Free tool · India · tax year 2026-27
In-hand salary calculator
Enter your CTC to see what reaches your bank account each month after PF, professional tax and income tax, under both the new and the old tax regime, using the Income-tax Act, 2025 rates for 2026-27.
By Dominic Roworth · Rates checked 28 October 2026 against the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Finance Act, 2026
In-hand a month
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| A year | New regime | Old regime |
|---|
From CTC to in-hand pay
CTC (cost to company) is everything your employer spends on you, including money you never see in your salary account. The calculator takes it apart in this order:
- Employer's PF contribution comes out first: 12% of basic pay, or of ₹25,000 a month if your employer caps it at the wage ceiling. It goes to your PF account, not your salary.
- Gratuity, if your CTC includes it: employers set aside 15/26 of a month's basic pay a year (4.81% of basic), paid only when you leave after five years. See the gratuity calculator.
- What's left is your gross salary. From it come your own PF (another 12% of basic), professional tax in states that charge it, and income tax.
PF in 2026: a higher ceiling and the 50% rule
Provident fund changed twice this year. On 29 June 2026 the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 replaced the 1952 scheme under the Code on Social Security, and on 17 September 2026 the wage ceiling rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month (S.O. 5109(E)). Compulsory PF is 12% of wages each side, limited to the contribution on the ceiling, so at most ₹3,000 a month from you and ₹3,000 from your employer (paragraph 18). Paying on your full basic is allowed and common; anything above the ceiling is voluntary, and your employer doesn't have to match it (paragraph 19). The ceiling only matters if your basic pay is above ₹25,000 a month, roughly a CTC above 6 lakh at a 50% basic.
The scheme takes "wages" from the Code on Social Security: basic pay and DA, but if allowances and other parts of pay come to more than half of your total pay, the excess counts as wages (section 2(88)). So a basic of 40% of CTC doesn't cut your PF: it is worked out on half of your pay. The calculator applies this, and the same rule sets the wages for gratuity.
Professional tax by state
States charge professional tax on salaries, deducted by your employer each month. The Constitution caps it at ₹2,500 a year (Article 276(2)), and it reduces taxable income only in the old regime. The calculator covers these states:
| State | Salary a month | Professional tax |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra, men | Up to ₹7,500 ₹7,501 to ₹10,000 Above ₹10,000 | Nil ₹175 a month ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February (₹2,500 a year) |
| Maharashtra, women | Up to ₹25,000 Above ₹25,000 | Nil ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February |
| Karnataka | Below ₹25,000 ₹25,000 and more | Nil ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February |
| Telangana | Up to ₹15,000 ₹15,001 to ₹20,000 Above ₹20,000 | Nil ₹150 a month ₹200 a month |
| Tamil Nadu (Chennai) | Half-yearly pay up to ₹21,000, then bands up to above ₹75,000 | Nil, then ₹180 to ₹1,250 a half year |
| Gujarat | Up to ₹12,000 Above ₹12,000 | Nil ₹200 a month |
Not listed: West Bengal, whose official schedule we couldn't open on 28 October 2026, and other states and local bodies, which set their own rules. If yours charges professional tax, take its yearly amount off the in-hand figure yourself.
Income tax for 2026-27: the two regimes
From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act, and the Budget made no change to personal tax rates (Memorandum to the Finance Bill, 2026). The new regime is the default; you can choose the old one each year when you file your return.
| Taxable income | New regime (section 202) | Taxable income | Old regime (under 60) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹4 lakh | Nil | Up to ₹2.5 lakh | Nil |
| ₹4 to 8 lakh | 5% | ₹2.5 to 5 lakh | 5% |
| ₹8 to 12 lakh | 10% | ₹5 to 10 lakh | 20% |
| ₹12 to 16 lakh | 15% | Above ₹10 lakh | 30% |
| ₹16 to 20 lakh | 20% | ||
| ₹20 to 24 lakh | 25% | ||
| Above ₹24 lakh | 30% |
- Standard deduction: ₹75,000 in the new regime, ₹50,000 in the old (section 19).
