Budget 2026: Amidst the preparations for the Union Budget, a news has come out which is no less than a big gift for crores of middle class families of the country. If there is only one person who is the source of income in your household and the entire burden of tax falls on his shoulders, then this news can give you relief. Actually, there is talk that the government may introduce the option of 'Joint Taxation' i.e. paying taxes jointly for married couples.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has given this advice to the Finance Ministry for the upcoming budget. If this proposal is accepted, the husband and wife will be able to file their income tax returns as a single unit and not separately. This will directly save money in the pockets of those families where one spouse earns and the other takes care of the house.
The biggest flaw of the current tax system is that it does not consider the family as an economic unit, but looks at each person from a different perspective. Currently in India, every person has to pay separate tax on his earnings, even if he is married. Problems arise when one of the husband or wife works and the other is busy taking care of the house, children or the elderly.
The hard work of taking care of the house does not count in the tax rules. Due to which the earning person faces a heavy tax burden. He has to pay tax in a higher slab as per his income, whereas the Basic Exemption Limit available to the other spouse is completely wasted. This system hurts single income families financially.
If the government approves 'Joint Taxation', then the income of husband and wife will be considered together, but the exemptions given to them will also be added. Both will be able to get the benefit of basic exemption under the new tax regime. Currently, if the husband is earning and the wife is not, then the husband only gets his exemption. In the joint system, the remaining exemption of the non-earning spouse can be used by the earning partner to reduce his tax liability. This will reduce the total taxable income and the family will be left with more money to spend. Experts believe that if this is implemented, many families can save tax up to lakhs of rupees in a year.
This is not a new experiment, many developed countries of the world are already working on this model. In countries like America, Germany, Spain and Portugal, married couples have the freedom to file tax returns together. The laws there consider the family as a unit and collect tax accordingly.
