CA Dr Suresh Surana says, tax on capital gains is attracted on transactions where a capital asset is transferred. Section 47 (corresponding section 70 of ITA 2025) of the IT Act exempts certain transactions from the ambit of transfer and accordingly, would not be subjected to capital gains tax. Specified individuals often receive capital assets as a part of family settlement.

Section 56(2)(x) of the IT Act provides that transfer of assets between specified relatives would not be treated as income of the recipient. Further, various courts have passed their rulings in the favour of assessee, stating that family settlement does not attract capital gains.

"However, till date section 47 does not explicitly provide for an exemption for assets transferred pursuant to a family settlement amongst relatives. Hence, in order to reduce litigation and bring more clarity, it is recommended that section 47 should explicitly include family settlements so as to exempt them from the purview of ‘transfer’ for capital gains purposes."

Here are the current new tax regime slabs and rates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26) for senior citizens:

New tax regime for senior citizens

• Surcharge: 10-37%, if taxable income is more than ₹50 lakh

• Health and education cess: 4% of Income-tax + Surcharge

The tax slabs announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2026 will be applicable for FY 2026-27, starting from April 1 and relevant for tax-filing in 2027.

Here are the current old tax regime slabs and rates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26) for senior citizens:

• Surcharge: 10-37%, if taxable income is more than ₹50 lakh

• Health and education cess: 4% of Income-tax + Surcharge

The tax slabs announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2026 will be applicable for FY 2026-27, starting from April 1 and relevant for tax-filing in 2027.

The standard deduction for salaried employees is provided under Section 16 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In the new Income Tax Act, 2025, this provision is covered under Section 19.

Ahead of Budget speech, there is a srong demand to increase the standard deduction limits under both regimes. Such a change, experts say, will help employees in view of the rising cost of living and even working.

According to KPMG, "The Union Budget 2026 may consider an increase in the standard deduction for salaried employees to INR1 lakh (currently INR50,000 under the old tax regime and INR75,000 under the new tax regime) to help offset inflation and rising living costs.

1. Higher Standard Deduction and NPS relief
2. Rationalising presumptive taxation for professionals
3. Home loan benefits under the new tax regime
4. HRA relief
5. Special relief for senior citizens

You can calculate your tax liability for the ongoing financial year, i.e., FY 2025-26, by using the Income Tax Calculator below. If the Finance Minister doesn't announce any change in tax slabs and rates today, you can use the same calculator to your calculate your tax liability for FY 2026-27. However, we will update the calculator to reflect any change in income tax slabs and rules in Budget 2026 today.

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Here are the current old tax regime slabs and rates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26).

Please note that the tax slabs announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2026 will be applicable for FY 2026-27, starting from April 1 and relevant for tax-filing for AY 2027-28 (However, this period will be known as Tax Year 2026-27 as the new Income-tax Act 2025 comes into effect from April 1).

Here are the current new tax regime slabs and rates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26).

Please note that the tax slabs announced in Budget 2026 will be applicable for FY 2026-27, starting from April 1 and relevant for tax-filing for AY 2027-28 (However, this will be known as Tax Year 2026-27 as the new Income-tax Act 2025 comes into effect from April 1).

Both previous year and the assessment year cover a period of 12 months. The income earned during the previous year is taxed in the assessment year. However, the use of previous year and assessment year has always created confusion among taxpayers. The Income-tax Act 2025 changes it from April 1, 2026, replacing both with a single term: Tax Year.

The National Pension System (NPS) underwent major changes last year. It now allows subscribers to withdraw up to 80% of their corpus as a lump sum and use the remaining 20% to buy the mandatory annuity. Earlier, only 60% could be withdrawn as a lump sum, while 40% was required to be used for buying an annuity. However, the earlier 60% lump sum withdrawal was tax-free. Now that the lump-sum withdrawal limit has increased, it is logical to expect the government to raise the tax-free withdrawal limit to 80% as well. Such a move will further help popularise NPS and deepen a culture of saving for pension and retirement, which is also one of the stated objectives behind making NPS more attractive in recent times.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her ninth consecutive Budget. No major changes on the personal tax front are expected from her in Budget 2026, as the previous budget had some unprecedented announcements aimed at easing the lives of taxpayers. She had then introduced measures under the new tax regime that enabled individuals with income less than ₹12 lakh to pay zero tax. In 2026, however, Sitharaman has an opportunity to further fine-tune various tax rules, especially those related to the tax-rebate under Section 87A of the Income-Tax Act 1961. Currently rebate does not apply to income from equity shares and mutual funds, even when a taxpayer's total income is not over Nil12 lakh. This goes against the government's stated objective of making income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free. It remains to be seen whether the government will bring this change in 2026.

We kickstart our Income-tax slab blog today on the Budget Day with an interesting idea suggested by the SBI chief. Whether the time for this idea has come or not will depend on What the FM has in store for taxpayers, the idea itself is too interesting to ignore. A day before the Budget, SBI chairman CS Setty called for parity in tax treatment on returns made on equity investments and bank deposits. Per PTI, Shetty said there is no disparity in taxation anywhere else in the world, and it is time for India also to align with other markets. "I think there should be a level playing field for the financial savings instruments," he said. However, Shetty acknowledged that there are fiscal constraints to such a move, but added that there is no "special treatment" for equities anywhere else. According to the SBI chairman, provisions incentivising equity investments through easier taxation were probably justified at some point of time. But given today's situation, where interest in the riskier equity markets is rising, no such treatment may be required.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will begin the Union Budget 2026 speech in the Parliament at 11 am. Any tax-related changes will be confirmed only during her speech. In the lead-up to that, this blog will cover some interesting pre-budget suggestions and insights shared by multiple tax experts. We will also look at some important tax rules for FY 2026-27 and FY 2025-26. Once the Budget announcements are made, we will deep-dive into understanding their impact on taxpayers.