Taxable Income (Total Income)

Taxable income — also called total income — is your Gross Total Income minus the deductions you are eligible for. It is the figure on which income tax slab rates are applied.

What it is

You start with your Gross Total Income — the sum of income from all heads, such as salary, house property, capital gains, business and other sources. From that you subtract the deductions you can claim: Chapter VI-A deductions (like 80C and 80D) are available under the Old regime, while the standard deduction on salary applies in both regimes. What remains is your taxable income, the number the slab rates are run against.

Why it matters

Your taxable income decides which slabs apply and therefore how much tax you owe before any rebate under Section 87A. For AY 2026-27, the 87A rebate makes tax nil up to ₹12,00,000 of taxable income under the New regime, and up to ₹5,00,000 under the Old regime. Because deductions differ between regimes, the same person can have two different taxable-income figures depending on which regime they choose.

Example Illustrative

Suppose your Gross Total Income is ₹14,00,000 and you have a standard deduction of ₹75,000. Under the New regime your taxable income would be ₹13,25,000, on which slab rates apply. Reducing it through eligible deductions or regime choice can change both the slabs that apply and any 87A rebate. Figures are illustrative only.