Gratuity Calculator - Free Online Calculator

Last Drawn Salary (Basic + DA)

₹

₹5,000₹5,00,000

Years of Service

yrs

140

Employment Type

Gratuity Amount

₹2.88 L

Tax Exempt Amount

₹2.88 L

Taxable Gratuity

₹0

What is a Gratuity?

A gratuity calculator is an online tool that computes the lump-sum retirement benefit an employee is entitled to receive from their employer, based on the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Gratuity is one of the most significant post-retirement financial benefits for salaried employees in India, and knowing your exact entitlement helps you plan your finances more effectively when changing jobs or retiring.

Under the Payment of Gratuity Act, any establishment with 10 or more employees is legally required to pay gratuity to an employee who has completed at least five years of continuous service. The benefit is computed using the employee's last drawn basic salary plus dearness allowance (DA) — not the gross CTC — and the total number of completed years of service. For many long-serving employees, the gratuity amount can be several lakhs of rupees, making it an important part of retirement planning alongside the SIP Calculator and provident fund accumulation.

The calculator on this page handles both major variants of the formula: one for employees covered under the Gratuity Act (which uses 26 working days as the monthly divisor) and one for those not covered or under government service (which uses 30 calendar days). It also applies the current tax-exempt ceiling of ₹20 lakh, giving you an immediate split between the tax-free and taxable portions of your gratuity — something that is especially relevant for high-tenure, high-salary employees.

In India, where job loyalty is increasingly replaced by planned career moves, knowing your gratuity entitlement at each milestone helps you time your exit strategically. Leaving a month before the five-year mark means forfeiting the entire gratuity benefit, while staying even one extra pay cycle beyond a service anniversary can add a full year's worth of gratuity. Use this calculator as part of your exit planning toolkit alongside the TDS Calculator to understand any deductions that apply to your full-and-final settlement.

How to use this Gratuity calculator

Enter your Last Drawn Salary (Basic + DA) — this is your last month's basic salary plus any dearness allowance, not your take-home or CTC. Check your most recent payslip for the "Basic" and "DA" line items and add them. For most private sector employees, this is 40–50% of gross salary.
Set your Years of Service using the slider — enter the total number of completed years you have worked continuously with the same employer. Partial years are not counted; 9 years and 10 months counts as 9 years, not 10.
Select your Employment Type — choose "Covered under Gratuity Act" if you work in a private organisation with 10 or more employees. Choose "Not Covered / Government" if you are in a smaller firm where gratuity is offered as a goodwill gesture, or if you are a central or state government employee.
Read your results — the Gratuity Amount is your total entitlement. Check whether the full amount falls under the Tax Exempt Amount; if it does, your gratuity is completely tax-free. If a Taxable Gratuity amount appears, factor this into your tax planning for the year.
Plan your next move — once you know your gratuity corpus, consider how to deploy it. Run the numbers through the Simple Interest Calculator or Fixed Deposit Calculator to compare safe-return options against equity SIPs for growing the lump sum over time.

Formula & Methodology

For employees covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972:

Gratuity = (Last Drawn Salary × 15 × Years of Service) ÷ 26

For employees not covered under the Act:

Gratuity = (Last Drawn Salary × 15 × Years of Service) ÷ 30

Variable definitions:

- Last Drawn Salary — basic salary + dearness allowance at the time of separation (monthly figure, in ₹)
- 15 — statutory entitlement of 15 days' salary per completed year of service
- Years of Service — total completed years of continuous employment with the same employer (whole numbers only; partial years are ignored)
- 26 — number of working days in a month for covered employees (as per the Act)
- 30 — number of calendar days in a month for non-covered or government employees

Tax exemption formula:

Tax Exempt Amount = min(Gratuity Amount, ₹20,00,000)
Taxable Gratuity = max(0, Gratuity Amount − Tax Exempt Amount)

Worked example:

An employee with a Last Drawn Salary (Basic + DA) of ₹50,000, 10 years of continuous service, employed in a private firm covered under the Gratuity Act:

Gratuity = (₹50,000 × 15 × 10) ÷ 26
= ₹75,00,000 ÷ 26
= ₹2,88,462 (rounded)

Tax Exempt = min(₹2,88,462, ₹20,00,000) = ₹2,88,462
Taxable Gratuity = ₹0

The full amount is tax-free since it is well within the ₹20 lakh ceiling. For an employee with a higher salary — say ₹1,50,000 basic + DA with 15 years of service — the gratuity would be ₹13,01,923, still fully exempt. Only employees with salaries above approximately ₹1,73,000 per month and 15+ years of service begin to approach the ₹20 lakh taxable threshold.

