How much PF is deducted from salary?
12% of Basic + DA. On the ₹15,000 ceiling most employers use, that is at most ₹1,800 a month; an employer that contributes on the full wage deducts more, and the employee saves more.
Rules for FY 2026-27
PF and ESI calculator: both shares, to the rupee.
PF is 12% of Basic + DA from the employee and the same from the employer — ₹1,800 each on the usual ₹15,000 ceiling, with ₹1,250 of the employer’s share going to pension — and ESI is 0.75% from the employee and 3.25% from the employer when gross pay is ₹21,000 a month or less.
New to this? Tap ⓘ beside anything for a plain-English explanation, or read the words used here.
The salary
₹
15 thousand
₹
20 thousand
ESI applies up to ₹21,000 of gross.
Fine-tune (optional)Whether PF is on the ceiling or the full wage, and pension-scheme membership.
PF and ESI this month
₹4,550in total
₹1,950 from the salary, ₹2,600 from the employer on top.
Deducted from salary
₹1,950
PF + ESI
Employer pays on top
₹2,600
PF, EDLI, admin and ESI
Where the month’s contributions go
- PF account (EPF)₹2,350
- Pension (EPS)₹1,250
- ESI₹800
- EDLI + admin₹150
₹15,000 × 12% = ₹1,800 PF from each side
| Item | Employee | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| PF account (EPF) | −₹1,800 | ₹550 |
| Pension (EPS) | — | ₹1,250 |
| EDLI | — | ₹75 |
| PF admin charges | — | ₹75 |
| ESI | −₹150 | ₹650 |
| Total | −₹1,950 | ₹2,600 |
What this assumes
- · PF is 12% of Basic + DA up to the ₹15,000 ceiling, from both sides.
- · The employee is a pension-scheme (EPS) member — anybody who joined PF before 1 September 2014, or on wages up to the ceiling.
- · ESI is tested on the gross of ₹20,000 a month, and both shares are rounded up to the rupee.
- · The PF admin charge is 0.5% of the PF wage, with a minimum of ₹500 a month for the whole establishment.
An estimate from the same functions Facto Lite’s payroll runs, for FY 2026-27. Not tax or legal advice. Nothing you type leaves this page.
PF and ESI due dates for the year →
Read the guide: PF and ESI for a Small Business: When It Applies →
How it is worked out
The working, step by step.
- Take the month’s Basic + DA — the PF wage. Above ₹15,000, most employers contribute on ₹15,000 only.
- Employee PF is 12% of that wage, deducted from salary.
- Employer PF is another 12%. Of it, 8.33% of the wage — at most ₹1,250 — goes to the pension scheme (EPS), and the rest to the employee’s PF account (EPF).
- On top of the 12%, the employer pays EDLI insurance at 0.5% (at most ₹75) and PF admin charges at 0.5%. Neither comes out of salary.
- If gross pay is ₹21,000 a month or less, ESI is 0.75% from the employee and 3.25% from the employer, each rounded up to the rupee. Above it, there is no ESI.
- Both are paid to the government by the 15th of the following month.
Worked examples
The same sum, on real figures.
PF and ESI a month, FY 2026-27, PF on the ₹15,000 ceiling, employee a pension-scheme member
- Basic + DA
- ₹10,000
- Gross
- ₹15,000
- Employee PF
- ₹1,200
- Employee ESI
- ₹113
- Employer PF, EDLI, admin
- ₹1,300
- Employer ESI
- ₹488
- Basic + DA
- ₹15,000
- Gross
- ₹21,000
- Employee PF
- ₹1,800
- Employee ESI
- ₹158
- Employer PF, EDLI, admin
- ₹1,950
- Employer ESI
- ₹683
- Basic + DA
- ₹25,000
- Gross
- ₹40,000
- Employee PF
- ₹1,800
- Employee ESI
- ₹0
- Employer PF, EDLI, admin
- ₹1,950
- Employer ESI
- ₹0
- Basic + DA
- ₹50,000
- Gross
- ₹1,00,000
- Employee PF
- ₹1,800
- Employee ESI
- ₹0
- Employer PF, EDLI, admin
- ₹1,950
- Employer ESI
- ₹0
Words used here
Every term, in plain words.
What each field and each line of the result means, where to find it, and what to do if you do not know it.
- Basic + DA (the PF wage)
The part of salary PF is worked out on: Basic, plus Dearness Allowance if there is any. Allowances such as HRA are left out.
