Income tax for senior citizens: slabs, 80TTB and pension

For FY 2026-27, a senior citizen (age 60 to 79) pays no tax on income up to ₹3 lakh in the old regime. A super senior citizen (80 or more) pays none up to ₹5 lakh. In the new regime, the limit is ₹4 lakh at every age, and a rebate makes income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free. Section 80TTB lets seniors deduct up to ₹50,000 of bank and post office interest, but only in the old regime.

This guide explains the slabs, the deductions a senior can claim, how pension is taxed, and TDS on FD interest. The rates are the same for FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27.

Who is a senior citizen for income tax?

Income tax uses two age groups:

• "At any time during the year" means you count as a senior for the whole year if you turn 60 on or before 31 March. For FY 2026-27 (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027), a person who turns 60 on 15 March 2027 is a senior citizen for that full year.
• Same age for men and women. The definition does not change with gender. Our reading: income tax has no separate senior citizen age for women.
• Residents only. A non-resident aged 60 or more uses the normal limits, not the senior limits.
• The new regime has no separate age groups. Its slabs are the same at every age.

Income tax slab for senior citizens, FY 2026-27

The slab rates below apply to FY 2025-26 (the return you file in 2026) and to FY 2026-27 (tax year 2026-27, the return you file in 2027). Budget 2026 did not change them.

New regime (the default, same for every age)

Old regime (you must choose it)

• Cess: 4% health and education cess is added on the tax (and on any surcharge).
• Surcharge: applies only above ₹50 lakh of income. It is 10% of the tax from ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore, and higher above that.
• Section numbers: for FY 2025-26 the new regime is section 115BAC of the Income-tax Act, 1961. From tax year 2026-27 it is section 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, with the same rates.

How much income is tax-free for senior citizens?

Two things decide this: the exemption limit (the slab where tax starts) and the section 87A rebate (a cut in tax for lower incomes).

New regime: no tax up to ₹12 lakh

• If your total income is ₹12 lakh or less, the rebate is equal to your tax, up to ₹60,000. So the tax is nil.
• A pensioner first gets the ₹75,000 standard deduction. So if pension is your only income, pension up to ₹12.75 lakh a year pays no tax.
• Just above ₹12 lakh: you never pay more tax than the income above ₹12 lakh (marginal relief). Example: total income ₹12,10,000. Tax at slab rates is ₹61,500, but the income above ₹12 lakh is only ₹10,000, so the tax is ₹10,000 plus 4% cess, which is ₹10,400.

Old regime: no tax up to ₹5 lakh

• If your total income is ₹5 lakh or less, the rebate is equal to your tax, up to ₹12,500. A senior (60 to 79) with ₹5 lakh of total income has ₹10,000 of tax, and the rebate removes it.
• A super senior pays no tax up to ₹5 lakh anyway, because that is the exemption limit.

Total income here means income after the deductions you are allowed (standard deduction, and in the old regime 80TTB, 80D and others).

In the new regime, the rebate does not cover tax on capital gains taxed at special rates, such as gains on listed shares and equity funds under sections 111A and 112A. See the 87A rebate on capital gains and capital gains tax on shares.

Do you still need to file a return? You may still have to file even when your tax is nil. See do senior citizens need to file a return.

Old or new tax regime: which is better for senior citizens?

The new regime has lower rates and the ₹12 lakh rebate, but it does not allow 80TTB, 80D, 80DDB and other old-regime deductions. The old regime allows them, but its rates are higher.

Example 1: age 68, pension ₹9 lakh, FD and savings interest ₹1.5 lakh, health insurance ₹30,000

Example 2: age 82, pension ₹15 lakh, interest ₹3 lakh, health insurance ₹50,000

In both examples the new regime gives lower tax. The old regime comes out lower only when your old-regime deductions are large enough to beat the lower new-regime rates, so work out both before you choose. Try our income tax calculator.

Can you switch every year? If you have no business income, you choose the regime with each year's return, filed by the due date. Our reading: a pensioner can pick a different regime each year. A return filed after the due date is taxed under the new regime.

