New Delhi, Feb. 6 -- In 2020, the Government of India introduced a new tax regime that offered concessional tax rates while scrapping most of the deductions and exemptions offered under the old tax regime.

Most small taxpayers were - until then - accustomed to claiming exemptions and deductions against the investments they made during the financial year. This was becoming history with the rollout of the new tax regime. However, taxpayers were given the discretion of whether to opt for the new regime or not.

Three years later, in 2023, the government took a step further by making the new tax regime the default regime. This means the tax computation takes place under the new tax regime, and if someone wants to file returns under the old t...