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PF and ESI Calculator for Indian Payroll
Enter one monthly gross salary. The calculator returns what comes out of the employee pay, what the employer adds on top, and how the employer share splits between the provident fund, the pension scheme, insurance and administration charges.
Wages as Section 2(88) of the Code defines them, after the 50 percent add back, not basic pay alone.
What the employee sees
| Provident fund, 12 percent of ₹15,000 | ₹1,800 |
|---|---|
| State insurance, 0.75 percent of ₹20,000 | ₹150 |
| Total deducted from salary | ₹1,950 |
| Take home pay | ₹18,050 |
What the employer pays
| Provident fund (12 percent less the pension slice) | ₹550 |
|---|---|
| Pension scheme, 8.33 percent capped at 15,000 of wages | ₹1,250 |
| Insurance, 0.5 percent | ₹75 |
| Administration charges, 0.5 percent | ₹75 |
| State insurance, 3.25 percent | ₹650 |
| Total employer contribution | ₹2,600 |
| Full monthly cost of this employee | ₹22,600 |
Of the employer's ₹1,800 matching contribution, ₹1,250 goes to the pension scheme and only ₹550 reaches the provident fund account.
The cost of the ceiling choice
| Provident fund on | Deducted from salary | Employer contribution |
|---|---|---|
| First ₹15,000 only | ₹1,950 | ₹2,600 |
| Full wages | ₹2,550 | ₹3,225 |
Contributing on full wages costs this employer ₹625 more a month, and takes a further ₹600 out of the employee's hand. None of it is lost: it lands in that employee's own provident fund account. It is a saving decision, not a tax.
This salary is ₹1,000 below the state insurance ceiling. A raise past ₹21,000 ends the ₹650 monthly employer contribution, but not until 30 September, and it also ends the employee's medical cover for their whole family. Cheaper on paper is not always the decision you want to have made.
An estimate for planning, not legal advice. Administration charges carry a minimum of ₹500 per month for the whole establishment, not per employee, so a very small payroll pays more than the 0.5 percent shown here. Provident fund duties start at 20 employees and state insurance at 10 in most states, 20 in a few. Both contributions are due by the 15th of the following month.
A worked example: Rs 20,000 a month, provident fund capped at Rs 15,000
Rakesh earns Rs 20,000 a month in wages as the Code defines them. His employer contributes provident fund on the statutory Rs 15,000 ceiling, which is what most employers do. He is a pension scheme member. Here is the whole month, both sides of it.
What comes out of his salary
| Provident fund, 12 percent of Rs 15,000 | Rs 1,800 |
|---|---|
| State insurance, 0.75 percent of Rs 20,000 | Rs 150 |
| Total deducted | Rs 1,950 |
| Take home pay | Rs 18,050 |
What his employer adds on top
| Pension scheme, 8.33 percent of Rs 15,000 | Rs 1,250 |
|---|---|
| Provident fund, the remainder of the employer 12 percent | Rs 550 |
| Deposit linked insurance, 0.5 percent | Rs 75 |
| Administration charges, 0.5 percent | Rs 75 |
| State insurance, 3.25 percent of Rs 20,000 | Rs 650 |
| Total employer contribution | Rs 2,600 |
| Full monthly cost of employing Rakesh | Rs 22,600 |
The employer remits Rs 3,750 to the provident fund organisation, which is 25 percent of Rs 15,000, and Rs 800 to the state insurance corporation. Both are due by the 15th of the following month.
Notice the line most calculators get wrong. The employer 12 percent is Rs 1,800, but only Rs 550 of it reaches Rakesh provident fund account. The other Rs 1,250 goes to the pension scheme. At exactly Rs 15,000 that split is the familiar 8.33 and 3.67 percent, which is why the shorthand persists. Contribute on more than Rs 15,000 and the shorthand breaks, because the pension slice stays frozen at Rs 1,250 while the fund share grows.
