New Income Tax Slabs for Senior Citizens

From 2020-21, salaried individual taxpayers and pensioners who don’t have business income can choose between two tax regimes. These are namely the new concessional tax regime and the existing old one.

Are you looking for a new income tax slab for senior citizens?

If yes, you would certainly get the new budget income tax slabs for senior citizens here, along with several other related facts, including the tax slab for super senior citizens!

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The basic salary, fixed allowances, house rent allowance, and other sources of income form the basis for calculating a senior citizen’s income tax. The tax calculating procedure for senior citizens is similar to the process applicable for individuals under 60 years.

However, it must be noted that a higher exemption limit is applicable for senior citizens as compared to those aged lower than 60 years.

Income tax for pensioners or senior citizens is levied on every source of income. This includes pension, fixed deposits, post office schemes, rental income, interest or earnings from savings schemes, or reverse mortgage. During the calculation of tax for senior citizens, gratuity and retirement benefits should be excluded.

For calculating a senior citizen’s income tax, the entire income is considered along with the new income tax slab for senior citizens for FY 2020-21 and allowable deductions. An income tax calculator can prove to be a handy tool for determining taxable income. For knowing one’s approximate tax liability, the following details must be entered:

• Assessment year for which a senior citizen is willing to calculate income tax
• Residential status, type of taxpayer
• Standard deductions
• Education cess according to the income tax slab applicable for senior citizens
• Surcharge (if applicable)
• Total tax liability
• Due date of submission of income tax return (ITR)
• Income from salary
• Income from house property (if applicable)
• Income and capital gains from other sources
• Gains or profit from any profession or business
• Agricultural income (if applicable)
• Completion of assessment for income tax return
• TCS or TDS (if applicable)

The deductions applicable for senior citizens as per the Union Budget 2020-21 are as follows:

• Pension: There exists a standard deduction of ₹50000 yearly for pensions. This is applicable for pensions in the form of annuity payments that are taxed similar to salaried income. It comes under Section 80D.
• Health Insurance: As per Section 80D, senior citizens can claim up to ₹50000 of yearly deductions for their medical expenses and/or health insurance premium. In addition, dependent seniors can claim a deduction ranging to a maximum of ₹1 lakh for critical illnesses, as mentioned previously. This comes under Section 80DDB.

An individual taxpayer choosing the new tax regime would have to forego the majority of the tax exemptions that were otherwise available under the old or existing income tax regime.

Under the new rules for income tax for senior citizens and new income tax exemption for super senior citizens, there exists no increased basic limit of exemption for these two age categories. This implies that any individual irrespective of age would have ₹2.5 lakhs as the basic exemption limit for a given financial year.

Given below are the benefits for senior citizens, which might prove to be helpful in easing out their financial responsibilities:

• Interest Income: Senior Indian citizens don’t need to pay taxes if they earn an interest ranging to a maximum of ₹50000 for a given financial year. Individuals must submit Form 15H while filing their income tax returns. Additionally, a deduction ranges to a maximum of ₹50000 on the interest earned from fixed deposits and post office deposits. TDS or Tax Deducted at Source will be taken by the bank from the interest income of all these sources only if it amounts to over ₹50000 for a given financial year. If the total income is lower than the tax exemption limit, one can submit Form 15H to the bank to request the non-deduction of TDS for the financial year. The exemption of interest comes under Section 80TTB.
• Reverse Mortgage: Under the reverse mortgage scheme, special benefits are available for senior citizens. As per this scheme, for getting EMIs in return, the property value can be monetised. These EMIs can help in supplementing the income of these individuals. Such an amount that senior citizens receive on a monthly basis is exempted from taxation on their side.
• Advance Tax: The advance tax need not be paid by senior citizens during the year. This is because these individuals do not have business income. Therefore, they would only have to pay the SA tax or self-assessment tax. This tax is computed after calculating the final tax liability for a given financial year.

After going through this article, you must be aware of the new tax regime for senior citizens and new income tax rules for super senior citizens. If you fall under any of these age groups, go ahead and check out the new income tax rates for senior citizens and super senior citizens as per your income bracket.