Salary slip check for 2026-27: every line from CTC to in-hand pay
Split the CTC into what you are paid and what is set aside, check the wage line against the 50% rule, check PF at the ₹25,000 ceiling, check professional tax, ESI and TDS, then match the net pay to your bank credit. One printable page holds the checks for a year of payslips.
By Bulan Sarkar · Updated
In-hand pay is CTC minus two groups: money set aside for you that never reaches the payslip (employer PF, gratuity, employer ESI) and deductions taken from the payslip (your PF, professional tax, ESI, TDS). Under the labour codes, in force since 21 November 2025, PF and gratuity run on wages: basic plus DA, topped up to at least half of your pay. Since 17 September 2026 the PF ceiling is ₹25,000 a month, so PF on the ceiling is ₹3,000 from you and ₹3,000 from the employer. Example: a ₹12 lakh CTC in Bengaluru with basic at 40% gives a gross of ₹94,653 and ₹91,444 in hand each month.
Source: MoLE FAQs on Labour Codes, 30 Dec 2025, checked Oct 2026. Numbers only, not tax advice. The arithmetic follows the official rules; your employer's payroll, EPFO records and your return settle the final figures.
The decision: check your salary slip line by line?
Yes, if you have a new offer or a raise, if your in-hand pay changed without a reason you know, or if you have not checked a slip since the PF ceiling went up on 17 September 2026.
If the net pay, PF and TDS on the slip have matched your own figures every month this year and nothing in your pay has changed, one check a year is enough.
Ask your payroll team first: they can explain each line and correct a wrong one. Ask a chartered accountant if your TDS for the year does not match your own tax figure or Form 16, or if you have other income to declare.
The steps, in order
Split the CTC into paid, set aside and variable
Have ready:offer letter or CTC annexurelatest payslipany variable pay or bonus terms
Sort every line of the CTC annexure into three groups. Paid monthly: basic, DA, HRA, special and other allowances. These add up to the gross on your slip. Set aside: employer PF, gratuity and employer ESI. They count in the CTC but never appear as pay. Variable: performance pay, annual bonus and ESOPs, which arrive only when earned. Monthly CTC minus the set-aside group should equal the gross on the slip, give or take rounding.
Check the wage line against the 50% rule
Have ready:basic and DA from the sliptotal pay, including employer PF
Under the Code on Wages, wages are basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance. If everything else (HRA, special allowance, conveyance and the employer's PF, but not gratuity or ESI) comes to more than half of your total pay, the excess is added back to wages for PF, gratuity and the other statutory sums. Your employer does not have to raise the basic shown on the slip. The law only requires PF and gratuity to be worked out on the higher figure. Divide basic plus DA by total pay. Below 50%, find the added-back amount in the CTC calculator.
Check both PF lines at the ₹25,000 ceiling
Have ready:PF line on the slipwages from step 2your EPF passbook
You pay 12% of wages. Most employers pay 12% of wages up to the ceiling, which was ₹15,000 a month and became ₹25,000 on 17 September 2026. With wages at or above ₹25,000, your PF line should read ₹3,000 (₹1,800 before). Of the employer's 12%, 8.33% of wages up to the ceiling (₹2,083 at the ceiling) goes to the pension scheme (EPS) and 3.67% (₹917) to your PF account. Some employers pay on full wages instead; then expect 12% of the whole wage figure. Match the employer share against the EPF passbook, not the slip.
Check professional tax, ESI and TDS
Have ready:state you work ingross payregime chosen and Form 124 declarations
Professional tax is a state tax capped at ₹2,500 a year. Some states charge none, and many take it in uneven monthly amounts that add up to the yearly figure. ESI applies only when gross pay is up to ₹21,000 a month: 0.75% from you, 3.25% from the employer. TDS is your employer's estimate of the year's tax spread over the months left, so it changes after a raise, a bonus or a Form 124 declaration. Work out the year's tax yourself and divide it the same way. If your figure and the slip differ by more than a few hundred rupees a month, ask payroll why.
Match net pay to the bank credit and keep the log
Have ready:bank statementthe worksheetdays paid and loss-of-pay days
Gross minus your PF, professional tax, ESI and TDS should equal the net pay line, and the net pay line should equal the salary credit in your bank to the rupee. Check the days paid as well: loss-of-pay days cut earnings and PF in proportion. Write each month's gross, deductions, net and bank credit in the worksheet's log. A change then shows up the month it happens, not at Form 16 time.
