Earn ₹12.75L But Still Owe Tax? Here's Why
Budget 2025 made salaries up to ₹12.75 lakh tax-free, but if you earned money from stocks, crypto, or lottery this year, you still owe tax — even if your total income looks small.
That ₹500 lottery scratch card win? Taxed at 30% — more than most salaried Indians pay!
Your salary may be tax-free, but these 3 income types still owe tax
Key Takeaways
List every income source this year — salary, stock sale profits, mutual fund redemptions, crypto trades, freelance income — before assuming you owe zero tax.
Calculate capital gains separately: use your broker's Tax P&L statement (available on Zerodha, Groww, Angel One portals) to get exact STCG and LTCG figures for FY 2025-26.
File your ITR even if net tax payable is zero — failing to disclose special incomes like crypto or foreign assets can trigger a notice from the Income Tax Department.
Budget 2025 made salaries up to ₹12.75 lakh tax-free, but if you earned money from stocks, crypto, or lottery this year, you still owe tax — even if your total income looks small.
Here's what happened: Section 87A rebate and standard deduction together make salaried income up to ₹12.75 lakh effectively zero-tax under the new regime for AY 2026-27.. Special incomes — short-term capital gains on equity (20%), long-term capital gains above ₹1.25 lakh (12.5%), and crypto/VDA gains (30%) — are taxed at fixed flat rates regardless of your total income.. Lottery, gambling, and game-show winnings are taxed at a flat 30% with no deductions or rebate benefit, even if your salary alone would have attracted zero tax..
What you should do: List every income source this year — salary, stock sale profits, mutual fund redemptions, crypto trades, freelance income — before assuming you owe zero tax.. Calculate capital gains separately: use your broker's Tax P&L statement (available on Zerodha, Groww, Angel One portals) to get exact STCG and LTCG figures for FY 2025-26.. File your ITR even if net tax payable is zero — failing to disclose special incomes like crypto or foreign assets can trigger a notice from the Income Tax Department..
Pro tip: If you sold equity mutual funds or stocks and your LTCG exceeds ₹1.25 lakh, consider tax-loss harvesting before March 31 — booking losses on underperforming holdings can offset your gains and cut your tax bill legally.
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- [1]“Income Tax AY 2026-27: Even if your salary income is below Rs 12.75 lakh, you still need to pay tax for these incomes” Wealth-Economic Times · 22 Jun 2026
This article is reported by GoCredit's Editorial Team based on the source above. GoCredit synthesises, contextualises, and adds India-borrower-relevant analysis. We are not the original publisher.