Check the rebate commonly called Section 87A for FY 2025–26 or its successor, Section 156, for Tax Year 2026–27. The calculator covers new- and old-regime ordinary income, full rebate, new-regime marginal relief, salary standard deduction, 4% cess and statutory nearest-₹10 rounding.
- Section 87A and 156 labels
- New and old regimes
- Direct or salary mode
- Marginal relief tested
Section 87A and Section 156 Rebate Calculator
Use taxable income directly or build it from salary and ordinary income. Do not enter capital gains, lottery winnings, virtual digital asset income or another special-rate item as ordinary income.
Resident individual, new regime, Section 156
Tax before and after rebate
Full rebateThe bars split slab tax into rebate and pre-cess tax remaining.
Rebate computation
| Component | Amount or status |
|---|---|
| Entry method | Direct taxable income |
| Gross ordinary income | Not used |
| Salary standard deduction | ₹0 |
| Other deductions applied | ₹0 |
| Total income after Section 516 rounding | ₹12,00,000 |
| Slab tax before rebate | ₹60,000 |
| Resident-individual rebate | ₹60,000 |
| Tax after rebate | ₹0 |
| Surcharge after marginal relief | ₹0 |
| Health and Education Cess | ₹0 |
| Final tax after nearest-₹10 rounding | ₹0 |
Calculation steps
- Ordinary taxable income entered directly: ₹12,00,000.
- Section 516 rounded total income to ₹12,00,000.
- New-regime slab tax before rebate is ₹60,000.
- The full resident-individual rebate is ₹60,000.
- Tax after rebate, cess and final rounding is ₹0.
Recent calculations
Results stay in this page session. The calculator does not send your figures anywhere.
How to Use This Section 87A Rebate Calculator
- Select Tax Year 2026–27 for the current Section 156 provision, or FY 2025–26 / AY 2026–27 when checking a return under the familiar Section 87A number.
- Choose the new or old regime, then select residential status. Only an eligible resident individual can receive the rebate.
- Select your age. Age affects old-regime slab tax for eligible resident senior citizens, but it does not change the rebate ceiling or new-regime slabs.
- Use direct mode when you already know ordinary taxable income after deductions. Use salary mode when you want the tool to apply the salary standard deduction.
- Select “Calculate Rebate.” Review the rounded taxable income, tax before rebate, rebate type, cess and final rounded tax.
Money fields accept plain digits plus common Indian or international comma grouping. For example, 1200000, 12,00,000 and 1,200,000 produce the same input. The tool rejects negative values, scientific notation, currency symbols and malformed commas instead of silently changing them to zero.
Section 87A or Section 156: Which Name Applies?
Section 87A is the rebate provision in the Income-tax Act, 1961. It applies when checking FY 2025–26 income filed for AY 2026–27. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026 and calls the period Tax Year 2026–27. Its corresponding resident-individual rebate appears in Section 156.
The page keeps “Section 87A” in the title because taxpayers still search that name. The calculator changes the provision label with the selected period, so it does not present the old section number as the current statutory citation.
Rebate Limits for FY 2025–26 and Tax Year 2026–27
| Regime | Income condition | Maximum rebate | Marginal relief |
|---|---|---|---|
| New regime | Supported ordinary taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 | Lower of eligible slab tax or ₹60,000 | Available slightly above ₹12 lakh |
| Old regime | Total income up to ₹5,00,000 | Lower of eligible tax or ₹12,500 | Not available above ₹5 lakh |
| Non-resident | Not eligible in either regime | Nil | Not available |
A rebate is not a basic exemption. The calculator first works out taxable income and slab tax. It then reduces eligible income-tax by the allowed rebate. This order explains why the new-regime nil-rate band ends at ₹4 lakh even though an eligible resident with supported ordinary taxable income up to ₹12 lakh can have zero regular tax.
New-Regime Rebate Formula
The new-regime slabs are nil to ₹4 lakh, 5% from ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh, 10% to ₹12 lakh, 15% to ₹16 lakh, 20% to ₹20 lakh, 25% to ₹24 lakh and 30% above ₹24 lakh. At exactly ₹12 lakh, progressive slab tax is ₹60,000. The full rebate reduces it to zero before cess.
Section 156(3), and the corresponding amended Section 87A rule for AY 2026–27, prevents the new-regime rebate from offsetting tax charged at special rates. This tool therefore accepts ordinary slab-rate income only. Use a detailed calculator when the return includes capital gains, lottery winnings, virtual digital assets or another special-rate category.
