Delhi Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government has put “a lot of money” in the hands of people by tweaking income tax slabs in the Budget and an additional 1 crore people will not pay any tax due to the hike in tax exemption to Rs 12 lakh per annum.The tax exemption available to individual taxpayers in the Budget 2025-26 has been raised to Rs 12 lakh from the next fiscal year, from Rs 7 lakh at present.
In a post-Budget press conference, Sitharaman said, “One crore more people will not pay any income tax due to the hike in exemption to Rs 12 lakh.” “The government has put a lot of money in the hands of people by tweaking income tax rates”, she said, adding that the government has responded to the voice of the people.The Budget has revised the tax slabs for calculating tax liability on income earned in 2025-26 for those with income above Rs 12 lakh and filing ITR under the new tax regime.
Under the new slabs, income up to Rs 4 lakh will be exempted. Income earned between Rs 4-8 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, Rs 8-12 lakh at 10 per cent, Rs 12-16 lakh at 15 per cent. Income between Rs 16-20 lakh will be taxed at 20 per cent, Rs 20-24 lakh at 25 per cent, and income above Rs 24 lakh at 30 per cent. “We have reduced tax rates to benefit the middle class,” Sitharaman said. Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said a tax buoyancy of 1.42 per cent is expected in the next fiscal, down from 2 per cent in the current fiscal.
