Zero Tax Up to ₹12 Lakh: What Business Owners and Sellers Actually Need to Know

Your salaried friend called you in February to celebrate. "No tax up to ₹12.75 lakh!" Great news. But if you run a business — sell on Amazon, operate a D2C brand, do freelance work, or run any kind of proprietorship — your situation is different. The ₹12 lakh zero-tax threshold is real. It applies to you. But the fine print that salaried employees don't have to worry about is exactly where most business owners trip up.

Here's the actual picture for FY 2025-26, with numbers.

What Changed in Budget 2025 — The Short Version

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced zero income tax for annual income up to ₹12 lakh under the new tax regime, effective FY 2025-26. The mechanism is a Section 87A rebate of ₹60,000 — which completely offsets the tax computed on income up to ₹12 lakh under the new slabs. The new regime is also now the default — you're automatically in it unless you actively opt out.

The new tax regime slabs for FY 2025-26 look like this:

Income Slab	New Regime Tax Rate
Up to ₹4 lakh	Nil
₹4 lakh – ₹8 lakh	5%
₹8 lakh – ₹12 lakh	10%
₹12 lakh – ₹16 lakh	15%
₹16 lakh – ₹20 lakh	20%
₹20 lakh – ₹24 lakh	25%
Above ₹24 lakh	30%

At ₹12 lakh, the computed tax is ₹60,000. The Section 87A rebate is ₹60,000. Net tax payable: zero. taxguru

The Part That Changes If You Run a Business

A salaried employee earning ₹12.75 lakh pays zero tax under the new regime. That extra ₹75,000 comes from the standard deduction — a flat deduction available to salaried individuals and pensioners.

If you're a sole proprietor, freelancer, e-commerce seller filing as an individual, or D2C brand owner, you don't get the standard deduction under the new regime. Your zero-tax ceiling is ₹12 lakh flat, not ₹12.75 lakh. A small difference on paper, but ₹75,000 of income taxed at 15% is ₹11,250 — real money.

More importantly: the Section 87A rebate under the new regime doesn't apply to special rate income — primarily capital gains. If you sold mutual funds, stocks, or property this year alongside your business income, the capital gains portion is taxed at its own rate regardless of your total income. Your ₹12 lakh business profit might be zero-tax; a ₹2 lakh LTCG on top of it is not. pib.gov

And one more hard stop: the rebate is only available to resident individuals. HUFs, partnership firms, LLPs, and private limited companies get no benefit from Section 87A — not even the ₹12,500 old-regime version. If your business is structured as an LLP or Pvt Ltd, this rebate doesn't exist for you at the entity level.

Old Regime vs. New Regime: When Each One Wins

The old regime didn't change. It still has higher headline rates but lets you claim deductions that reduce your taxable income — 80C investments, health insurance premiums, home loan interest, HRA, and more.

	Old Regime	New Regime
Basic exemption	₹2.5 lakh	₹4 lakh
Standard deduction	₹50,000 (salaried only)	₹75,000 (salaried only)
Section 87A rebate	₹12,500 (up to ₹5L income)	₹60,000 (up to ₹12L income)
80C deduction (₹1.5L)	✅ Available	❌ Not available
80D (health insurance)	✅ Available	❌ Not available
Home loan interest (24b)	✅ Available	❌ Not available
HRA exemption	✅ Available	❌ Not available
Default regime?	No (must opt in)	Yes

The new regime wins if your deductions are low. The old regime wins if your deductions are high enough to push your taxable income below what the new slabs would compute. The break-even point:

Rajan runs a ₹15 lakh/year D2C brand as a sole proprietor. Under the new regime, he pays tax on ₹15 lakh at the new slabs — computed tax is approximately ₹1,42,500 (₹60,000 + ₹75,000 at 15%). Under the old regime, he claims: ₹1.5 lakh in PPF and ELSS (80C) + ₹25,000 health insurance (80D) + ₹1.5 lakh home loan interest (24b). That's ₹3.25 lakh in deductions. Taxable income drops to ₹11.75 lakh → tax under old slabs is approximately ₹1,62,500. New regime wins by ₹20,000.

