Tax changes from last 5 years

In the last five years, your tax slab has been raised only once. In 2014, your basic exemption limit for income tax, if you are not a senior citizen, was raised to Rs2.5 lakh from Rs2 lakh. Analysis of various income tax changes in five years indicates majority of changes have been made for benefit of tax payers in lower tax brackets such as raising exemption limit, introduction of tax rebate, and increase in limit for medical insurance and national pension scheme.

Budget 2018

1. Hike in cess to 4% from 3%
2. Introduction of standard deduction of Rs. 40,000 for salaried individuals
3. For senior citizens:
4. Exemption of interest income on bank/post office deposits increased to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 10,000
5. Hike in deduction limit for health insurance premium/medical expenditure to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 30,000 under section 80D of Income Tax Act

Budget 2017

1. In Budget 2017, a rebate of Rs 12,500 was offered. This is because then Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley reduced the tax rate for income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.
2. Rebate under Section 87A lowered to Rs. 2,500 from Rs. 5,000; no rebate on income above Rs. 3.5 lakh
3. For the upper class, it also brought some bad news as the budget levied a surcharge of 10 per cent on individuals having income between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore.
4. Penalty up to Rs. 10,000 on failing to file returns on time (not more than Rs. 1,000 on income up to Rs. 5 lakh)

Abolition of deduction on investment in Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme

Budget 2016

1. Budget 2016 brought more bad news for the HNIs taxpayers (having income above Rs 1 crore) as surcharge was further increased from 12 per cent to 15 per cent.
2. Tax rebate for individuals with income up to Rs. 5 lakh raised to Rs. 5,000 from Rs. 2,000
3. Additional deduction up to Rs. 50,000 on interest payment under section 80EE for first-time home loan borrower (over and above Rs. 2 lakh for home loan borrower)
4. For individuals living on rent but not receiving house rent allowance (HRA), budget 2016 brought some relief. Maximum deduction on rent paid under section 80GG was raised from Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000.

Budget 2015

1. There were no major changes announced in personal income tax slabs and rates. However, there were certain changes which helped the salaried class to save more tax. To make National Pension System (NPS) more attractive, additional deduction of Rs 50,000 was introduced under section 80CCD (1b) on the contribution made. This deduction was over and above the deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh available under section 80C, thereby making a tax-saving of Rs 2 lakh per fiscal.
2. For the salaried class, transport allowance limit was doubled from Rs 800 per month to Rs 1,600 per month. Another major change was the hike in deduction limit for health insurance premiums paid. For individuals, the limit was increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. For senior citizens and very senior citizens, the limit was upped from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.
3. Further, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was given tax exempt status – equivalent to PPF. Prior to budget announcement, contributions made to scheme was already eligible for deduction under section 80C but income earned and withdrawal was taxable.
4. On the other hand, there was some bad news for those earning more than Rs 1 crore. In his budget speech, Arun Jaitley hiked the surcharge on taxable income from 10 per cent to 12 per cent. At the same time, wealth tax was abolished.

Budget 2014

1. Budget 2014 made a lot of taxpayers happy. It hiked the basic tax exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh in case of individuals. For senior citizens aged 60 and above but below 80 years, the tax exemption limit was hiked to Rs 3 lakh.
2. Exemption limit for investment in financial instruments under Section 80C of Income Tax Act hiked by Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
3. Another demand of the middle class that was fulfilled was the hike in deduction on the interest paid on housing loans. Deduction under section 24 (interest paid on housing loan) was hiked to Rs 2 lakh from the previous limit of Rs 1.5 lakh.

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