Indian tax, arranged so the pieces connect
Income tax, TDS, capital gains, GST and the deductions in between. Ten concepts, each linked to the calculator that computes it and the scenario that shows it applied to real numbers.
Tax is one calculation, interrupted several times
Indian income tax looks like a mass of unrelated rules and is really one calculation with interruptions. Add up income from every head. Subtract what the law allows. Apply the slabs. Add cess. Subtract what has already been collected on your behalf. Pay the difference, or claim it back. Every specific rule you have ever been confused by attaches to exactly one of those five steps.
The interruptions are what cause the confusion. TDS collects tax before you file, at a flat rate that is almost never your actual rate, which is why refunds and shortfalls both exist. Advance tax requires payment during the year rather than after it. Capital gains are taxed under their own rates and holding periods rather than at slab. And the choice between the old and new regimes changes which deductions exist at all.
GST is a separate system entirely and gets confused with income tax constantly. Income tax is charged on what you earn; GST is charged on what you sell, collected from your customer, and reduced by the tax you paid on your own purchases. If you run a business you deal with both, on different calendars, and conflating them is the most common compliance mistake made by small operators.
The ten concepts, and where each one enters the calculation
The income tax chain first, then the collection mechanisms, then GST as a separate system.
Income Tax Basics
Five heads of income, the slab structure, cess, and the difference between gross income, total income and taxable income. Everything else attaches to this frame.
Deductions and Exemptions
What the law lets you subtract before the slabs apply. Section 80C, 80D, HRA and home loan interest are the large ones, and most are unavailable under the new regime.
Tax Planning
Arranging affairs legally so less tax is due. The distinction from avoidance and evasion matters, and most legitimate planning is about timing and instrument choice rather than clever structures.
Capital Gains Tax
Gains on assets taxed by their own rules. The holding period decides whether the gain is short or long term, and the rates differ by asset class rather than by your slab.
TDS and TCS
Tax collected at source, at a flat rate that rarely matches your actual liability. It is a credit against your final bill, not a final tax, which is why the reconciliation at filing matters.
Advance Tax
Paying during the year rather than after it, in four cumulative instalments, once the liability after TDS reaches ten thousand rupees. Missing an instalment costs interest, not a penalty.
ITR Filing
The annual return. Choosing the right form matters, and so does reconciling against Form 26AS and the annual information statement before submitting rather than after a notice.
GST Basics
A destination-based tax on supply, split into CGST, SGST and IGST. It is collected from your customer and set off against the tax you paid on inputs.
GST Returns and Compliance
The monthly and annual filing cycle, and the input tax credit matching that decides how much you actually pay. The calendar is unforgiving and the late fees accumulate daily.
Tax Audit
The threshold above which accounts must be examined by a chartered accountant. It is a reporting obligation rather than an accusation, and the presumptive schemes exist partly to avoid triggering it.
The calculators that do this arithmetic
Taxation is the best-served domain on this site by tool count, because almost every step of the calculation has a defined formula.
Where tax turns into a decision
Comparisons settle the recurring either-or questions. Scenarios apply the rules to a specific set of numbers so the answer is a figure rather than a principle.
Test yourself on Taxation
Ten topics across income tax, TDS, capital gains and GST. Tax is largely rule recall, and the rules are easy to half-remember, which is where mistakes come from.
Open the study tool →Before you start
Old regime or new regime — how do I choose?+
Why did TDS get deducted when I owe no tax?+
Is income tax the same as GST?+
The other nine Learn topics
Every domain follows the same shape: the concept map first, then the lessons that teach it, then the tools and scenarios that put it to work.
The articles that apply this
The Learn page above is the concept map. These are the practical questions readers actually arrive with — a procedure, a decision, a situation with more than one right answer.