The government wants to introduce changes in the existing tax regime. It is going to change the way you invest, save tax as well as your overall tax structure. Let us see how with this example.

Ravi earns an annual salary of Rs. 10 lakhs. He invests Rs. 50,000 in PPF, Rs. 30,000 in tax-saving mutual funds and Rs. 20,000 in insurance. He has a home loan of which he has already paid Rs. 2 lakhs in interest along with the principal outstanding of Rs. 1 lakh. Let us see how his tax liability will change.

Ravi’s present tax paid: Ravi invests in mutual funds, insurance PPF and home loan principal. The amounts invested in these options are tax exempted under section 80C up to Rs. 1 lakh. So Ravi’s taxable income goes down to Rs. 9 lakh. He has also paid Rs 2 lakhs towards the interest on his home loan. Hence his total taxable amount goes down to Rs. 7 lakhs. Now out of this, Rs. 1.5 lakhs don’t attract any tax, so his taxable income further reduces to Rs. 5.5 lakhs. Of this, he pays 10% tax on amounts up to Rs. 3 lakhs and 20% tax on amounts up to Rs. 5 lakhs. So the total tax, he pays is 10% of Rs. 3 lakhs and 20% on Rs. 2.5 lakhs  =  Rs. 80,000.

Now when the new tax code comes into effect, his total tax exempted income becomes Rs. 1 lakh (contributions towards PPF + insurance + mutual funds) + Rs. 1 lakh towards home loan principal repayment. Hence his total taxable income now becomes Rs. 7 lakhs. Of this, there is no tax on his income up to Rs. 1.6 lakhs. Hence his total taxable income now becomes Rs. 5.4 lakhs. On this he pays only 10% tax. Hence the total tax he will pay is Rs. 54,000.

Hence with the new tax code, he ends up saving Rs. 26,000.