Resources · Tax
Is 80G available under the new tax regime?
One question, answered properly: if you are on the new tax regime, does an 80G donation reduce your tax? The answer is no, and almost every page telling you otherwise was written before the rules changed.
Provision Old Act. Section 115BAC(2)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - total income under the new regime is computed 'without any deduction under any of the provisions of Chapter VI-A other than the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 80CCD or section 80CCH or section 80JJAA'. Section 80G sits in Chapter VI-A and is not in that exception list.
Provision New Act. Section 202(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 - total income under the new regime is computed without any deduction under 'Chapter VIII other than the provisions of sections 124(1) and 124(2), or 125(2) or 146'. Section 133 (donations) sits in Chapter VIII ('Deductions to be made in computing total income') and is NOT among the four carve-outs.
Answer: NO. There is no fund-specific exception. Donations to PM CARES, the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, the National Defence Fund or any other 100%-deduction fund are equally non-deductible under the new regime. The 100%/50% question only decides HOW MUCH you deduct once you are already in the old regime; it never decides WHETHER the new regime lets you deduct.
Common Myth: The widespread belief that 'PM CARES is allowed even in the new regime' is false for income-tax deduction purposes. It arose because PM CARES donations are eligible as CSR spend for companies and because 100%-without-limit funds are the only ones an employer may consider in salary TDS - neither of which changes the Section 115BAC/202 bar.
80GGA Now Section 135: Deduction for donations for scientific research or rural development. Also a Chapter VI-A / Chapter VIII deduction, so equally UNAVAILABLE under the new regime. Note 80GGA/Section 135 is in any case only for taxpayers with no income chargeable under 'Profits and gains of business or profession', and it has its own Rs 2,000 cash ceiling.
80GGB Now Section 136: Contributions by an Indian company to a political party or electoral trust. Unavailable to a company that has opted for the Section 200/115BAA concessional rate; available to a company on normal rates. No deduction at all for a contribution paid in cash.
80GGC Now Section 137: Contributions by any person other than a company (so, individuals) to a political party or electoral trust. Also UNAVAILABLE under the new regime for the same Chapter VIII reason. No deduction for cash contributions at all - not even up to Rs 2,000. From AY 2026-27 the ITR requires the name and PAN of the political party, and the department has been issuing large numbers of notices reopening bogus 80GGC claims.
Bottom Line: None of 80G, 80GGA, 80GGB or 80GGC is treated more favourably than the others under the new/concessional regimes. They all fall together.
So who still gets it
Four situations where a donation is still deductible
You opt out of the new regime
An individual or HUF who positively chooses the old regime keeps the 80G deduction in full. One trap: the option must be exercised in a return filed by the due date. A belated return kills the claim silently — nothing warns you.
You are a firm or an LLP
No alternative regime applies to firms and LLPs, so the deduction survives intact. This is the quietest and most reliable 80G audience there is.
You are a company on normal rates
A company taxed at normal rates keeps the deduction. A company that has opted into the 22% concessional rate does not — the same exclusion applies there.
You are giving for reasons other than tax
Which, for what it is worth, is most people. The donation does everything it was going to do. It simply will not appear on your return.
Why we put this on our own donation site. It costs us donations to say it. But an NGO that lets someone give on a false expectation about their own tax return has bought a single contribution at the price of the relationship — and the donor finds out anyway, in July, from their accountant.
Questions
No. Under the new tax regime - the default since FY 2023-24 - an individual or HUF gets no deduction for donations. Section 115BAC(2)(i) of the 1961 Act, and Section 202(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act 2025 which governs FY 2026-27 onwards, both compute total income without any Chapter VI-A / Chapter VIII deduction except the NPS employer contribution, the Agniveer Corpus Fund and the employer's additional-employee-cost deduction. Section 80G/133 is not among them. You can claim the donation only if you positively opt out into the old regime in a return filed by the due date. The rule is the same for PM CARES and every other 100% fund - there is no fund-specific exception.
Verified September 2026 against Section 115BAC of the Income-tax Act 1961, Section 202 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (in force from 1 April 2026, which renumbers 80G as Section 133), and CBDT's own ITR validation rules. General information, not tax advice — confirm your own position with a chartered accountant. The full 80G guide is here.