How Marginal Relief Works Above ₹12 Lakh
Without marginal relief, moving one rupee above the full-rebate ceiling would create a sudden tax bill. The relief limits eligible pre-cess slab tax to the amount by which ordinary taxable income exceeds ₹12 lakh while the statutory formula produces a positive rebate.
At ₹12,50,000 of ordinary taxable income, slab tax is ₹67,500. Income exceeds the threshold by ₹50,000. Marginal relief is therefore ₹17,500, leaving ₹50,000 before cess. Adding 4% cess gives ₹52,000.
The continuous crossover is about ₹12,70,588. After Section 516 income rounding, ₹12,70,580 still receives a small rebate, while ₹12,70,590 does not. The calculator tests the actual formula. It does not use a loose “up to ₹12.75 lakh” taxable-income shortcut.
Why a ₹12.75 Lakh Salary Can Produce Zero Tax
Section 19 allows a salary standard deduction equal to salary or ₹75,000, whichever is lower, when tax is computed under the new regime. Gross salary of ₹12,75,000 can therefore reduce to ₹12,00,000 before the rebate calculation.
- Gross salary or eligible former-employer pension: ₹12,75,000.
- New-regime standard deduction: ₹75,000.
- Ordinary taxable income: ₹12,00,000.
- Slab tax: ₹60,000.
- Eligible rebate: ₹60,000; tax and cess after rebate: nil.
This is not a universal ₹12.75 lakh exemption. Interest, rent, family pension or another taxable item can raise total income. Family pension follows a separate deduction rule and should not be entered as salary. Special-rate tax can remain payable even when ordinary slab tax receives a rebate.
Old-Regime Rebate and the ₹5 Lakh Cliff
Under the old regime, an eligible resident individual with total income up to ₹5 lakh receives the lower of eligible income-tax or ₹12,500. A resident below age 60 with ₹5 lakh of ordinary taxable income has slab tax of ₹12,500, so the rebate reduces it to zero.
There is no old-regime marginal relief when total income crosses ₹5 lakh. At rounded taxable income of ₹5,00,010, a resident below age 60 has about ₹12,502 tax before cess, no rebate, and a final rounded liability of about ₹13,000. A salary-only resident may reach the ₹5 lakh limit from ₹5.50 lakh gross salary after the ₹50,000 standard deduction.
Age changes old-regime slab tax, not the ₹5 lakh eligibility ceiling. A resident aged 60 to 79 has a ₹3 lakh basic exemption. A resident aged 80 or more has a ₹5 lakh basic exemption. Non-residents use the below-60 old-regime slab structure regardless of age and cannot claim this rebate.
Eligibility Checklist
- You are an individual. An HUF, firm, company, trust or another taxpayer type cannot claim the individual rebate.
- You qualify as resident in India for the relevant period. A non-resident individual is not eligible.
- Your selected regime and rounded taxable income meet the applicable limit.
- The tax you want to offset is eligible under the relevant provision. New-regime special-rate tax is outside the rebate.
- Your income, exemptions and deductions have been classified and computed correctly before entry.
Resident but not ordinarily resident status is still resident status for this individual-rebate condition. Actual residential status depends on statutory day-count and related rules, so do not infer it from citizenship, address or bank-account type alone.
Taxable Income Is Not the Same as Gross Income
The rebate limit tests taxable or total income under the applicable computation, not CTC, gross receipts or bank credits. In salary mode, the calculator subtracts the correct ₹75,000 or ₹50,000 standard deduction, limited to the salary entered. It also caps the generic deduction field at income available after that standard deduction, so the result never becomes negative.
Direct mode is better when you already have a return computation. Enter ordinary taxable income after eligible exemptions and deductions but before Section 516 rounding. Salary mode is a planning shortcut. It does not validate HRA, employer NPS, Chapter VI-A deductions, house-property rules, business losses or other section-specific conditions.
Rounding, Cess and Surcharge
Section 516 requires computed total income and the final payable or refundable amount to be rounded to the nearest ₹10. Paise are ignored first; a last rupee digit of five or more rounds upward. The tool rounds income before applying slab and rebate thresholds, keeps precision through tax and cess, then rounds the final liability.
The rebate reduces income-tax before Health and Education Cess. Cess is 4% of tax plus any surcharge remaining after relief. Surcharge begins only when total income exceeds ₹50 lakh, far above the Section 87A or Section 156 rebate range. The calculator includes ordinary-income surcharge and its separate marginal relief for completeness. Mixed special-rate high-income cases need the full Income Tax Calculator because surcharge caps can differ by income category.