- Rebate (section 156): no tax in the new regime on taxable income up to ₹12 lakh, with marginal relief just above it; up to ₹12,500 in the old regime on income up to ₹5 lakh.
- Surcharge on income above ₹50 lakh (10%), ₹1 crore (15%) and ₹2 crore (25%), with marginal relief at each step, and a 4% Health and Education Cess on the total (Finance Act, 2026).
- Old regime only: HRA exemption, professional tax, section 123 (old 80C, ₹1.5 lakh including your PF) and section 126 (old 80D, health insurance).
HRA: the 50% cities have changed
Under the old regime, the HRA you don't pay tax on is the least of the HRA you receive, the rent you pay minus 10% of your basic pay, and a share of basic pay that depends on where you live. From 2026-27 the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (rule 279) give 50% in eight cities, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, up from four, and 40% everywhere else.
Limits
This is an estimate for a resident salaried employee under 60 with no other income, not tax advice. It leaves out bonuses, reimbursements, employer NPS contributions, perquisites and other income, and it stops at ₹5 crore, where the old regime's 37% surcharge band begins. Your employer's payroll may spread tax differently across the year.
Questions
How do I calculate in-hand salary from CTC?
Start from CTC, take out the employer's PF contribution (and gratuity if your CTC includes it) to get gross salary. Then take out your own PF (12% of basic pay), professional tax where your state charges it, and income tax. What is left, divided by 12, is your monthly in-hand pay.
What is the PF wage ceiling in 2026?
₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026, up from ₹15,000 (S.O. 5109(E)). Compulsory PF is 12% of wages up to the ceiling, so at most ₹3,000 a month from you and the same from your employer. Many employers pay 12% of the full basic pay instead, which is allowed; contributions above the ceiling are voluntary.
Which tax regime is better in 2026-27?
For most salaried people, the new regime, because it has lower slab rates, a ₹75,000 standard deduction and no tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income (₹12.75 lakh of salary). The old regime can still win if you pay high rent in a city and use the full ₹1.5 lakh of section 123 (old 80C) deductions and health insurance. The calculator works out both.
Is there tax on a salary of ₹12 lakh?
Not in the new regime. After the ₹75,000 standard deduction, a ₹12,75,000 salary leaves ₹12,00,000 of taxable income, and the section 156 rebate cancels the tax on income up to ₹12 lakh. Just above that, marginal relief means you never pay more tax than the income above ₹12 lakh.
In-hand salary for common CTCs
Sources
- Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025): sections 19, 123, 126, 156 and 202; in force from 1 April 2026.
- Finance Act, 2026 (4 of 2026): First Schedule, Part I-B (old regime rates, surcharge) and the cess.
- Income-tax Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 198(E)): rule 279, HRA.
- Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 (G.S.R. 525(E), 29 June 2026): paragraphs 2, 18 and 19; S.O. 5109(E), 17 September 2026: the ₹25,000 wage ceiling.
- Code on Social Security, 2020: section 2(88), wages; Constitution of India, Article 276(2).
- Professional tax, Gujarat: Surat Municipal Corporation, Profession Tax FAQ. Rs 200 a month above Rs 12,000, under the State Government notification of 1 April 2022, as published by Surat Municipal Corporation.
- Professional tax, Karnataka: Karnataka Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employments (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Karnataka Gazette, 15 April 2025). Rs 200 a month and Rs 300 in February from 1 April 2025 (Karnataka Act 33 of 2025); salaries below Rs 25,000 a month exempt since 1 April 2023 (Karnataka Act 14 of 2023, as summarised by Khaitan & Co; the official text could not be opened).
- Professional tax, Maharashtra (men): Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1975, Schedule I entry 1 (text as on 31 December 2025).
- Professional tax, Maharashtra (women): Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1975, Schedule I entry 1 (text as on 31 December 2025).
- Professional tax, Tamil Nadu (Chennai): Greater Chennai Corporation, Profession Tax press release, 4 August 2026. Greater Chennai Corporation rates; other Tamil Nadu towns set their own.
- Professional tax, Telangana: Telangana Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1987, First Schedule (Commercial Taxes Department).