The same employee, provident fund on full wages
Now contribute on the whole Rs 20,000 instead of the capped Rs 15,000. His own deduction rises to Rs 2,400, the pension slice stays at Rs 1,250, the employer fund share rises to Rs 1,150, administration charges rise to Rs 100 and the insurance line stays at Rs 75 because it too is capped. Total employer contribution becomes Rs 3,225 and his take home falls to Rs 17,450.
That is Rs 625 a month more for the employer and Rs 600 a month less in Rakesh hand, or Rs 7,500 and Rs 7,200 across a year. Both readings are lawful. The capped one is the minimum, the uncapped one is a benefit. What is not defensible is capping some employees and not others without a written policy saying why.
The state insurance cliff, and why the raise does not save what you think
State insurance is a cliff rather than a slope. At Rs 21,000 a month both sides contribute on the full salary. At Rs 21,001 neither contributes anything. On the face of it, a raise of one rupee saves the employer Rs 683 a month.
It does not, and this is the rule most payroll teams miss. Contribution periods run from 1 April to 30 September and from 1 October to 31 March. An employee who crosses the ceiling part way through a period stays covered, and keeps contributing on their raised wages, until that period ends. Raise Rakesh to Rs 21,500 in June and the employer contribution goes up from Rs 650 to Rs 699 a month for June, July, August and September, and only falls to nil on 1 October. His own deduction rises from Rs 150 to Rs 162 over the same four months.
There is a second cost that never appears on a payroll sheet. State insurance covers the employee entire family for medical treatment. Pushing someone just past the ceiling to save Rs 683 a month removes that cover. It is a decision worth making deliberately rather than as a side effect of a routine increment.
How PF and ESI are calculated, step by step
Fix the wages figure both contributions sit on
Use wages as Section 2(88) of the Code on Social Security defines them. Add back any excluded allowance that pushes the excluded total past half of the employee entire remuneration. This one number, not basic pay, is the base for everything below.Decide whether provident fund is capped at Rs 15,000
Rs 15,000 is the mandatory ceiling. Contributing on wages above it is allowed but voluntary and unmatched. Pick one basis and apply it consistently across the payroll, because a mixed policy is very hard to defend in an inspection.Take 12 percent from the employee
Twelve percent of the provident fund wages, deducted from salary. All of it goes to that employee own provident fund account. Round up to the next rupee.Split the employer 12 percent into pension and fund
Take 8.33 percent of the provident fund wages, but never on more than Rs 15,000, and cap it at Rs 1,250 a month. That is the pension contribution. Subtract it from the employer 12 percent and the remainder is the employer provident fund share. Do not use a flat 3.67 percent above Rs 15,000, because the two only agree at the ceiling itself.Add insurance and administration charges
Half a percent of wages for the deposit linked insurance scheme, and half a percent in administration charges, both on the employer. The administration charge has a floor of Rs 500 a month for the whole establishment, so small payrolls pay more than the percentage suggests.Test the gross against the state insurance ceiling, then apply the rate
State insurance is tested on the full gross, not on the capped provident fund wage. At or below Rs 21,000 a month, deduct 0.75 percent from the employee and add 3.25 percent from the employer, both on the full gross and both rounded up to the next rupee. Above the ceiling, nothing is payable, unless the employee crossed it part way through a contribution period, in which case both sides keep paying until that period ends.
The legal basis, with sections
Both contributions now live in a single statute. The Code on Social Security 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and absorbed the provident fund and state insurance laws along with gratuity and maternity benefit.
- Section 2(88) defines wages, with the 50 percent rule. Excluded allowances may not exceed half of total remuneration, and the excess is added back and treated as wages. This is the base for both contributions and it is the change that quietly raised a lot of payroll costs.
- Section 15 is the power under which the EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes 2026 were framed. They were notified on 29 June 2026 and superseded the 1952, 1995 and 1976 schemes. Rates and the Rs 15,000 ceiling did not move; the base they apply to, and some of the paperwork, did.
- Section 16 sets the employer contribution at 10 percent of wages, with power to notify a higher figure. Twelve percent is that notified figure, so do not be thrown when the bare Act reads 10.
