Summary of this article
Filing your ITR for FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26)? Here’s what to keep tucked in your mind:
Both regimes let you claim: standard deduction - but with varying thresholds, employer’s EPF/NPS up to Rs 7.5 lakh, some gratuity, some family pension, and government’s Agnipath contribution.
Only old regime gives access to the old reliable list of deductions: 80C, 80D, 80E, HRA, LTA, home-loan interest, and more.
Only new regime offers lean filing, smoother slab structure, and less proof-chasing, but loses most deductions.
Filing your income tax return in 2025 doesn't feel like a maze with many deductions to claim, but some can be made under both tax regimes. The new tax regime, introduced in 2020, promised simplicity, fewer deductions, and lower rates. Meanwhile, the old regime, rich in exemptions and tax-saving avenues, still stands.
The question is: which deductions survive in both worlds? Here is what you really need to know about deductions and exemptions you can claim under both the new and old tax regimes.
The deductions that are available under both regimes:
Standard deduction offers a bit of relief in both regimes. If you are salaried or a pensioner, the old regime gives you a flat Rs 50,000 off your taxable income.
The new tax regime is slightly more generous, wherein taxpayers get Rs 75,000 standard deduction starting FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26).
EPF/NPS
Next, your employer's contribution to EPF or NPS still gives you a tax exemption benefit in both regimes, up to Rs 7.5 lakh per year. When the employer's contribution is more than this threshold limit, then it becomes taxable for the employee.
Gratuity
When it comes to gratuity, the old regime taxpayers have long enjoyed tax-free payouts up to Rs 20 lakh (once Rs 10 lakh).
Under the new regime, this was not the case until May 2025, when a CBDT circular extended tax-free gratuity up to Rs 5 lakh under Section 115BAC(1A).
Family Pension
Family pension is another deduction that has seen changes in the previous Budget (2024). When it comes to old tax regime, taxpayers can claim up to Rs 15,000 as deduction.
The benefit came under the scope of new tax regime as well after Budget 2024 raised the bar - taxpayers can claim up to Rs 25,000 for FY 2024-25 and the years going forward.
Something more niche: For the Agnipath scheme, where Agniveers and the government both chip into a SevaNidhi corpus. The taxpayers can claim deduction for their own contribution - but only under the old regime. In the new tax regime, you lose that benefit, but the government's matching contribution still gives you a break in both regimes.
It's also worth noting what deductions are not available under the new tax regime: The big-ticket benefits like Section 80C investments (PPF, ELSS, insurance, home-loan principal), 80D health insurance, 80E education loan interest, Section 24(b) home-loan interest on self-occupied property, 80G donations, 80TTA/TTB savings-interest, HRA, LTA, all dropped in favour of simplicity.
If you are someone who leans on those deductions every year, the old regime still holds charm. But if you would rather skip the paperwork and keep it lean, the new regime, with its broader slabs and fewer tax benefits in terms of deduction and exemptions, might suit you better.