But add a housing loan interest claim of ₹2 lakh instead of ₹1.5 lakh, and the math flips. The crossover isn't a fixed income number — it depends entirely on which deductions you actually use.

The ₹12–15 Lakh Zone: The Most Important Bracket for Sellers

If your business profit lands in the ₹12–15 lakh range, this is where the regime choice matters most — and where most sellers are currently making the decision wrong because they haven't done the calculation.

At ₹12 lakh, the answer is easy: new regime, zero tax, done.

At ₹12.01 lakh, something unexpected happens. The Section 87A rebate disappears entirely — it's a cliff, not a taper. At ₹12,00,001, the rebate is zero and you're taxed on the full ₹12,00,001 at the applicable slab. The tax jumps from ₹0 to approximately ₹60,000 on a single rupee of additional income. This is called marginal relief — if you're in this zone, work with your CA to understand the implications before invoicing that final order of the year.

For income between ₹12 lakh and ₹15 lakh: run the numbers. The new regime is often still better, but it's not guaranteed. Ask your CA for a computation under both regimes before you file.

Three Practical Scenarios for Business Owners

Scenario 1 — E-commerce seller, ₹10 lakh annual profit, no significant investments: New regime wins decisively. Zero tax, no paperwork on deductions, simpler ITR. You're done in an hour on ClearTax.

Scenario 2 — D2C founder, ₹18 lakh profit, pays ₹2.4L home loan interest + ₹1.5L 80C + ₹50K 80D: Total deductions = ₹4.4 lakh. Old regime taxable income = ₹13.6 lakh → tax ≈ ₹1,72,000. New regime tax on ₹18 lakh ≈ ₹2,10,000. Old regime saves ₹38,000. Check your numbers.

Scenario 3 — Freelancer, ₹8 lakh income, invests ₹1.5L in ELSS: Old regime taxable income = ₹6.5 lakh → tax = ₹45,000. New regime tax on ₹8 lakh = ₹20,000, rebate applicable = zero (income above ₹7L but below ₹12L — rebate covers it fully). New regime wins with zero tax. The ELSS investment can continue — it doesn't have to be for tax purposes.

What to Do Before March 31, 2026

Ask your CA for a dual computation. One number under old regime, one under new. If the difference is under ₹10,000, the simplicity of the new regime is worth the switch anyway.
Check your business structure. If you're filing as an individual/sole proprietor, the ₹12L zero-tax applies. If you're an LLP or Pvt Ltd, it doesn't — plan around your entity's actual tax rates.
Don't invoice past ₹12 lakh without a plan. If your FY profit is approaching ₹12 lakh and you control the timing of your last few invoices, talk to your CA about the marginal relief cliff before that last order goes through.
Switch regime correctly. Business owners who want to opt for the old regime must file Form 10-IEA before or with their ITR. Salaried individuals can switch each year; business owners have restrictions on switching back once they've moved to new regime.
Update your advance tax calculations. If your income is above ₹10,000 in tax liability for the year, you owe advance tax. With the new slabs, many sellers who were paying quarterly instalments may find their liability has dropped significantly. Recalculate — overpayment gets refunded, but it's your money stuck in the system until it does.

To understand how your GSTN-linked income aligns with your ITR income — a common discrepancy for e-commerce sellers — check the GST guide for e-commerce sellers. If you're behind on GST filings, get those cleared first at the GST return filing page — a mismatch between your ITR income and your GSTR-1 turnover is a red flag in automated scrutiny.

The ₹12 lakh zero-tax headline is real. For most online sellers with modest deductions and sub-₹12 lakh profits, the new regime is a genuine win. What it isn't is a blanket instruction for every business owner. Five minutes with your CA and the two numbers — old regime vs new — is the only analysis that matters before March 31.