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Best Salary Calculators India 2026 — Free Tools for Salaried Employees

The best free salary calculators for India — CTC to take-home, HRA exemption, income tax, TDS, gratuity, and in-hand salary breakdown. No sign-up required.

Reviewed by the thecalcu.com team · Last updated 4 August 2026

Every salaried employee in India ends up needing to understand at least three numbers: CTC, take-home, and income tax liability. The six calculators below cover the full picture, from decoding an offer letter to squeezing out tax savings before the financial year closes.

Overview

Salary calculators in India have to handle more than gross-minus-tax arithmetic. They need to unpack CTC structure (employer EPF and gratuity sitting inside CTC), work out HRA exemption based on city and rent, run two tax regimes with different deduction rules, smooth TDS across 12 months, and compute gratuity on its own separate formula. The tools below handle all of it without a spreadsheet or an accountant in the loop.

What to Look For

FY 2026-27 tax slabs. The new regime's slabs changed meaningfully for FY 2025-26 and carried forward into FY 2026-27. A calculator still running older rates will hand you the wrong number.

Support for both regimes. Which regime saves you money depends entirely on your own deduction profile, so a calculator covering only one regime tells half the story.

A clear CTC-to-take-home breakdown. This is what most people actually need: given an offer letter with a CTC figure, what actually lands in the bank each month?

No login wall. A salary calculation shouldn't require an account first.

Our Picks

Salary Calculator

The Salary Calculator is where any CTC analysis should start. Enter your annual CTC and salary structure (basic percentage, HRA percentage, allowances), and it breaks out gross monthly salary, EPF deductions on both the employee and employer side, TDS, professional tax, and net take-home, in both monthly and annual views.

It earns its place when you've just received an offer and want to know what ₹15 lakh CTC actually means for monthly cash flow. The calculator accounts for the employer EPF and gratuity provisions that sit inside CTC and that most people gloss over, so you get a realistic in-hand number instead of a flattering CTC-divided-by-12 figure.

Good for evaluating job offers, making sense of your salary slip, and budgeting against what actually hits your account.

Income Tax Calculator

The Income Tax Calculator works out your full annual tax under both old and new regimes side by side. Enter salary income, other income sources (FD interest, rental income, capital gains), and your deductions (80C, 80D, HRA, home loan interest, NPS), and it shows tax liability, effective rate, and marginal rate under each regime.

Where employer TDS only covers salary, this calculator handles mixed income too, which matters if you're salaried but also have freelance income, rental income, or capital gains to declare.

Good for annual tax planning, choosing a regime before the financial year starts, and getting ready for ITR filing in July.

HRA Calculator

The HRA Calculator works out your HRA exemption under Section 10(13A), probably the single most miscalculated part of salary taxation. Enter basic salary, actual HRA received, monthly rent paid, and city type, and it shows the exempt and taxable portions right away.

A lot of salaried employees either skip claiming this (no rent receipts submitted) or get the three-way minimum wrong. This calculator rules out both mistakes. Under the old regime, HRA is often the second biggest deduction after 80C.

Good for salaried employees paying rent, checking your employer's HRA math, and figuring out how much rent gets you the maximum exemption.

Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator

The Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator is arguably the most decision-critical tool here for FY 2026-27. It runs both regimes at once using your actual numbers, salary, HRA, 80C investments, home loan interest, NPS, 80D premium, and shows which one saves more and by how much.

Where the old regime starts winning depends on total deductions. Below roughly ₹3 to ₹3.5 lakh in deductions, the new regime tends to come out ahead. Employees with home loan interest, a full 80C, metro HRA, and NPS contributions can see the old regime save ₹30,000 to ₹80,000 a year instead.

Good for choosing a regime at the start of the year, checking whether a home loan EMI changes the decision, and comparing offers built around different regimes.

TDS Calculator

The TDS Calculator shows the monthly TDS your employer should be withholding based on your projected annual salary and declared investments. If your actual salary slip doesn't match what this calculator produces, that's a sign of either a missing investment declaration or a payroll error worth chasing down.

It's also handy mid-year if you haven't submitted investment proofs yet. It shows exactly how much TDS jumps in the remaining months if declarations don't get submitted by the employer's deadline, usually January or February.

Good for verifying monthly TDS, planning declarations to avoid a year-end spike, and understanding why TDS shifted after you submitted Form 12BB.

Gratuity Calculator

The Gratuity Calculator computes your entitlement under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Enter your last drawn basic salary (plus DA if it applies) and completed years of service, and it applies the formula: basic plus DA, times 15/26, times years of service.

People tend to underestimate gratuity because the formula uses 15/26, not 15/30 or a flat half, accounting for 26 working days a month. On a ₹60,000 basic after 10 years, that's ₹60,000 times 15/26 times 10, or ₹3,46,154, fully tax-exempt up to ₹20 lakh for private sector employees.

Good for checking entitlement before resigning, understanding the cost of leaving before 5 years, and estate planning around death or disability scenarios.

How We Evaluated

All six calculators were checked against the same criteria.

FY 2026-27 accuracy: tax slabs, standard deduction amounts, and EPF rates verified against current rules.