- Chapter IV carries state insurance, with contribution rates under Section 29: 0.75 percent from the employee and 3.25 percent from the employer.
The Rs 21,000 state insurance ceiling, and the Rs 25,000 figure for a person with disability, are not in the Code at all. They are set by rules, which is why they can move without Parliament. A hike to somewhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 has been widely reported since January 2026 and, as of August 2026, no gazette notification has been published. This calculator uses the figure that is actually in force.
Coverage thresholds are different for the two. Provident fund duties begin at 20 employees; state insurance at 10 in most states, though a few still use 20. Both are counted on employees rather than on payroll value, and both include people engaged through a contractor.
PF and ESI questions Indian employers actually ask
What are the PF and ESI contribution rates in 2026?
Provident fund is 12 percent from the employee and 13 percent from the employer, made up of 8.33 percent to the pension scheme, the remainder to the fund, 0.5 percent insurance and 0.5 percent administration charges. State insurance is 0.75 percent from the employee and 3.25 percent from the employer. The EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes 2026 came into force on 29 June 2026 and did not change any of these rates.
Is PF calculated on basic pay or on gross salary?
On wages as Section 2(88) of the Code on Social Security defines them, which is neither basic alone nor gross in full. The definition excludes house rent allowance, conveyance, bonus, overtime and commission, but caps those excluded allowances at half of total remuneration. Anything past that half is added back and treated as wages. A structure with a small basic and large allowances therefore produces a higher provident fund base than its basic figure suggests.
Can we cap PF contributions at Rs 15,000?
Yes. Rs 15,000 a month is the mandatory ceiling, and most employers contribute on exactly that regardless of what the employee earns. Contributing on wages above the ceiling is permitted but voluntary, and the employer is not obliged to match an employee who wants more. On a Rs 20,000 salary the difference is Rs 600 a month out of the employee hand and Rs 625 a month of extra employer cost.
Why is the employer share 13 percent when the employee pays 12 percent?
Because the employer pays two things the employee does not. On top of the matching 12 percent there is 0.5 percent for the deposit linked insurance scheme and 0.5 percent in administration charges. The administration charge carries a floor of Rs 500 a month for the establishment as a whole, so a payroll of three people pays more than 0.5 percent in practice.
How much of the employer 12 percent actually reaches the PF account?
Less than half of it in most cases. Of the employer 12 percent, 8.33 percent of wages goes to the pension scheme and only the remainder reaches the provident fund account. The pension slice sits on its own Rs 15,000 ceiling and is capped at Rs 1,250 a month. At exactly Rs 15,000 of wages the employer fund share works out at Rs 550, which is why the split is usually quoted as 8.33 and 3.67 percent. Above Rs 15,000 the shorthand stops being accurate and you have to subtract.
Who is not eligible for the pension scheme?
An employee who first became a provident fund member on or after 1 September 2014 while earning more than Rs 15,000 a month. For that person no pension contribution is made at all and the employer full 12 percent goes into the provident fund account instead. The employer outgo is identical either way. Only the destination changes.
What is the ESI wage limit and what happens if an employee crosses it?
Rs 21,000 a month, or Rs 25,000 for a person with disability, as of August 2026. A hike has been widely reported but no gazette notification has been published, so the old figure stands. Crossing the limit does not end contributions on the spot. Contribution periods run 1 April to 30 September and 1 October to 31 March, and an employee who crosses part way through one keeps contributing on their full raised wages until that period ends.
When are PF and ESI due each month?
By the 15th of the following month, both of them. Provident fund is filed through an electronic challan cum return; state insurance through the ESIC portal. Late payment attracts interest and damages that can reach 25 percent a year on the overdue amount, and unlike most penalties it is not waived for a first offence.
The arithmetic is the easy part
Every figure on this page assumes you know exactly what each person was paid this month, after the days they were absent, the overtime they worked and the advances they took. That is the number most businesses reconstruct at month end from a WhatsApp group and a notebook. Shiftelio holds attendance, overtime, loans and salary structure in one place, so the wage figure that feeds these contributions is the one the records already prove.
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