Section 87A - Income Tax Rebate
Resident individuals with taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 (under new regime) get a full rebate of tax payable, up to ₹60,000. Under old regime, rebate is up to ₹12,500 for income up to ₹5 lakh.
Key provisions
- New regime: income ≤ ₹12 lakh → zero tax liability after rebate
- Old regime: income ≤ ₹5 lakh → rebate up to ₹12,500
- Rebate is applied after computing tax at applicable slab rates, before adding cess
- Surcharge is calculated before applying 87A rebate - effectively, if surcharge applies (income > ₹50 lakh), rebate may not eliminate tax entirely
- Special rate income (STCG under 111A, LTCG under 112A) may still attract tax even if total income ≤ ₹12 lakh
- Not available to NRIs, Hindu Undivided Families, companies, or firms
FAQs
Yes, for resident individuals under the new tax regime, if total taxable income does not exceed ₹12,00,000, the Section 87A rebate wipes out the entire income tax liability. Add ₹75,000 standard deduction: effectively ₹12.75 lakh gross salary can be tax-free.
Use via API
GET/v1/tax-law/sections/by-2025-ref/157
Programmatic access - free, no signup required. ISR-cached for 24 hours.
REQUEST · cURL
curl https://api.thynktax.com/v1/tax-law/sections/by-2025-ref/157
RESPONSE · 200 OK
{
"act_2025_ref": "157",
"old_reference": "Section 87A, Income Tax Act 1961",
"title": "Section 87A - Income Tax Rebate",
"category": "Tax Rebate",
"limit_or_rate": "Up to ₹60,000 (new regime) / ₹12,500 (old regime)",
"applicable_to": "Resident Individual only (not HUF, firm, company)",
"effective_from": "2026-04-01"
}