Fake News About Income Tax Exemption For Senior Citizens of 75 Age & Above Viral

The Centre has not given any tax exemption to all senior citizens who are above 75 years of age.

A message going viral on social media which claims that as per the Centre's new guidelines, senior citizens above 75 years of age would not have to pay income tax any more.

It reads, “The Modi government will not have to pay tax to the senior citizens of the country, because on the completion of 75 years of India's independence, senior citizens above 75 years of age will no longer have to pay tax on their income. According to the information given by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the central government has changed the law to provide tax exemption to senior citizens...”

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This claim is false.

• The Centre has not exempted any tax to senior citizens above 75 years of age.

How did we find out the truth?: We did not find any credible news reports supporting this viral claim.

• We did find reports from Business Today and Financial Express shared on 29 November 2024 which stated that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced relief for taxpayers in the New Tax Regime by raising the Standard Deduction limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.

• It further stated that senior citizens were not included in this relief.

• Moreover, we then found a post shared by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on their official social media handles.

• PIB tagged this viral post as 'fake'.

• They further clarified, "Senior citizens above 75 years, with only pension and interest income, are exempt from filing ITR (as per Section 194P) Taxes, if applicable, are deducted by the specified bank after computing the income and eligible deductions."

✔️Senior citizens above 75 years, with only pension and interest income, are exempt from filing ITR (as per Section 194P)

✔️Taxes, if applicable, are deducted by the specified bank after computing the income and eligible deductions

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) November 28, 2024

Next, we visited the official website of Income Tax which stated that Section 194P of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides conditions for exempting senior citizens from filing income tax returns aged 75 years and above.

Conclusion: A misleading message about senior citizens above 75 years of age getting exempted from paying income tax is going viral online.

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