New Delhi, April 23 -- Tax planning conversations in India tend to follow a familiar script. Someone mentions Section 80C of the Income-tax Act. Another brings up the National Pension System (NPS).

What rarely comes up is lunch.

Under the Income-Tax Rules, 2026, effective 1 April, the per-meal tax exemption has been raised from Rs.50 to Rs.200-a fourfold jump-and crucially, extended to employees under the new tax regime.

Used fully, this translates to up to Rs.1.05 lakh a year in tax-free income. For someone in the 30% bracket, that works out to roughly Rs.31,000 back in hand annually. Unlike ELSS, it does not require locking away money you may actually need.

The Rs.50 limit had remained unchanged for years, long after it stopped refl...