On a fixed ₹45 lakh CTC, take home is about ₹2,53,000 a month under the new tax regime for FY 2026-27 if PF is paid on your full wages, or about ₹2,85,000 if your employer pays PF on the ₹25,000 a month ceiling. That is ₹1,22,000 a month less than a twelfth of the CTC: the employer's PF and gratuity sit inside the CTC, and your own PF, professional tax and income tax come out of the rest.
Where ₹45 lakh CTC goes in a year
| PF on full wages | PF on ₹25,000 ceiling | |
|---|---|---|
| CTC | ₹45,00,000 | ₹45,00,000 |
| Employer PF (inside CTC) | ₹2,63,659 | ₹36,000 |
| Gratuity provision (inside CTC) | ₹1,05,683 | ₹1,05,683 |
| Gross salary | ₹41,30,658 | ₹43,58,317 |
| Your PF | ₹2,63,659 | ₹36,000 |
| Professional tax | ₹2,500 | ₹2,500 |
| Income tax, with 4% cess | ₹8,28,565 | ₹8,99,595 |
| In hand a year | ₹30,35,934 | ₹34,20,222 |
| In hand a month | ₹2,52,994 | ₹2,85,019 |
PF wages here are ₹1,83,097 a month: your basic plus DA, at half of gross salary plus the employer's PF. Your own PF is 12% of that, ₹21,972 a month, and the employer adds the same. On the ceiling both sides pay ₹3,000 a month, so the ceiling column pays more today and puts ₹37,943 a month less into your PF. The PF deduction post explains both sides.
Subtract your monthly spending from ₹2,53,000 and put what is left into the FI calculator to see the year your investments could cover your spending.
Income tax on this salary, slab by slab
Taxable salary with PF on full wages: ₹40,55,658.
| Taxable salary band | Rate | Amount in band | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹4 lakh | 0% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹0 |
| ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh | 5% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹20,000 |
| ₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh | 10% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹40,000 |
| ₹12 lakh to ₹16 lakh | 15% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹60,000 |
| ₹16 lakh to ₹20 lakh | 20% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹80,000 |
| ₹20 lakh to ₹24 lakh | 25% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Above ₹24 lakh | 30% | ₹16,55,658 | ₹4,96,697 |
| Slab tax | ₹7,96,697 | ||
| Cess at 4% | ₹31,868 | ||
| Income tax for the year | ₹8,28,565 | ||
| A month | ₹69,047 | ||
Tax is worked out on the gross salary, not the CTC: ₹41,30,658 minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction leaves ₹40,55,658 taxable. The tax is 20.1% of gross salary, though the top slab you reach is 30%. No surcharge applies until income passes ₹50 lakh.
Old or new tax regime at ₹45 lakh
In the old regime, with only the deductions everyone on this structure already has (your own PF under section 80C of the 1961 Act, section 123 of the 2025 Act, and professional tax, ₹1,52,500 together), tax would be ₹10,30,585 a year against ₹8,28,565 in the new regime.
The old regime catches up only once your deductions beyond its ₹50,000 standard deduction reach about ₹8,00,000 a year: about ₹6,47,500 more than your PF and professional tax give you, from the HRA exemption, home-loan interest, health insurance premiums or NPS. The regime you tell your employer only sets the monthly TDS; the final choice is made in a return filed by the due date.
The old vs new tax regime post tests four deduction stacks side by side.
What these figures assume
These figures use one common structure for FY 2026-27: a fixed CTC with no variable pay, joining bonus, group insurance or PF admin charges inside it; basic pay plus dearness allowance at half of total pay (gross salary plus the employer's PF), the floor the labour codes in force since 21 November 2025 set for PF and gratuity wages; gratuity shown at 4.81% of wages; professional tax of ₹2,500 a year (₹200 a month in many states, ₹300 in February in Karnataka and Maharashtra, nil in some); and the new tax regime, the default. A different structure moves the numbers. The CTC vs in hand salary post walks through the method at ₹25 lakh, and if part of your CTC is variable pay, your monthly figure is lower and that part arrives when it is paid.
In hand salary at other CTCs
Frequently asked questions
This is general information for salaried individuals in India, not personalised financial advice.
