Answer

1. F

   Facts

   Relief depends on your slab now versus your slab in the earlier years. The bigger the gap, the larger the relief.

2. P

   Provisions and law

   • Sec 89 (now Sec 157)Relief when salary or family pension is received in arrears or in advance
   • Rule 21A, Income-tax Rules 1962Manner of computing Sec 89 relief and Form 10E
3. A

   Analysis

   Suppose income for FY 2025-26 is ₹14,00,000 without arrears, and you receive ₹2,00,000 of arrears for FY 2021-22. Under the new regime for FY 2025-26, the extra ₹2,00,000 falls in the 15% band, so extra tax is about ₹31,200 with cess. If your FY 2021-22 income was ₹3,00,000 under the old regime, adding ₹2,00,000 takes it to ₹5,00,000, where the Sec 87A rebate made tax nil, so the extra tax then is nil and relief is about ₹31,200. If your income then was ₹6,00,000, the arrears would have cost about ₹41,600 at 20%, more than now, so relief is nil.

4. C

   Conclusion

   1. 1Get both years' income and the regime used
   2. 2Compute extra tax in each year
   3. 3Find the difference
   4. 4Check it in Form 10E before filing

These figures are rounded illustrations; compute with exact slabs, rebate and cess for each year.

General guidance from TaxSavvy’s library of money processes. Laws change; your Savvy confirms the answer on your exact case before anything is filed.