Professional tax is the small monthly deduction on the payslip that confuses new employees and new employers alike: it is a state tax, the slabs differ from Maharashtra to West Bengal, the annual ceiling is ₹2,500, and several states do not levy it at all. This calculator gives the monthly PT for a salary in Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, applies the February adjustment where a state uses one, and shows the employer's annual outgo per employee.
How professional tax works
Article 276 of the Constitution lets states tax professions, trades and employment, capped at ₹2,500 per person per year. Employers deduct it from salary each month and deposit it with the state's commercial-tax department; self-employed professionals and businesses pay their own enrolment tax annually. The deduction reduces taxable salary under Section 16(iii) — but only under the old regime. Some states (Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand) do not levy PT; others (Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Puducherry) levy it on their own slabs.
Slabs in the calculator (2026)
| State | Monthly slabs |
|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Up to ₹7,500 nil (women: nil up to ₹25,000); ₹7,501–10,000: ₹175; above ₹10,000: ₹200, and ₹300 in February (annual ₹2,500) |
| Karnataka | Up to ₹25,000 nil; above: ₹200 (annual ₹2,400) |
| West Bengal | Up to ₹10,000 nil; ₹10,001–15,000: ₹110; ₹15,001–25,000: ₹130; ₹25,001–40,000: ₹150; above ₹40,000: ₹200 |
| Gujarat | Up to ₹12,000 nil; above: ₹200 |
| Andhra Pradesh and Telangana | Up to ₹15,000 nil; ₹15,001–20,000: ₹150; above ₹20,000: ₹200 |
| Tamil Nadu (half-yearly) | Up to ₹21,000 nil; then ₹135, ₹315, ₹690, ₹1,025 and ₹1,250 per half-year by slab |
| Madhya Pradesh | Up to ₹18,750 nil; then ₹125, ₹167 and ₹208 per month with a year-end top-up to ₹2,500 |
Slabs are revised by state budgets from time to time; the state-by-state background, including who deposits and when, is in Professional tax 2026: state-wise slabs.
How to use the calculator
- Pick the state where the employee works (not where the company is registered).
- Enter monthly gross salary; for Maharashtra, choose gender because women earning up to ₹25,000 are exempt.
- Read the monthly deduction, the February or year-end adjustment, and the annual total.
- For payroll, feed the figure into the in-hand salary calculator or the team payroll calculator, which apply PT by state automatically.
Employer obligations
- Registration: a Professional Tax Registration Certificate (PTRC) to deduct from employees and a Professional Tax Enrolment Certificate (PTEC) for the business itself, usually within 30 days of employing staff.
- Deposit and returns: monthly in most states (Maharashtra: monthly if annual liability ≥ ₹1,00,000, otherwise annual); Karnataka by the 20th; Tamil Nadu half-yearly.
- Penalties: interest around 1.25–2% per month plus fixed penalties for late registration or non-deduction.
- Show PT as a separate line on the payslip; the wage slip generator has a field for it.
Notes on gross salary
PT slabs apply to gross salary or wages for the month, generally including basic, DA, HRA and allowances but excluding reimbursements and employer PF. Bonus paid in a month can push that month's PT into a higher slab in slab-based states. A new joiner who works part of a month is assessed on actual salary paid for that month.
Related tools
- In-hand salary calculator — PT, PF and TDS together.
- Team payroll calculator — PT by state for the whole team.
- Wage slip generator — print PT on the slip.
- Employee cost calculator — the employer's full cost view.
- Income tax calculator — PT as a deduction under the old regime.