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₹15 Lakh Salary: How Much Do You Actually Keep in FY 2026-27?
The full slab-by-slab breakdown, your real monthly in-hand, and the honest answer on whether the old regime is worth the paperwork at this income.
The short answer
On a ₹15,00,000 annual salary in FY 2026-27 under the new tax regime, you pay ₹97,500 in income tax. That leaves ₹14,02,500 a year, or roughly ₹1,16,875 per month before PF and professional tax.
Your effective tax rate is just 6.5% of gross salary — considerably lower than most people assume when they see a "30% slab" mentioned in the news.
Where the ₹97,500 comes from
Start with gross salary and subtract the standard deduction available to every salaried person:
₹15,00,000 gross − ₹75,000 standard deduction = ₹14,25,000 taxable income
Then tax is charged slab by slab. Only the income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate — a point that trips up almost everyone:
| Slab | Rate | Income in slab | Tax |
|---|
| Up to ₹4,00,000 | Nil | ₹4,00,000 | ₹0 |
| ₹4,00,001 – ₹8,00,000 | 5% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹20,000 |
| ₹8,00,001 – ₹12,00,000 | 10% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹40,000 |
| ₹12,00,001 – ₹16,00,000 | 15% | ₹2,25,000 | ₹33,750 |
| Subtotal | | | ₹93,750 |
| Health & education cess | 4% | on ₹93,750 | ₹3,750 |
| Total tax payable | | | ₹97,500 |
Notice that despite "being in the 15% slab", only ₹2.25 lakh of your income is actually taxed at 15%. The first ₹4 lakh is completely free.
This assumes a resident individual under 60 with only salary income, no capital gains, and no employer NPS contribution. Bonuses, RSUs or rental income change the figure.
Your real monthly in-hand
₹1,16,875/month is the pure tax calculation. Three further deductions usually hit your payslip:
- Employee PF — 12% of basic. If basic is 40% of CTC, that's around ₹5,000/month. It's your money, being saved, not lost.
- Professional tax — state-level, capped at ₹2,500/year (about ₹200/month) in states that levy it.
- Employer-arranged insurance — varies, often ₹500–₹1,500/month.
Realistic bank credit: roughly ₹1,10,000–₹1,12,000 a month. Also note that CTC is not salary — gratuity and the employer's PF share sit inside CTC but never reach your account, so a "₹15 LPA CTC" offer usually means a gross salary a bit below ₹15 lakh.
Should you use the old regime instead?
Almost certainly not — but here's the arithmetic rather than an assertion. The old regime taxes you at 20% from ₹5 lakh and 30% from ₹10 lakh, with a smaller ₹50,000 standard deduction. Deductions have to work extremely hard to overcome that:
| Your deductions (80C, 80D, HRA, home loan…) | Old regime tax | vs new regime (₹97,500) |
|---|
| ₹0 | ₹2,57,400 | ₹1,59,900 worse |
| ₹1,50,000 (full 80C) | ₹2,10,600 | ₹1,13,100 worse |
| ₹2,50,000 | ₹1,79,400 | ₹81,900 worse |
| ₹3,50,000 | ₹1,48,200 | ₹50,700 worse |
| ₹4,50,000 | ₹1,17,000 | ₹19,500 worse |
| ₹5,50,000 | ≈ ₹96,000 | roughly break-even |
You would need around ₹5.5 lakh of deductions — full ₹1.5 lakh 80C, ₹2 lakh home loan interest, ₹25,000 health insurance, plus close to ₹2 lakh of HRA exemption — before the old regime stops costing you money. That combination is rare on a ₹15 lakh salary, and it means locking away a large share of income in specific products purely for tax reasons.
Run your own numbers rather than trusting the table: the income tax calculator compares both regimes side by side once you enter your actual deductions.
Three things worth knowing at this income
1. The new regime is automatic
It's the default. You don't opt in. To use the old regime you must actively choose it while filing. Salaried taxpayers can switch every year, so this isn't a permanent decision.
2. Employer NPS still works in both regimes
Section 80CCD(2) — your employer's NPS contribution, up to 14% of basic — is deductible under the new regime too. It's one of the few tax breaks that survived, and it's worth asking HR whether your package can include it.
3. Your ₹97,500 saving has a job
Compared to the old regime with typical deductions, the new regime frees up over ₹1 lakh a year. Invested as a ₹10,000 monthly SIP at 12%, that becomes roughly ₹23 lakh in 10 years — see the SIP calculator. Tax saved and then spent is just tax deferred into lifestyle.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much tax on a ₹15 lakh salary in FY 2026-27?
₹97,500 under the new regime — ₹93,750 of slab tax plus ₹3,750 cess. Taxable income after the ₹75,000 standard deduction is ₹14.25 lakh.
Is the old regime better for a ₹15 lakh salary?
Only with roughly ₹5.5 lakh of deductions. With zero deductions the old regime costs ₹2,57,400 — over ₹1.6 lakh more than the new regime.
What is the in-hand salary for 15 LPA?
About ₹1.17 lakh/month on tax alone; roughly ₹1.10–1.12 lakh actually credited after PF, professional tax and insurance deductions.
Did Budget 2026 change anything?
No. Slabs, standard deduction, 87A rebate and cess were all left unchanged for FY 2026-27.
At what salary does tax become zero?
₹12.75 lakh gross for salaried taxpayers: minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction gives ₹12 lakh taxable, which the Section 87A rebate wipes out entirely.