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Valmonk

Salary

Your offer says ₹12L. Your account will see less.

How much less, and where the rest actually goes.

CTC → in-hand

₹/mo
You pay no income tax at all on this, the gap is PF and gratuity, and most of that is money you keep.
Never reaches you
₹1,40,677
Of that, tax
₹0
  • take-home88%
  • PF (yours, locked)10%
  • gratuity + professional tax2%
  • CTC ₹12L
  • Regime New
Valmonkvalmonk.com/ctc · not advice

The link carries your numbers, so whoever opens it sees this exact result. Nothing is saved on our side.

Your numbers, your assumptions. Not advice. We can't see the rest of your life. What that means.

₹12L

The number on your offer letter

Tax regime

What this assumes

All editable. Change one and the answer changes with it.

%

Most employers set basic between 40% and 50%. It drives PF and gratuity, so it moves your take-home more than it looks like it should.

a year

Set by your state, capped at ₹2,500 a year. Karnataka and Maharashtra both hit the cap. Some states don't levy it at all.

How this works, and where the numbers come from

Why CTC isn't salary

Cost to company is what your employer spends on you, not what they pay you. Two parts of it never pass through your account at all: their PF contribution, and the gratuity they set aside each year against a payout you only get after five years of service.

A third part is deducted from your salary but is still yours, your own PF. Most salary calculators lump that in with income tax under "deductions", which is where the number starts to feel like a con. It isn't. It's savings you can't reach yet, and this page colours it differently for that reason.

New regime or old

For FY 2026-27 the new regime is the default. It has lower rates and a ₹75,000 standard deduction, but almost no exemptions, no 80C, no HRA. The old regime charges more and lets you claim both.

The rough test: the old regime only wins once your deductions are large enough to outweigh the rate difference. Switch the regime above and watch the number, then put your real 80C and HRA figures in, that's the comparison, and it's specific to you rather than to an article's example.

Where these numbers come from

Slabs, the ₹60,000 section 87A rebate, 4% cess and surcharge are the FY 2026-27 (AY 2027-28) figures published by the Income Tax Department. PF is 12% of basic from both sides under the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952. Gratuity accrues at 15 days' wages per completed year on a 26-day month, 4.81% of basic. Professional tax is set by your state and capped at ₹2,500 a year by Article 276(2) of the Constitution.

Not covered: capital gains, the 60+ and 80+ old-regime slabs, and HRA computed from your actual rent, that one arrives with the rent tool. This is educational, not tax advice.

Questions people ask

Why is my in-hand salary so much lower than my CTC?

Because CTC is what your employer spends, not what they pay you. Two parts never pass through your account at all, their PF contribution and the gratuity they set aside each year. A third, your own PF, is deducted from your salary but is still your money. Only income tax and professional tax are genuinely gone.

Is PF deducted from my salary, or paid by my employer?

Both. You contribute 12% of basic pay and your employer contributes the same. Yours is deducted from your salary; theirs usually sits inside the CTC figure without ever reaching your account. Either way it is your money, held until you withdraw or retire.

What percentage of CTC is usually basic pay?

Most Indian employers set basic between 40% and 50% of CTC. It matters more than it looks: PF and gratuity are both calculated on basic, so a higher basic means more locked away and less in hand each month, and a larger retirement balance.

Do I pay income tax on a ₹12 lakh CTC under the new regime?

Usually not. After employer PF and gratuity come out, gross salary on a ₹12,00,000 CTC is around ₹11.2 lakh, and the ₹75,000 standard deduction brings taxable income under the ₹12,00,000 ceiling for the section 87A rebate, which cancels the tax entirely. Your own numbers decide it; put them in above.

Which regime leaves me with more?

It depends entirely on what you can claim. The new regime has lower rates and a ₹75,000 standard deduction but almost no exemptions. The old regime charges more and allows 80C, 80D and HRA. The old one only wins once your deductions are large enough to outweigh the rate difference, switch the regime above with your real figures and compare.

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