💰 Salary & Tax

In-Hand Salary Calculator — CTC to Take-Home

Enter Monthly Salary or Annual CTC and instantly compare your take-home under New vs Old tax regime — with state-wise professional tax, HRA, bonus, and salary examples for 5/8/10/15 LPA.

HRA & Salary Structure (for breakdown display)
New Regime
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Monthly In-Hand
Old Regime
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Monthly In-Hand
Difference: ₹0/month
Basic Salary (Annual)₹0
HRA (Annual, informational)₹0
Special Allowance (Annual, informational)₹0
Employer PF (part of CTC, not received)₹0
Gratuity (part of CTC, not received)₹0
Gross Annual Salary (incl. bonus)₹0
Employee PF Deduction₹0
Professional Tax (Annual)₹0
Income Tax (Annual, incl. 4% cess)₹0
Net Annual Take-Home₹0
Estimate only — actual CTC structuring, PF ceilings and professional tax rules vary by employer and state, and PT rates are revised periodically. Verify with your HR/payroll team for the exact figure.
Quick Reference

Approximate In-Hand Salary by CTC (New Regime)

Annual CTCApprox. Monthly In-Hand

Assumes 40% Basic, standard 12% employer PF, West Bengal professional tax, no bonus, new tax regime. Click any row to load it into the calculator above.

Career Planning

Salary Growth Calculator

Planning a job change or expecting an appraisal? Enter your current CTC and expected hike percentage to see your new CTC.

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New Annual CTC
₹0
Annual Increase
0 LPA
New CTC (LPA)
Slabs Used

Income Tax Slabs FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

New Regime SlabRateOld Regime SlabRate
₹0 – ₹4,00,000Nil₹0 – ₹2,50,000Nil
₹4,00,000 – ₹8,00,0005%₹2,50,000 – ₹5,00,0005%
₹8,00,000 – ₹12,00,00010%₹5,00,000 – ₹10,00,00020%
₹12,00,000 – ₹16,00,00015%Above ₹10,00,00030%
₹16,00,000 – ₹20,00,00020%
₹20,00,000 – ₹24,00,00025%
Above ₹24,00,00030%

New regime: ₹75,000 standard deduction + Section 87A rebate up to ₹60,000 (zero tax up to ₹12L taxable). Old regime: ₹50,000 standard deduction, PF counted under Section 80C, professional tax deductible, Section 87A rebate up to ₹12,500 (zero tax up to ₹5L taxable). 4% Health & Education Cess applies on tax in both regimes.

How It Works

How CTC Becomes Your In-Hand Salary

Your CTC (Cost to Company) is not the amount that lands in your bank account — it's the total yearly cost of employing you, and it includes several components you never actually receive as monthly cash. Understanding the gap between CTC and in-hand salary helps you evaluate a job offer accurately instead of being surprised by a smaller-than-expected payslip.

Step 1: CTC splits into Basic, allowances, and non-cash components

A typical CTC structure sets Basic Salary at around 40% of CTC, with HRA commonly set at 50% of Basic in metro cities (40% in non-metro), and the rest as special allowance. Two components you don't receive monthly are the employer's PF contribution (usually 12% of Basic) and gratuity accrual (about 4.81% of Basic). Subtracting these two from CTC gives your Gross Salary — the amount actually paid out across the year before any deductions.

Step 2: Gross Salary minus statutory deductions

From your Gross Salary, your own PF contribution (matching the employer's 12% of Basic) is deducted, along with Professional Tax if your state levies it — and the rate differs meaningfully by state, from a flat ₹200/month cap in Maharashtra and Karnataka to a slab-based structure in West Bengal, while several states levy none at all.

Step 3: Income tax (TDS) on the remainder

Your employer calculates annual income tax based on your chosen regime — new or old — and deducts it in monthly instalments as TDS (Tax Deducted at Source). What's left after PF, professional tax, and TDS is your final in-hand salary, usually paid monthly.

New regime vs old regime — which to choose

The new regime has lower slab rates and a bigger standard deduction, making salaries up to ₹12.75 lakh effectively tax-free, but it removes most deductions like 80C and HRA exemption. The old regime has higher rates but lets you claim 80C investments, HRA, and other exemptions — it usually works out better only if you have substantial deductions to claim. Use the HRA Exemption Calculator alongside this tool if you're comparing regimes with rent payments factored in.

State-wise PT

Professional Tax by State — What to Know

Professional tax is levied by individual state governments under Article 276 of the Constitution, not by the central government, which is why the rate you pay depends entirely on which state your salary is processed in — capped constitutionally at ₹2,500 per year everywhere it applies.

Because slab rates are revised periodically by each state, treat the professional tax figure in this calculator as an estimate and confirm the current rate with your payroll team, especially if you've recently relocated to a different state.

Evaluating Offers

Comparing Job Offers by In-Hand Salary, Not CTC

Two job offers with the same headline CTC can result in noticeably different take-home pay, because the way that CTC is structured — the Basic percentage, whether employer PF is capped, how much is variable bonus versus fixed salary — changes the actual monthly amount you receive far more than most candidates expect.