Section 80TTB: deduction on interest up to ₹50,000

Section 80TTB lets a resident senior citizen deduct interest on deposits, up to ₹50,000 a year. It works only in the old regime.

• Who: a resident individual aged 60 or more at any time during the year.
• Which interest: interest on deposits (savings accounts and fixed deposits) with a bank, a co-operative bank or a post office.
• How much: the full interest if it is ₹50,000 or less; ₹50,000 if it is more.
• Not covered: interest from company deposits, bonds or debentures, because the section covers only banks, co-operative banks and the post office.
• New regime: not allowed. The new regime does not allow Chapter VI-A deductions such as 80TTB.
• From tax year 2026-27: the same deduction is in section 153 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (₹50,000 for senior citizens, on deposits in any account including time deposits).

Example: FD interest ₹70,000 and savings interest ₹8,000. Total interest ₹78,000. 80TTB deduction ₹50,000. The other ₹28,000 is taxed at your slab rate.

80TTA vs 80TTB

A senior citizen cannot claim 80TTA. If you claim 80TTB, 80TTA does not apply to you.

Health insurance and medical costs: 80D and 80DDB

Both deductions work only in the old regime.

Section 80D

• Health insurance premium for yourself, your spouse and dependent children: up to ₹50,000 if you are a senior citizen.
• Premium for your parents: up to another ₹50,000 if they are senior citizens.
• No health insurance? A senior citizen can claim medical expenses (doctor, medicines, hospital) up to ₹50,000 instead.
• Preventive health check-up: up to ₹5,000, inside the limits above. This is the only 80D payment that can be made in cash.
• Pay premiums and medical bills by bank, card or UPI, not cash, and keep the receipts and bills.

Section 80DDB

• For treatment of a specified disease for yourself or a dependant: up to ₹1 lakh for a senior citizen, or the actual amount if it is lower.
• Any amount you get back from insurance or your employer is taken off first.

From tax year 2026-27, the 80D limits are in section 126 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, with the same ₹50,000 and ₹5,000 figures.

How pension is taxed for senior citizens

• Is pension taxable in India? Yes. Monthly pension is income, taxed at your slab rate, after the standard deduction.
• TDS on pension: because pension is taxed as salary, the bank or office that pays it deducts TDS the way an employer does on salary (section 192). Our reading.
• To see where each type goes in the return, read how pension is shown in the ITR.

TDS on FD interest for senior citizens, and Form 121

• No TDS up to ₹1 lakh: a bank, co-operative bank or post office does not deduct TDS on a senior citizen's time deposit interest if the year's interest is ₹1 lakh or less. Above ₹1 lakh, TDS is 10% (residents).
• Form 121 (old Form 15H): if the tax on your estimated total income for the year is nil, you can give the bank a declaration so it deducts no TDS. Up to FY 2025-26 this was Form 15H. From tax year 2026-27, the Income-tax Rules 2026 merged Forms 15G and 15H into one form, Form 121.
• TDS is not the final tax. If TDS was cut but your tax is lower, file a return to get the extra back as a refund. See income tax refund status.
• Interest is still income even when no TDS is cut or you gave Form 121. Show it in your return.
• If TDS and TCS together come to ₹50,000 or more in a year, a resident aged 60 or more must file a return. See who must file.

Do senior citizens pay advance tax?

No, if you are resident, 60 or more, and have no income from business or profession. You pay any tax due as self-assessment tax before you file the return, and interest under sections 234B and 234C does not apply to you.

If you have business or professional income, the normal advance tax rules apply: pay in instalments by 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March when the year's tax is ₹10,000 or more.

Age 75 and above: section 194P

If you are 75 or more, resident, and your only income is pension and interest from the same specified bank that pays your pension, you can give that bank a declaration (Form 12BBA). The bank then works out your tax, after deductions and the rebate, and deducts it. You do not need to file a return. If you have interest from another bank, rent or capital gains, you still file. See the full 194P conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Not sure which regime gives you lower tax? A CA can work out both and file your return. See ITR filing for senior citizens.