Income tax slab in Budget 2019: No tax for income up to Rs 5 lakh, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal thanked all taxpayer and said benefits of tax reforms should be passed on to taxpayers, said Goyal. the FM proposed to increase the income tax exemption limit from current Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. "Individual taxpayers having annual income upto 5 lakhs will get full tax rebate," Goyal said. The tax relief will benefit nearly 3 crore taxpayers.

This is not all, the FM also proposed to increase the standard deduction, reintroduced last year, to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000. This will reduce the taxable income of salaried individuals further.

Presently, banks deduct TDS (tax deductible at source) on fixed deposit interest of over Rs 10,000 in a year. Piyush Goyal has proposed to increase this exemption limit to Rs 40,000. This proposal will benefit senior citizens who mainly depend on interest income form post office, banks and other small savings schemes.

Goyal has also given a big boost to the ailing real estate sector. He has proposed to exempt income tax on notional rent on second self-occupied home. He has also proposed capital gain rollover for second house.