Watch the Basic percentage

A lower Basic percentage means lower employer and employee PF contributions and lower gratuity accrual, which can actually increase your immediate take-home pay — but it also means a smaller retirement corpus and lower gratuity payout if you stay long-term. Neither a very high nor a very low Basic percentage is automatically better; it depends on whether you value immediate cash flow or long-term savings more.

Check how much of the CTC is variable

A larger fixed component is generally safer than a large "performance bonus" or "variable pay" slice, since variable pay is rarely guaranteed in full and is usually paid annually rather than monthly, which affects your predictable monthly cash flow even if the annual total looks similar.

Factor in the city and state

Beyond professional tax differences, the same in-hand salary stretches very differently across cities with different costs of living — comparing two offers purely on the monthly take-home number without considering rent, commute, and local prices can be misleading.

Ask for a detailed CTC breakup, not just a total number

Before accepting an offer, request the full CTC breakup — Basic, HRA, special allowance, employer PF, gratuity, and any variable component — so you can run it through this calculator with the actual figures rather than the standard 40% Basic assumption used for quick estimates.

Appraisal Planning

Making the Most of a Salary Hike

An appraisal hike percentage applies to your CTC, not directly to your in-hand salary — because tax slabs are progressive, a given percentage hike in CTC often results in a slightly smaller percentage increase in take-home pay, especially once your income crosses into a higher tax slab.

Why in-hand growth can lag CTC growth

If a hike pushes your taxable income into a new slab under the old regime, or past the ₹12 lakh threshold under the new regime where the Section 87A rebate no longer applies, a portion of the increase gets absorbed by additional tax — meaning a 20% CTC hike might translate to an 15-18% increase in monthly take-home, depending on where you started.

Use the growth calculator alongside the main tool

After finding your new CTC using the Salary Growth Calculator above, plug that new CTC back into the main in-hand salary calculator to see the actual monthly take-home difference your hike will make — this two-step approach avoids the common mistake of assuming a hike percentage applies equally to your bank balance.

Retirement Planning

Where Your PF and Gratuity Contributions Go

The employer PF contribution and gratuity accrual that reduce your visible gross salary aren't lost money — they're being set aside for your long-term benefit, just not accessible as monthly cash. Understanding where these amounts go helps put the CTC-vs-in-hand gap in perspective rather than seeing it purely as a deduction.

Employees' Provident Fund (EPF)

Both your own and your employer's 12% contribution accumulate in your EPF account, earning a government-declared annual interest rate, and become withdrawable (with some conditions) after leaving employment, at retirement, or in specific circumstances like home purchase or medical emergencies. This corpus, built up quietly over years of employment, is often one of the largest components of long-term savings for salaried employees in India.

Gratuity

Gratuity is a lump sum payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act to employees who complete at least five years of continuous service with an employer, calculated based on your last-drawn Basic salary and years of service. It's accrued throughout your tenure but only paid out when you leave the company, which is why it shows up in your CTC but never in your monthly in-hand salary.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between CTC and in-hand salary?

CTC is the total yearly cost of employing you, including employer PF and gratuity, which you never receive as cash. In-hand salary is what actually lands in your bank account each month after PF, professional tax and income tax are deducted.

Is income up to ₹12.75 lakh really tax-free under the new regime?

Yes, for FY 2025-26. Salaried individuals get a ₹75,000 standard deduction, and the Section 87A rebate cancels out tax fully for taxable income up to ₹12 lakh — so a salary of ₹12.75 lakh works out to zero income tax under the new regime.

How much is deducted for PF from salary?

Employees typically contribute 12% of Basic salary to EPF, matched by an equal 12% employer contribution. Only the employee's share is deducted from your take-home pay.

Does professional tax vary by state?

Yes. It's levied by individual state governments, so the amount differs between states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, and several states such as Delhi and UP don't levy it at all, capped constitutionally at ₹2,500 per year.

What is the approximate in-hand salary for 8 LPA in India?

For an 8 LPA CTC with typical assumptions (40% Basic, standard PF and professional tax, new regime), the approximate monthly in-hand salary works out to roughly ₹58,000 to ₹60,000, though this varies with your exact CTC structure and state.

Why is my in-hand salary lower than expected from my CTC?

CTC includes components you don't receive as monthly cash — employer PF and gratuity — plus your gross pay is further reduced by employee PF, professional tax and income tax before it becomes take-home.

Does this calculator account for bonus pay?

Yes — enter your expected annual bonus separately, and it's added to your gross salary and taxed accordingly, though actual bonus payouts are sometimes taxed differently depending on how and when your employer disburses them.

Why does a 20% CTC hike not give me a 20% higher take-home?

Because income tax is progressive, a hike that pushes part of your income into a higher slab means a portion of the increase is absorbed by additional tax, so your monthly take-home typically grows by a smaller percentage than your CTC does.

Should I choose a job offer with higher CTC or higher in-hand salary?

It depends on your priorities — a higher CTC with a larger PF and gratuity component builds a bigger long-term retirement corpus, while a structure favoring higher in-hand salary gives you more immediate liquidity. Running both offers through this calculator with their actual breakups is the most reliable way to compare.