January 14, 2025

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1, 2025. Taxpayers are eagerly waiting for important announcements in the upcoming budget.

Here are some major reforms expected by taxpayers, top industry bodies and other stakeholders in the second full budget of the current government.

Basic exemption limit

EY India expects the government to raise the basic exemption limit from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh under the new tax regime to ease tax rates.

Tax rates

Budget 2025 may cut income tax for individuals earning up to ₹15 lakh per annum and for income up to ₹20 lakh per annum. Source: Reuters, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Section 80C limit

One of the expectations from the budget is the revision of ₹1.5 lakh deduction limit under Section 80C to encourage Public Provident Fund (PPF) investments and other tax-saving instruments.

Section 80D deductions

Taxpayers expect the government to increase deductions for health insurance premiums paid, under Section 80D to ₹50,000 for individuals and ₹1,00,000 for senior citizens to boost health insurance coverage in India.

Tax slabs

Another major expectation from the Budget 2025 is an increase in the 30% tax rate threshold, which is currently set at an annual income of above ₹15 lakh.

Home loan interest

Taxpayers are expecting the deductions under Section 24(b) for home loan interest to be increased to ₹3 lakh from the current ₹2 lakh.

Joint tax-return filing

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India expects the introduction of joint tax-return filing and tax slabs for married couples. It is also expecting revision in standard deduction rules.

TDS/TCS rationalisation

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) expects the budget to rationalise the multiple TDS/TCS rates by converging them into a simple two or three-tier rate structure.

New Income Tax Act

The government is planning to simplify the tax-filing process by introducing a revised Income Tax Act in the Union Budget 2025. Source: Bloomberg

5 tax-saving options for salaried individuals before March 31, 2025

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