Save guide topics
Pin any topic below to keep its full details in one place while you read.
Separate Cash From Benefits
Monthly take-home is not the same as CTC. CTC can include employer PF, gratuity provision, insurance, bonus and reimbursements.
Ask for a full breakup before comparing offers.
Using the site's default breakup, a ₹15 lakh CTC becomes about ₹14.35 lakh of gross salary after employer PF and the gratuity provision, and about ₹1.09 lakh a month on average after employee PF, professional tax and new-regime income tax, with the bonus spread across the year.
Look At Basic Salary
Basic salary affects PF, gratuity and often HRA calculations. Employers often set it as a fixed share of CTC; the site's calculators assume 40% as an editable default.
A very low basic can increase take-home but reduce long-term statutory benefits.
How EPF Shows Up On Your Payslip
You and your employer each contribute 12% of basic plus dearness allowance to EPF. Statutory contributions are due on wages up to the EPF wage ceiling, which rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. Where the employer caps PF at the ceiling, each side now pays ₹3,000 a month instead of ₹1,800.
That change can lower take-home by about ₹1,200 a month while raising retirement savings. Part of the employer share, 8.33% of wages up to the ceiling or at most ₹2,083 a month, goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme rather than your EPF balance. EPF balances earned 8.25% interest for FY 2025–26.
HRA, Allowances And Gratuity
HRA is fully taxable under the new regime. Under the old regime, the exempt part is the lowest of HRA received, rent paid minus 10% of basic, and 50% of basic in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad from Tax Year 2026–27, or 40% elsewhere.
Gratuity appears in CTC as a provision of roughly 4.81% of basic, but it is paid only on exit, generally after five years of continuous service. The payout is 15/26 of the last monthly basic and DA for each completed year, and up to ₹20 lakh is tax-exempt for non-government employees across a career.
Check Variable Pay
Treat performance bonus and retention bonus conservatively unless the payout history is clear.
Compare fixed annual pay and monthly cash before deciding. Ask whether the bonus is a target or guaranteed, when it is paid, and whether it is pro-rated if you join mid-year.
Questions To Ask HR
Ask for a component-wise annual breakup, the base used for PF, whether gratuity and insurance premiums sit inside CTC, the bonus policy and payout month, and whether flexible benefits such as meal cards or fuel reimbursement are offered.
Then run the numbers in the Take-Home Salary Calculator, check the exempt amount in the HRA Calculator if you rent, and estimate the exit benefit in the Gratuity Calculator.