Support for both regimes: old and new tax regimes covered wherever it's relevant.

No sign-up required: results appear immediately, no account needed.

Shareable URL: inputs get encoded in the link so you can send a specific calculation to your CA or HR team.

Transparent formula: the calculation logic is visible, not hidden behind a single output number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my take-home salary much less than my CTC?
CTC includes employer-side costs that never touch your bank account: employer EPF contribution (12% of basic), gratuity provision (4.81% of basic), and group insurance premium. Strip those out and you get gross salary. From gross, your employer deducts employee EPF (12% of basic), TDS, and professional tax (₹200/month in most states) to arrive at net take-home. A ₹12 lakh CTC typically lands you ₹78,000 to ₹85,000/month in hand, not the ₹1 lakh the CTC math might suggest. Use the [Salary Calculator](/in/salary-calculator/) to get your exact figure.
How do I calculate HRA exemption on my salary slip?
HRA exemption is whichever is smallest of three numbers: actual HRA received, actual rent paid minus 10% of basic salary, and 50% of basic (metro city) or 40% (non-metro). Say your basic is ₹40,000/month, HRA received is ₹20,000/month, rent paid is ₹18,000/month, and you're in a metro. The three values are ₹20,000, ₹14,000, and ₹20,000, so ₹14,000 is exempt and the remaining ₹6,000 of HRA is taxable. The [HRA Calculator](/in/hra-calculator/) runs this instantly with your actual numbers.
Which tax regime saves more for a ₹10 lakh salary?
At ₹10 lakh in FY 2026-27, the new regime usually wins if your deductions sit below ₹2.5 lakh. With the ₹75,000 standard deduction under the new regime, taxable income comes to ₹9.25 lakh and tax works out to roughly ₹42,500. Under the old regime with 80C (₹1.5 lakh) plus standard deduction (₹50,000), taxable income is ₹8 lakh and tax comes to ₹75,000, so the new regime saves ₹32,500 a year here. Add HRA and home loan interest into the old regime and the answer can flip entirely. Run the [Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator](/in/old-vs-new-tax-regime/) with your own deductions to see where you land.
When does gratuity become payable and how is it calculated?
Gratuity kicks in once you leave a company after 5 or more years of continuous service, with death and disability exempt from that rule. The formula is last drawn basic plus DA, times 15/26, times completed years of service. On a ₹50,000/month basic after 7 years, that's ₹50,000 times 15/26 times 7, or ₹2,01,923. The [Gratuity Calculator](/in/gratuity-calculator/) lets you model different tenures and salary levels.
What is the difference between gross salary and net salary?
Gross salary is everything you earn before deductions: basic pay, HRA, LTA, special allowance, and any other allowances listed on your slip. Net salary is gross minus employee EPF contribution, TDS, professional tax, and any other recoveries like an advance or an employer-deducted loan EMI. For most salaried employees in India, that gap runs 15 to 25% of gross.
How much TDS does my employer deduct from my salary?
Your employer projects your total taxable income for the year based on your salary structure and the investment declarations you submit via Form 12BB, works out the annual tax, then divides by 12 for monthly TDS. If your annual tax liability under your chosen regime is ₹1.2 lakh, expect ₹10,000/month deducted. TDS tends to jump in the second half of the year if you haven't submitted proof of your declared investments yet. Deducted too much? You claim it back when you file your ITR. The [TDS Calculator](/in/tds-calculator/) projects your monthly deduction based on salary and declarations.
What is the standard deduction for salaried employees in FY 2026-27?
It's ₹75,000 a year under the new tax regime and ₹50,000 under the old regime for FY 2026-27. This is a flat deduction from gross salary, no proof or receipt needed, applied automatically by your employer when computing TDS. It replaced the older transport allowance and medical reimbursement exemptions. The new regime's bigger standard deduction, ₹75,000 against ₹50,000, is part of why it now works better for employees without large HRA or home loan claims.
Is professional tax deductible from income tax?
It is, under Section 16(iii), and it's subtracted before arriving at income from salary under both regimes. Since professional tax caps out around ₹2,400 a year (₹200/month in most states), the actual saving is small, about ₹720 a year for someone in the 30% bracket, but employers apply it automatically with no declaration needed from you.
What should I do if my Form 26AS TDS doesn't match my salary slip?
If Form 26AS shows less TDS than your salary slips say was deducted, your employer may not have deposited the full amount to the government. Contact payroll or finance right away. They're liable under Section 201 for non-deposit, and you can't claim credit for TDS that isn't reflected in Form 26AS when you file your ITR. If Form 26AS shows more than expected, check whether another deductor, a bank or a tenant, has deducted TDS on other income you earn.
Can I change my tax regime mid-year after telling my employer?
Not for TDS purposes. Once you declare a regime to your employer at the start of the financial year, that choice is locked in for how they deduct TDS through the year. You can still switch when you file your ITR in July, though. Your employer might deduct TDS under one regime while you file under the other if it saves more, and you'd get a refund or pay the difference. Salaried employees without business income can make this switch every single year at filing time.

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