India Salary Calculator
Turn an offer letter into a bank balance. CTC to monthly in-hand for FY 2026-27, with both tax regimes compared.
Your numbers
Your pay
How your CTC is split
| Component | Annual |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | — |
| House rent allowance | — |
| Special allowance | — |
| Employer EPF | — |
| Employer NPS | — |
| Gratuity | — |
| Total CTC | — |
Uses FY 2026-27 slabs, which Budget 2026 left unchanged: ₹75,000 standard deduction and a ₹60,000 rebate under the new regime, ₹50,000 and ₹12,500 under the old, plus surcharge, marginal relief and 4% cess. Educational estimate, not tax advice — your actual offer letter may structure allowances differently.
An Indian offer letter quotes cost to company. Cost to company is not salary, and salary is not what reaches your bank account. Between the number on the letter and the number in your account sit the employer's provident fund contribution, gratuity, your own provident fund deduction, professional tax and income tax under whichever regime you pick. This tool walks the whole distance.
From CTC to in-hand, step by step
- CTC is everything the company spends on you: salary, both retirement contributions and gratuity.
- Gross salary removes the employer's EPF, employer NPS and gratuity. That money is real, but it is not paid to you this month.
- Taxable income removes the standard deduction, and under the old regime also HRA exemption, 80C, 80D and professional tax.
- In-hand removes your own EPF contribution, professional tax and income tax from gross salary.
The gap between CTC and in-hand is usually 25–35% for a mid-level salary. Most of it is not tax — it is money going into your own EPF and gratuity, which you get back later.
The basic salary lever
Almost everything else is a percentage of basic. A higher basic means more HRA, more EPF from both sides, and more gratuity — and therefore a smaller special allowance and less cash each month. A lower basic does the reverse: more take-home now, less forced saving. Most employers set basic at 40–50% of CTC. There is no single right answer, but be clear about which one you are optimising for.
Which regime wins
The new regime is the default and offers wider slabs, a ₹75,000 standard deduction and a ₹60,000 rebate that makes salary up to ₹12.75 lakh effectively tax-free. It disallows HRA exemption, 80C, 80D and most other deductions. The old regime has narrower slabs and a smaller standard deduction but keeps all of them.
The break-even depends almost entirely on how much you genuinely claim. If you pay significant rent in a metro city and max out 80C and 80D, the old regime can still win. If you do not, the new regime usually wins comfortably. This calculator computes both and picks the cheaper one; for a fuller side-by-side including other income, use the old vs new tax regime calculator.
How HRA exemption is calculated
Under the old regime, the exempt portion of your HRA is the lowest of three numbers: the HRA you actually receive, rent paid minus 10% of basic, and 50% of basic in a metro city or 40% elsewhere. If you pay no rent, the second figure is negative and the exemption is zero — which is often what tips people into the new regime.
EPF, gratuity and the ₹15,000 wage cap
Employees' provident fund is 12% of basic from you and 12% from your employer. The statutory obligation is capped at a monthly wage of ₹15,000, so many companies contribute 12% of ₹15,000 rather than 12% of your full basic; others contribute on the full amount. Both are common, and the difference can be tens of thousands of rupees a year, so check your offer. Gratuity is typically shown in CTC at 4.81% of basic, but it only becomes payable after five years of continuous service.
Planning what happens to all of that? The India retirement planner projects EPF, PPF, NPS and mutual fund SIPs together.
Questions, answered
How is in-hand salary calculated from CTC?
Start with CTC, remove the employer's EPF contribution, employer NPS and gratuity to get gross salary. From gross salary, remove your own 12% EPF contribution, professional tax and income tax. What is left, divided by twelve, is your monthly in-hand.
Why is my in-hand so much lower than my CTC?
Typically 25 to 35% of CTC never reaches your account each month. Roughly half of that is your own and your employer's EPF plus gratuity, which is still your money but locked away. The rest is income tax and professional tax.
Should I choose the old or the new tax regime?
The new regime wins for most salaried people who do not claim large deductions, because of the wider slabs, the ₹75,000 standard deduction and the ₹60,000 rebate. The old regime can still win if you pay high metro rent and fully use 80C and 80D. The calculator above computes both.
Is salary up to ₹12.75 lakh really tax-free?
Under the new regime, yes for a salaried person with no other income. The ₹75,000 standard deduction brings ₹12.75 lakh down to ₹12 lakh, and the ₹60,000 rebate under section 87A cancels the tax on that. Above ₹12 lakh, marginal relief limits how sharply the bill rises.
What is the ₹15,000 EPF wage ceiling?
The statutory EPF obligation is calculated on a monthly wage of ₹15,000, so the minimum employer contribution is 12% of ₹15,000 a month. Employers may voluntarily contribute on full basic instead, which raises your retirement savings and lowers your take-home.
Does the calculator include gratuity in in-hand?
No, and neither does your payslip. Gratuity shown in CTC is a provision the employer sets aside; it becomes payable to you only after five years of continuous service.