How Much Tax Do You Pay on 10 LPA, 15 LPA and 20 LPA in India FY 2026-27

My offer letter said 15 LPA. My first salary slip showed Rs. 92,000 in hand. Nobody explained the gap.

That gap is not fraud. It is PF, professional tax, and income tax TDS working together. But the tax part specifically trips people up because the new regime has a cliff at Rs. 12 lakh that is not obvious until you do the math.

Here is what the math actually looks like at three common salary levels.

The FY 2026-27 New Regime Slabs

Standard deduction is Rs. 75,000 for all salaried employees. That comes off your gross before any tax is calculated.

Section 87A rebate eliminates tax entirely if your taxable income (after standard deduction) is Rs. 12 lakh or below.

The slabs after that:

Up to Rs. 4 lakh: 0%
Rs. 4L to Rs. 8L: 5%
Rs. 8L to Rs. 12L: 10%
Rs. 12L to Rs. 16L: 15%
Rs. 16L to Rs. 20L: 20%
Rs. 20L to Rs. 24L: 25%
Above Rs. 24L: 30%

Plus 4% health and education cess on the tax computed.

10 LPA: Zero Tax

Taxable income after standard deduction: Rs. 9.25 lakh.

Computed tax across slabs: Rs. 52,500. But the 87A rebate applies because taxable income is below Rs. 12 lakh. Rebate equals the full computed tax. Tax payable: Rs. 0.

Monthly in-hand at 10 LPA in a metro is approximately Rs. 71,000 to Rs. 76,500 depending on PF enrollment and exact structure. The only deductions hitting you are employee PF (Rs. 1,800) and professional tax (around Rs. 200).

15 LPA: Rs. 97,500 Per Year

This is where the cliff matters.

Taxable income after standard deduction: Rs. 14.25 lakh. That is above Rs. 12 lakh so the 87A rebate does not apply at all. Not partially. Not proportionally. Zero rebate.

Tax computation:

0% on Rs. 4 lakh: Rs. 0
5% on Rs. 4L to Rs. 8L: Rs. 20,000
10% on Rs. 8L to Rs. 12L: Rs. 40,000
15% on Rs. 12L to Rs. 14.25L: Rs. 33,750
Total: Rs. 93,750
4% cess: Rs. 3,750
Tax payable: Rs. 97,500 per year

That is Rs. 8,125 per month in TDS. Monthly in-hand at 15 LPA in a metro is approximately Rs. 99,000 to Rs. 1,07,000.

A lot of people at this salary assume they are paying a lot in tax. Rs. 8,125 a month is less than what most people in this bracket spend eating out. It is not nothing. But it is not the disaster it feels like on paper.

20 LPA: Rs. 1,92,400 Per Year

Taxable income after standard deduction: Rs. 19.25 lakh.

0% on Rs. 4 lakh: Rs. 0
5% on Rs. 4L to Rs. 8L: Rs. 20,000
10% on Rs. 8L to Rs. 12L: Rs. 40,000
15% on Rs. 12L to Rs. 16L: Rs. 60,000
20% on Rs. 16L to Rs. 19.25L: Rs. 65,000
Total: Rs. 1,85,000
4% cess: Rs. 7,400
Tax payable: Rs. 1,92,400 per year

Rs. 16,033 per month in TDS. Monthly in-hand at 20 LPA in a metro is approximately Rs. 1,27,000 to Rs. 1,38,000.

Side by Side

Salary	Taxable Income	Annual Tax	Monthly TDS	Monthly In-Hand
10 LPA	Rs. 9.25L	Rs. 0	Rs. 0	Rs. 71K to Rs. 76.5K
15 LPA	Rs. 14.25L	Rs. 97,500	Rs. 8,125	Rs. 99K to Rs. 1.07L
20 LPA	Rs. 19.25L	Rs. 1,92,400	Rs. 16,033	Rs. 1.27L to Rs. 1.38L

New Regime vs Old Regime at These Levels

At 10 LPA both regimes give zero tax. New regime wins on simplicity alone since you do not have to prove investments.

At 15 LPA the old regime with serious deductions (Rs. 1.5L in 80C, Rs. 75K in 80D, Rs. 50K NPS, home loan interest) can bring taxable income below Rs. 12 lakh and eliminate tax entirely. That is a potential saving of Rs. 97,500 per year. Worth calculating if you actually make those investments. Not worth manufacturing investments just to save tax.

At 20 LPA the new regime is almost always better. Old regime with maximum deductions gives approximately Rs. 2.5 lakh in tax. New regime is Rs. 1.92 lakh. That is Rs. 58,000 saved per year without touching a single form.

One Thing Most People Get Wrong

The numbers above assume a standard 40% basic salary structure. Your actual in-hand depends on how your CTC is split between basic, HRA, and allowances. Two people at 15 LPA at the same company can have different monthly salaries if one has a higher basic and the other has more in allowances.

Use the CTC to In-Hand Calculator to run your specific structure. It handles both regimes, metro and non-metro, and shows the full deduction breakdown.

What salary are you trying to figure out?

Frequently Asked Questions

Under the new tax regime, income tax on 10 LPA is zero. After the Rs. 75,000 standard deduction, your taxable income is Rs. 9.25 lakh which is below the Rs. 12 lakh 87A rebate threshold. Your monthly in-hand at 10 LPA is approximately Rs. 71,000 to Rs. 76,500 depending on city and PF enrollment.

Under the new tax regime, income tax on 15 LPA is approximately Rs. 11,250 plus 4 percent cess, totaling Rs. 11,700 per year or Rs. 975 per month. After standard deduction of Rs. 75,000, taxable income is Rs. 13.25 lakh. Tax applies only on the Rs. 1.25 lakh above the Rs. 12 lakh threshold at 15 percent.

Under the new tax regime, income tax on 20 LPA is approximately Rs. 1,62,240 per year including cess. After the Rs. 75,000 standard deduction, taxable income is Rs. 18.25 lakh. Tax is calculated across multiple slabs: 15 percent on Rs. 4 lakh, 20 percent on Rs. 4 lakh, and 25 percent on Rs. 25,000.

For 10 LPA, the new regime gives zero tax. Under the old regime you would need deductions above Rs. 2.5 lakh to match this. For 15 LPA, the new regime gives Rs. 11,700 annual tax. Old regime with Rs. 3.5 lakh in deductions gives similar or higher tax. For 20 LPA, new regime tax is Rs. 1,62,240. Old regime with maximum deductions of Rs. 4.75 lakh gives tax of approximately Rs. 2,42,500, making the new regime better by Rs. 80,000 per year.

Under the new tax regime, income up to Rs. 12.75 lakh gross (Rs. 12 lakh after standard deduction) has zero income tax due to the Section 87A rebate. This means any salaried employee with a CTC up to approximately Rs. 13.7 LPA pays zero income tax in FY 2026-27 under the new regime.

Use the MyInHand CTC to In-Hand Calculator. Enter your CTC, select your city, PF enrollment status, and tax regime. The calculator applies the correct FY 2026-27 tax slabs and shows your exact monthly take-home after all deductions including PF, professional tax, and income tax TDS.