New income tax slabs in Nepal's 2083/84 budget: how much more (or less) you pay

The most-searched finance question in Nepal on budget night is some version of "mero tax kati hunchha ahile." The honest answer this year, on 29 May 2026, is two parts: a clear, confirmed cut at the bottom, and a table that is not fully public yet.

Here is the discipline this post follows. Anything stated as fact comes from the budget speech or named reporting. Anything not yet published is flagged as pending, not guessed. The FY 2082/83 slabs are shown only as the comparison baseline, clearly labelled as last year.

The two confirmed changes

Straight from paragraph 7(क) of the speech:

"करको बोझ घटाउन आयकर छुटको सीमा दोब्बर गरी व्यक्तिका लागि दश लाख रुपैयाँ पुर्‍याएको छु। व्यक्तिगत आयकरको अधिकतम दरलाई दश प्रतिशत बिन्दुले घटाएको छु।"

ShareSansar and the Kathmandu Post both confirm both figures. Everything else about the rate structure is, on budget day, still inside the bill.

Last year's table, for comparison only

This is the FY 2082/83 structure. It is the baseline, not the new rule. The middle bands below almost certainly change in 2083/84; only use this to see how far you have moved.

Single filer, FY 2082/83 (prior year)

In 2083/84, the first row stretches from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, and the last row's rate falls from 39% to 29%. The four rows in between are the unknown. The couple table, which last year gave Rs 1 lakh of extra headroom at the bottom, was not mentioned in the speech at all.

What the cut is actually worth at the bottom

The clean, computable case is an earner at or below Rs 10 lakh of taxable income, because the confirmed change fully covers that range. Take someone with exactly Rs 10,00,000 taxable income, single filer.

Under the old FY 2082/83 slabs:

An SSF contributor with the 1% waiver paid Rs 80,000.

Under the new FY 2083/84 floor, with the 1% band running to Rs 10 lakh:

An SSF contributor pays Rs 0 (the 1% SST is waived).

So the saving for a Rs 10 lakh taxable earner is about Rs 75,000 a year, or Rs 80,000 with the SSF waiver. That maps to a gross salary in the region of Rs 1.2 to 1.4 lakh a month, depending on how much of the retirement deduction you use. This is the band where most mid-career Kathmandu salaried workers actually sit, which is why the cut is being felt as a big one. The worked numbers across Rs 30k, 50k, 1 lakh and 2 lakh a month show how the relief scales from nothing at the bottom to roughly Rs 2.5 lakh a year at the top. If your own taxable income doesn't land neatly on Rs 10 lakh, run it through the income tax calculator instead of estimating off these examples.

A note on the assumption: this math takes the speech at its word that the entire first Rs 10 lakh is taxed at the 1% floor. That is the plain reading of "exemption limit doubled to Rs 10 lakh" and matches the reporting. If the Finance Bill splits that range differently, the saving could be smaller. Recompute once the bill is out.

What is NOT known yet, and why

The middle of the table is genuinely unpublished. The detail sits in the Economic Bill 2083, which on 29 May was posted only as a large scanned PDF with no readable text layer. Specifically unknown:

• The rates and widths of every band between Rs 10 lakh and the new 29% top.
• Where the 29% top rate begins.
• The entire couple-filer (दम्पती) column.
• Whether the SSF 1% waiver and the female sole-filer 10% rebate carry over unchanged.

Anyone publishing a "complete FY 2083/84 slab table" on budget day is either copying last year's numbers or guessing. The cleanest source will be the Finance Bill text, the IRD schedule, or a firm's tax-highlights booklet (NBSM, PKF, Crowe, RSA) a day or two out.

What did NOT change, as far as the speech goes

The speech announced no change to several things salaried people ask about. Until the bill says otherwise, treat these as unchanged:

• Dividend TDS (it stood at 5%).
• TDS on FD and bank interest.
• The taxation of PF, CIT, and SSF balances.

One thing did change and cuts the other way: capital gains tax on listed shares was made a final tax and, per ShareSansar, the rates rose to 10% short-term and 7.5% long-term. That sits outside the salary slab table but belongs in any full picture of what the budget did to your money.

What to do right now

1. If your taxable income is under Rs 10 lakh, expect your TDS to fall from Shrawan. Ask payroll when they will load the new schedule.
2. Do not refile or change anything based on a circulating slab table. Wait for the Finance Bill or an IRD-sourced booklet.
3. Keep using your deductions. The retirement, life, and health insurance deductions still reduce taxable income before the slabs apply, so they still matter even at the new lower floor.

What you actually need to know

• Confirmed: the 1% floor doubled to Rs 10 lakh and the top rate fell to 29%. A Rs 10 lakh taxable earner saves roughly Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000 a year.
• Not confirmed: the middle bands and the couple thresholds. They are in the Finance Bill, which was unreadable on budget day. Anything claiming the full table before the bill is published is unreliable.
• Your monthly TDS should drop from Shrawan if you earn under Rs 10 lakh taxable. Confirm your payroll has loaded the new schedule, and redirect the difference into a goal.

I will update this post with the full confirmed table the moment the Finance Bill is published in readable form. If your payroll applies a number that does not match the confirmed Rs 10 lakh floor, send the slip details (no PII needed) to parjanya57@gmail.com and I will check the math.

This post is part of the Nepal Money Basics guide — the tax and income section.