Section 16 of Income Tax Act, 1961 provides deduction from income chargeable to tax under the head 'salaries'. It provides deductions for the standard deduction, entertainment allowance, and professional tax. Through this deduction, a salaried taxpayer can lower his/ her taxable salary income chargeable to tax.

What are standard deductions under section 16?

Standard deduction under Section 16(ia) is a flat deduction that is allowed from the salary income. The concept of standard deduction was introduced in the Union Budget of 2018 wherein it replaced the tax-deductible transport allowance and medical allowance of INR 19,200 and INR 15,000 respectively.

What is standard deduction u/s 16 IA for AY 2020 21?

Deduction u/s 16(ia) states that a tax payer having income chargeable under the head 'Salaries' shall be allowed a deduction of ₹ 40,000 or the amount of salary, whichever is less, for computing his total income. Now all employees will get a standard deduction of ₹ 40,000 p.a.