Salary Decoder
CTC is what your company pays. Take-home is what you live on. The gap between them — PF, gratuity, professional tax, TDS — is what nobody explains at the offer stage. Enter your CTC to see the real number.
You agreed to ₹12L. Here's what actually arrives.
12% of your basic salary goes to Provident Fund — employer and employee both contribute. The employer's share is usually inside your CTC. Both amounts sit in EPFO until you resign or retire. Legally yours, but illiquid. Basic is typically 40–50% of CTC, so PF is effectively 5–6% of your total package, locked away.
4.81% of basic is set aside as gratuity — but you receive it only after completing 5 continuous years at the company. Leave before that and you get nothing. It's in your CTC, shrinks your take-home, and vanishes if you job-hop. Many people in their 20s lose this entirely without realising.
Income tax (TDS) is deducted monthly and varies based on which regime you choose, your declared investments, and HRA exemption. Declaring ₹1.5L in 80C + home loan interest can make a meaningful difference. This tool uses the new tax regime with no investment declarations — declare investments to reduce TDS.