Common Rebate Calculator Mistakes
- Comparing gross salary directly with the ₹12 lakh taxable-income limit.
- Calling ₹12 lakh the new-regime basic exemption instead of a rebate ceiling.
- Giving the rebate to an NRI, HUF or company.
- Applying the old-regime ₹12,500 rebate above ₹5 lakh.
- Assuming marginal relief continues to ₹12.75 lakh of taxable income.
- Using the rebate against capital-gains or other special-rate tax without checking the specific restriction.
- Rounding only the final tax and not the taxable income used at a boundary.
When This Estimate Can Differ from Your Return
Your filed result can differ when the income mix includes special-rate tax, agricultural-income rate integration, foreign tax credit, Alternate Minimum Tax, carried-forward losses, house-property adjustments, return-specific rounding or an incorrectly classified pension. TDS, TCS, advance tax, interest and late fees change the balance payable but do not change the core rebate amount shown here.
Use the result as a calculation check. Match it with Form 16, AIS, TIS, bank statements, capital-gain reports and the official return utility before filing. If the figures include more than ordinary salary, pension, interest or rent, use a detailed income-tax computation rather than forcing every item into this rebate tool.
Official Method and Review Sources
- Income Tax Department, Section 156, for the Tax Year 2026–27 resident-individual rebate and marginal relief.
- Income Tax Department, Section 202, for the default new-regime slab rates.
- Income Tax Department, Section 19, for the ₹75,000 and ₹50,000 salary standard deductions.
- Income Tax Department, Section 516, for nearest-₹10 income and payable-amount rounding.
- Income Tax Department FY 2025–26 rebate guidance, for the Section 87A resident-individual conditions.
- Government of India Finance Bill 2025 memorandum, for AY 2026–27 slab, rebate, marginal-relief and special-rate treatment changes.
- Government of India Finance Bill 2026 memorandum, confirming unchanged personal rates for Tax Year 2026–27.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Section 87A available for FY 2025–26 and AY 2026–27?
Yes. Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, an eligible resident individual can claim the applicable Section 87A rebate for FY 2025–26 when filing for AY 2026–27.
Why does the calculator also use Section 156?
The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026. It numbers the corresponding resident-individual rebate as Section 156 for Tax Year 2026–27 and later periods.
What is the new-regime rebate limit?
An eligible resident individual can receive the lower of supported ordinary slab tax or ₹60,000 when ordinary taxable income meets the ₹12 lakh full-rebate condition.
Is ₹12 lakh the new-regime basic exemption?
No. The nil-rate slab ends at ₹4 lakh. Tax is calculated progressively above that amount, then the eligible rebate can reduce supported slab tax to zero up to the stated ceiling.
Why can ₹12.75 lakh salary have zero regular tax?
The ₹75,000 new-regime salary standard deduction can reduce ₹12.75 lakh gross salary to ₹12 lakh taxable income. Other income or special-rate tax can change the result.
How does marginal relief work above ₹12 lakh?
When eligible new-regime slab tax exceeds income above ₹12 lakh, the difference is allowed as marginal rebate. The relief ends around ₹12.71 lakh of ordinary taxable income.
Does the old regime still receive a rebate?
Yes. An eligible resident individual with total income up to ₹5 lakh can receive the lower of eligible income-tax or ₹12,500. There is no old-regime marginal relief above ₹5 lakh.
Can an NRI or HUF claim Section 87A or Section 156 rebate?
No. The rebate is limited to an eligible individual resident in India. A non-resident individual, HUF, firm or company cannot claim it.
Does the new-regime rebate cover capital-gains tax?
No. The new-regime rebate is capped by tax payable at the normal slab rates. Capital gains and other special-rate income need a separate computation.
Is cess calculated before or after the rebate?
The rebate reduces eligible income-tax first. Health and Education Cess at 4% is then calculated on the remaining tax plus any applicable surcharge.
Tax and Calculation Disclaimer
This calculator provides an educational estimate for an individual with ordinary slab-rate income. It is not tax, legal or filing advice. It excludes special-rate tax, agricultural-income integration, AMT, losses, foreign tax relief, TDS, advance-tax interest, fees and return-specific adjustments. Verify the result with the official Income Tax portal or a qualified tax professional before filing, paying tax or choosing a regime.