so its break-even falls a little, to ₹7,03,000. Money in NPS stays there and most of it can't be withdrawn before 60.

What a raise does at ₹20 lakh

At ₹21 lakh the new-regime tax is ₹2,14,500, ₹22,100 more than at ₹20 lakh, because the last ₹25,000 crosses into the 25% slab. In the old regime the same ₹1 lakh costs ₹31,200, since old-regime income above ₹10 lakh is taxed at 30%. The break-even also moves up: ₹7,54,167 at ₹22 lakh and ₹7,87,500 at ₹24 lakh. Someone who just matched the old regime this year will fall short next year unless their deductions grow too.

Worked examples

Mumbai renter: ₹9.6 lakh basic, rent ₹50,000 a month

HRA allowance ₹4,80,000. The three limits are ₹4,80,000 received, ₹6,00,000 − ₹96,000 = ₹5,04,000, and 50% of basic = ₹4,80,000, so the exemption is ₹4,80,000. Add section 123 ₹1,50,000, own NPS ₹50,000, health insurance ₹25,000 and professional tax ₹2,500: deductions ₹7,07,500, which is ₹834 short of the line.

Old regime: ₹20,00,000 − ₹50,000 − ₹7,07,500 = ₹12,42,500 taxable. Tax ₹1,12,500 + ₹72,750 = ₹1,85,250, plus cess = ₹1,92,660. That is ₹260 more than the new regime's ₹1,92,400, so even this large HRA claim leaves the two regimes almost level.

Pune renter with a home loan elsewhere: ₹8 lakh basic, rent ₹28,000 a month

Pune is one of the eight 50% cities. HRA allowance ₹4,00,000; rent ₹3,36,000 − ₹80,000 = ₹2,56,000; 50% of basic ₹4,00,000. The exemption is the smallest, ₹2,56,000. With the ₹4,27,500 that includes ₹2 lakh of home loan interest, deductions come to ₹6,83,500.

Old regime: ₹12,66,500 taxable, tax ₹1,92,450 plus cess = ₹2,00,150. The new regime is ₹7,750 lower. The rent would need to be about ₹30,100 a month for the old regime to match.

Tips and tricks

How we would use it

Questions people ask

How much TDS will be cut each month on a ₹20 lakh salary?

About ₹16,033 under the new regime if your employer spreads the ₹1,92,400 evenly over 12 months. Under the old regime the employer works it out from the proofs you submit, so the monthly figure can change later in the year.

My ₹20 lakh is CTC, not salary. Does this apply?

Not directly. A CTC usually includes employer PF and gratuity, which are not taxable salary, so your gross salary and your tax are lower. Find your gross salary with the CTC to in-hand calculator, then enter it here.

What is the tax on ₹20 lakh in the old regime?

It depends on your deductions. With only the ₹50,000 standard deduction it is ₹4,13,400. With section 123 ₹1.5 lakh, own NPS ₹50,000, ₹25,000 of health insurance and professional tax it is ₹3,42,420, and with ₹2 lakh of home loan interest as well it is ₹2,80,020.

I am 60 to 79 with ₹20 lakh of pension. Is it different?

The new regime is the same at any age: ₹1,92,400. In the old regime the basic exemption for 60 to 79 is ₹3 lakh instead of ₹2.5 lakh, so the break-even falls to ₹7,00,000.

I also earn ₹50,000 of FD interest. How much more tax is that?

₹10,400 under the new regime. The interest is taxed at 20.8% because it still falls inside the 20% slab, and the standard deduction applies only to salary or pension.

Written by Bulan Sarkar, who checked the results by hand and against a second public calculator. Use it for planning; it isn't tax or investment advice.

Sources

Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator

Tax under both regimes for 2026-27 and the break-even deductions the old regime needs at your income, with a chart from ₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh.