Special taxpayers and life situations · Tax Year 2025-26
ITR for senior citizens
Senior citizens get a higher exemption limit, extra health insurance and interest deductions in the old regime, and some may not need to file. Learn the age bands, slabs, deductions, which form to use and what to watch for.
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A senior citizen (aged 60 to 79) has a higher exemption limit of ₹3,00,000 and a super senior citizen (80 and above) has ₹5,00,000, in the old regime. Seniors can also claim a higher health insurance deduction (80D, ₹50,000) and an interest deduction (80TTB, ₹50,000) in the old regime. Most pensioners with simple income file ITR-1.
The figures are those TaxCare applies for the tax year 2025-26 and are signed off. For the tax year 2026-27 they are carried forward provisionally and not yet signed off against the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Age bands
Band | Age | Old-regime basic exemption |
|---|---|---|
Regular | Below 60 | ₹2,50,000 |
Senior citizen | 60 to 79 | ₹3,00,000 |
Super senior citizen | 80 and above | ₹5,00,000 |
The age that counts is your age at any time during the tax year, and the senior citizen limits apply to resident individuals. Someone who turns 60 on the last day of the year already counts as a senior citizen for that year.
Slabs for seniors
Old regime: nil up to the exemption for your age; then 5% to ₹5,00,000 (for the 60 to 79 band), then 20% to ₹10,00,000, then 30%. A super senior pays nil up to ₹5,00,000, then 20%, then 30%. See income tax slabs under the old regime.
New regime: the same slabs apply to everyone, whatever the age: nil up to ₹4,00,000, then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% in steps of ₹4,00,000. The rebate makes tax nil up to ₹12,00,000 of taxable income.
Old regime rebate: up to ₹12,500 if total income is ₹5,00,000 or less.
Deductions that matter to seniors (old regime)
Deduction | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Standard deduction on pension | ₹50,000 (old); ₹75,000 (new) | For salary and pension |
Section 80D health insurance, self and family | ₹50,000 | Where a senior citizen is covered |
Section 80D, parents | ₹50,000 if a parent is a senior | Total up to ₹1,00,000 |
Section 80TTB, interest | ₹50,000 | Bank, post office and co-operative bank interest; replaces 80TTA for seniors |
Section 80DDB, specified diseases | ₹1,00,000 for a senior | Higher than ₹40,000 for others |
Family pension | Lower of one-third and ₹15,000 (old) or ₹25,000 (new) |
|
See Section 80D: health insurance deduction.
Example: a retired person with ₹9,00,000 of income
A 65-year-old receives a pension of ₹9,00,000 a year.
- New regime: taxable income after the ₹75,000 standard deduction is ₹8,25,000. Slab tax is within the rebate. Tax: nil.
- Old regime: taxable income after the ₹50,000 standard deduction is ₹8,50,000. Tax is ₹83,200 with cess. If the person claims ₹50,000 under 80D and ₹50,000 under 80TTB, taxable income falls to ₹7,50,000 and tax is ₹62,400.
For this person the new regime is cheaper. Check both with your numbers.
Which ITR form?
Most pensioners use ITR-1 if they meet its conditions: resident, total income up to ₹50 lakh, one house property, salary or pension and other sources, long-term gains on listed shares up to ₹1,25,000 and no other capital gains, agricultural income up to ₹5,000, and no foreign assets. Anything outside that takes you to ITR-2. A senior with business income uses ITR-3 or ITR-4. See ITR-1 Sahaj: who can file and which ITR form should I file.
Do all seniors have to file?
Not always. A resident individual aged 75 or more during the year, whose only income is pension (received in the bank) and interest from an account in that same bank, can give the bank a yearly declaration (Form 12BBA under the 1961 Act, Form 125 under the 2025 Act). The bank then computes the tax after deductions and rebates and deducts it, and the person need not file a return for that year. In your AIS this appears as TDS under section 194P (393(1) under the 2025 Act). The form does not exempt you from the tax itself, only from filing.
Even if you are exempt, you must file if you want a refund or if your income is above the exemption. If you have a refund claim, file.
Advance tax and TDS on interest
A resident senior citizen (aged 60 or more) who has no income from business or profession does not have to pay advance tax, even if the tax is ₹10,000 or more. Banks, co-operative banks and post offices deduct TDS on interest only above a limit, which for a senior citizen is ₹1,00,000 a year (₹50,000 for others), counted for each bank. If the tax on your total income, after the rebate, is nil, you can ask the bank not to deduct TDS by giving a declaration, called Form 15H under the 1961 Act and Form 121 under the 2025 Act.
Tips for seniors and families
- Check Form 26AS or Form 168 and AIS. Interest from many banks adds up; list every bank.
- E-verify with Aadhaar OTP or net banking; you have 30 days. See how to e-verify your ITR.
- Family can file for you. TaxCare lets you add a parent as a family member and file for them using their own portal login and OTP, with their consent.
- Keep records of medical bills, premium receipts and bank certificates.
- Refunds go to a validated bank account. See refund failed: bank account not validated.
How TaxCare helps
TaxCare uses the right age band, brings in pension, interest and TDS from the portal, compares the old and new regimes, and picks ITR-1 when it fits. You can add a parent or spouse as a family member. A Tax Expert can help with unusual cases. See pricing.
This guide gives general information and is not professional tax advice.
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