Assumptions: This calculator uses whole years of service (no partial-year rounding up). The tax-exempt limit applied is ₹20,00,000 as per the most recent government notification. Government employee calculations use the 30-day divisor for simplicity; actual government gratuity rules may vary by department and service rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is gratuity and how is it calculated in India?

Gratuity is a lump-sum retirement benefit paid by an employer to an employee as a token of gratitude for long-term service. In India, it is governed by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, which mandates that any organisation with 10 or more employees must pay gratuity to eligible workers. The amount is calculated based on the employee's last drawn basic salary plus dearness allowance and the total number of completed years of service.

What is the formula for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act?

For employees covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, the formula is: Gratuity = (Last Drawn Salary × 15 × Years of Service) ÷ 26, where 26 represents the number of working days in a month. For employees not covered under the Act, the divisor changes to 30, representing calendar days. The factor of 15 represents 15 days of salary for every completed year of service.

Is gratuity taxable in India?

Gratuity received by government employees is fully exempt from income tax. For private sector employees covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, gratuity up to ₹20 lakh is tax-exempt; any amount above this limit is added to taxable income and taxed at the applicable slab rate. For employees not covered under the Act, the exemption is calculated as the minimum of actual gratuity received, ₹20 lakh, or half a month's average salary for each year of service.

What is the minimum years of service required to receive gratuity?

An employee must complete a minimum of five continuous years of service with the same employer to become eligible for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. This five-year rule has an exception: if an employee dies or becomes permanently disabled due to an accident or illness, gratuity is payable regardless of the number of years served. The five-year threshold encourages long-term employment and organisational loyalty.

What is the difference between gratuity for covered and non-covered employees?

Employees covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act have their gratuity calculated by dividing by 26 working days, which results in a slightly higher payout since only working days in a month are counted. Employees not covered under the Act — including those in organisations with fewer than 10 employees, or where gratuity is paid as a goodwill gesture — use 30 calendar days as the divisor. The practical difference for a ₹50,000 salary over 10 years is roughly ₹28,000 in favour of the covered formula.

What is the maximum tax-exempt gratuity amount in India?

The maximum tax-exempt gratuity limit for private sector employees in India is ₹20 lakh (₹20,00,000), as revised by the Government of India. Any gratuity received above this threshold is taxable as income in the financial year of receipt. This limit applies to the total gratuity received from all employers across your career, not per employer, so the exemption cannot be claimed multiple times.

How do I use the Gratuity Calculator?

Enter your last drawn basic salary plus dearness allowance in the 'Last Drawn Salary' field, then input your total years of continuous service. Select your employment type — 'Covered under Gratuity Act' for most private sector employees, or 'Not Covered / Government' otherwise. The calculator instantly displays your total gratuity amount, the tax-exempt portion (up to ₹20 lakh), and any taxable gratuity.

Can I receive gratuity if I leave before completing 5 years of service?

Generally, gratuity is not payable if you leave before completing five continuous years of service with the same employer. However, exceptions exist: gratuity is payable in full if the employee dies or becomes permanently disabled, regardless of service duration. Some employers voluntarily pay proportional gratuity as part of a full-and-final settlement even before the five-year mark, but this is a matter of company policy and not a legal obligation.

Is gratuity calculated on basic salary or gross salary?

Gratuity is calculated on the last drawn basic salary plus dearness allowance (DA), not on gross salary. Components like house rent allowance (HRA), conveyance, special allowances, and bonuses are excluded from the gratuity calculation base. This distinction can significantly affect the final gratuity amount, especially for employees whose total CTC includes a large variable or allowance component.

What is the difference between gratuity and Provident Fund (EPF)?

Gratuity is a one-time lump-sum payment made entirely by the employer when an employee leaves after five or more years, while the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a monthly contribution made by both the employer (12% of basic salary) and the employee throughout the employment period. Gratuity rewards long service; EPF is a mandatory retirement savings scheme. Both are important components of an Indian employee's retirement corpus, and both carry tax exemption limits under different sections of the Income Tax Act.

How should I invest my gratuity amount after receiving it?

After receiving your gratuity, consider your investment horizon and risk appetite before deploying the funds. Conservative investors can park the amount in a Fixed Deposit for guaranteed returns, or in debt mutual funds for better post-tax efficiency. Those with a longer time horizon can consider starting a SIP in equity mutual funds to grow the corpus further. Using an [Inflation Calculator](/inflation-calculator/) before investing helps you understand how much real growth you need to maintain purchasing power.

What happens to gratuity if an employee is terminated?

An employee terminated by the employer after completing five years of service is entitled to full gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. However, if the termination is due to proven misconduct involving moral turpitude or violence, the employer may forfeit the gratuity — but only the portion above the legally mandated minimum and only under specific conditions. In cases of retrenchment, gratuity is always payable as part of the full-and-final settlement.