Take-Home Salary Calculator

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How it is calculated

A typical structure sets Basic at 50% of CTC, HRA at 50% (metro) or 40% (non-metro) of Basic, employer PF at 12% of Basic and a gratuity provision of 4.81% of Basic, with the remainder as special allowance. Your in-hand pay is the taxable salary (Basic + HRA + special allowance) minus your own 12% PF contribution and income tax under the new regime. Actual structures vary by employer, and HRA is taxable under the new regime.

Why in-hand is so much less than CTC

Cost to company counts what you cost your employer, including amounts that never reach your account — the employer's provident fund contribution, gratuity provision, insurance premiums and sometimes notional facility values. From the remainder come your own PF contribution, professional tax where the state levies it, and TDS on the estimated annual liability. The gap between headline CTC and monthly credit is commonly a quarter or more, and it is entirely predictable once the structure is broken out.

TDS is spread, but the estimate can move

Your employer deducts tax on an estimate of your full-year liability, divided across the remaining months. When the estimate changes — a bonus, a revised declaration, proofs not submitted by the deadline — the correction is loaded into the remaining months rather than spread evenly. This is why February and March take-home often falls sharply. Submitting investment proofs on time is the single most effective way to avoid that.

Declare other income to payroll, or pay advance tax

Your employer only knows about salary. Interest, dividends, rent, freelance receipts and capital gains are invisible to payroll, so no tax is deducted on them. You can either report that income to your employer so it is included in the TDS computation, or pay advance tax yourself in the four cumulative instalments. Doing neither produces a demand plus interest under sections 234B and 234C at filing.

The regime you pick changes the deduction, not just the tax

The declaration you give payroll determines which regime is applied through the year. Under the old regime, HRA, 80C, 80D and home-loan interest reduce the tax deducted each month; under the new regime they do not, leaving the ₹75,000 standard deduction and the employer's NPS contribution under section 80CCD(2). You can still switch at filing if you are salaried, but a mismatch between the declared and final choice produces a large refund or a demand rather than a smooth year.

Check the payslip against the arithmetic

Verify that basic plus allowances less deductions actually reconciles to the net credited, that PF is computed on the right wage base, and that professional tax matches the state where you work rather than where the company is registered — several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, do not levy it at all. At year end the TDS across twelve payslips should agree with Form 16, and Form 16 with Form 26AS. The salary CTC breakup calculator works the structure out component by component.

Frequently asked questions

How is in-hand salary different from CTC?

CTC includes employer contributions (PF, gratuity provision) and benefits that you never receive as cash. In-hand salary is what reaches your bank account after your own PF and income tax (TDS) are deducted.

Does this use the old or new tax regime?

It uses the new regime (the default for AY 2026-27), which has a ₹75,000 standard deduction and makes income up to ₹12 lakh effectively tax-free via the §87A rebate, but does not allow the HRA exemption.

Why is my actual in-hand different?

Employers structure CTC differently — some add LTA, meal cards, NPS or variable pay, and PF can be capped at ₹15,000 basic. This calculator uses a common 50%-basic model as an indicative estimate.

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