What goes wrong
Variants: what changes the steps
Your September 2026 slip
The ceiling changed mid-month, so EPFO's FAQ splits September: the old ₹15,000 ceiling for 1 to 16 September and ₹25,000 for 17 to 30 September. With wages above ₹25,000, September PF wages are ₹15,000 × 16/30 + ₹25,000 × 14/30 = ₹19,667, and your PF is ₹2,360. October is the first full month at ₹3,000.
Gross pay up to ₹21,000: the ESI line
At a ₹2.5 lakh CTC with basic at half, gross is ₹18,482 a month. ESI takes 0.75% (₹139) from you and the employer pays 3.25% (₹601) inside the CTC. PF is 12% of ₹10,417, or ₹1,250. With no professional tax and no TDS, in-hand is ₹17,093.
Your employer pays PF on full wages
There is then no ceiling. In the Bengaluru example the PF line would be 12% of ₹48,826, or ₹5,859, from you and the same from the employer. Gross pay drops by ₹2,859 because the employer's larger share also sits inside the CTC, and net pay drops by about twice that.
Basic is already half of your pay or more
Nothing is added back, and wages equal basic plus DA. The 50% rule changes nothing on your slip; only the PF ceiling does. Check that PF and gratuity are worked out on basic plus DA.
Tips and tricks
- Keep the CTC annexure from your offer letter with the payslips. Without it you cannot see the set-aside lines.
- Check the EPF passbook a month after the slip. The employee and employer shares should both show, and your share should match the slip exactly.
- With PF at the ceiling, the 50% rule may change only gratuity. In the Bengaluru example it rises from ₹1,923 to ₹2,347 a month while PF stays at ₹3,000.
- Note the month of every raise, bonus and Form 124 submission in the log. Those are the months TDS changes.
- Download every payslip as a PDF when it comes out. Some payroll portals close your access soon after you leave a job.
What we would do
We would check one slip fully now, because the October 2026 slip is the first full month on the ₹25,000 PF ceiling, then spend two minutes each month matching net pay to the bank credit. We would check the PF passbook every quarter and work out TDS for the year once in January, before the employer's proof deadline. If a line does not match, we would ask payroll with the worksheet in hand. Choosing a regime or restructuring pay is a separate decision, and this page does not make it.
Print the working copy
Salary slip check: working copy, 2026-27, from the Salary Slip Check Kit 2026-27. One A4 page with tick boxes and blanks; it prints in black and white.
- 1. Split the CTC (monthly)
- 2. Wages and the 50% rule
- 3. Deductions
- 4. Follow-up
Frequently asked questions
Why is my in-hand salary so much lower than my CTC?
Why did the PF deduction on my salary slip go up in 2026?
Why does my September 2026 PF look odd?
Does the 50% wage rule mean my basic must be half of my CTC?
The source we built this on
Ministry of Labour and Employment: FAQs on Labour Codes (30 December 2025), definition of wages and the 50% rule. Checked Oct 2026.
We read the PDF on 11 October 2026: wages are basic, DA and retaining allowance; anything else above 50% of total remuneration is added back; leave encashment is not an allowance; gratuity applies from 21 November 2025. The worked figures come from our CTC to in-hand calculator.
Also read for this page
- Ministry of Labour and Employment: Additional FAQs on Labour Codes, as on 16 March 2026: employer PF and pension contributions and statutory bonus count in total remuneration for the 50% test; gratuity, ESI and other retirement benefits do not; fixed-term employees qualify for gratuity after one year. Checked Oct 2026.
- EPFO: FAQs on the revision of the wage ceiling (September 2026): ₹25,000 ceiling from 17 September 2026 for EPF, EPS and EDLI; September 2026 split into 1 to 16 and 17 to 30 September; contribution split 12% employee, 3.67% EPF and 8.33% EPS employer; the September return is due by 15 October 2026. Checked Oct 2026.
- PIB, 16 September 2026: Cabinet approves higher EPFO wage ceiling of ₹25,000: ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month with effect from 17 September 2026. Checked Oct 2026.
Numbers only, not tax advice. The arithmetic follows the official rules; your employer's payroll, EPFO records and your return settle the final figures.