Both are lines on a payslip. Most private-sector payslips have no DA — then enter Basic alone.
For example: Basic ₹18,000 and no DA: the PF wage is ₹18,000, and on the ceiling PF is worked out on ₹15,000.
- Gross pay
The whole month’s pay before anything is taken out — Basic plus every allowance. ESI is tested against it.
On a payslip it is “Gross earnings” or “Total earnings”. It is never less than Basic.
- Provident fund (PF / EPF)
Retirement savings run by the government. 12% of your Basic is taken from your salary every month, and your employer puts in the same again. You get it back later, with interest.
Most employers deduct on Basic up to ₹15,000 — at most ₹1,800 a month. Some deduct on your full Basic: less in hand, more saved. Your payslip’s PF line tells you which: ₹1,800 means the ceiling.
For example: Basic of ₹50,000 on the ceiling: ₹1,800 from you, ₹1,800 from your employer. On full Basic: ₹6,000 each.
- Pension scheme (EPS) member
Part of the employer’s PF goes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme rather than to the PF account: 8.33% of the wage, at most ₹1,250 a month. It pays a monthly pension from 58.
Almost everybody is a member. The exception: somebody who first joined PF on or after 1 September 2014 on a wage above ₹15,000 — then the whole employer share goes to the PF account.
For example: On the ceiling: ₹1,250 to pension and ₹550 to the PF account, from the employer’s ₹1,800.
- PF account (EPF)
The employee’s own provident-fund account. It receives all of the employee’s 12% and whatever is left of the employer’s after the pension share, and earns interest every year.
- EDLI
Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance — life cover for PF members, paid for by the employer at 0.5% of the PF wage, at most ₹75 a month. Nothing is deducted from salary for it.
- PF admin charges
What EPFO charges the employer for running the scheme: 0.5% of the PF wage, with a minimum of ₹500 a month for the whole establishment.
- ESI
Health insurance for lower-paid employees. If your gross salary is ₹21,000 a month or less, 0.75% is deducted from it and your employer adds 3.25%. Above that, nothing.
- Employer’s cost on top of salary
What the employer pays to the government beyond the gross salary: its PF share, EDLI, the admin charge and its ESI share. It is part of the CTC, but never paid to the employee in cash.
Questions
Asked often, answered here.
Why does only part of the employer’s PF reach my PF account?
Because 8.33% of the wage goes to the pension scheme (EPS), capped at ₹1,250 a month. On the ceiling, ₹1,250 goes to pension and ₹550 to the PF account. Somebody who first joined PF on or after 1 September 2014 earning above the ceiling is not in the pension scheme, and the whole employer share goes to their account.
Is PF compulsory for salaries above ₹15,000?
Membership is compulsory for employees whose Basic + DA is ₹15,000 or less when they join. Somebody who joins above it can be left out, unless they were already a PF member in an earlier job — then they stay in.
What is the ESI salary limit?
ESI applies when gross pay is ₹21,000 a month or less (₹25,000 for a person with a disability). Coverage is decided for six months at a time — April to September and October to March — so a raise in the middle of one does not end it until the next begins.
Who pays EDLI and the PF admin charges?
The employer, on top of its 12%. EDLI is 0.5% of the PF wage, at most ₹75 a month, and the admin charge is 0.5%, at least ₹500 a month for the whole establishment. Nothing of either is deducted from the employee.
When are PF and ESI paid?
By the 15th of the following month, for both. PF is paid with the monthly ECR return on the EPFO portal, and ESI on the ESIC portal.
More free tools
More calculators, same engine.
Compliance calendar 2026-27
PF and ESI for a month are due by the 15th of the next month, so March’s are due on 15 April. The quarterly TDS return on salaries, Form 138 (Form 24Q until 2025-26), is due on 31 May, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January. Professional tax and labour welfare fund fall on dates each state sets.
In-hand salary calculator
Take-home is your gross salary minus employee PF (12% of Basic, at most ₹1,800 a month on the ₹15,000 ceiling), ESI if your gross is ₹21,000 or less, professional tax and income tax — and under the new regime a salary of up to ₹12,75,000 pays no income tax at all.
Salary slip generator
A salary slip lists the month’s earnings — Basic, HRA and allowances — then the deductions — PF at 12% of Basic, ESI if gross pay is ₹21,000 or less, professional tax and income tax — and the net pay in figures and in words. Fill in yours and download it as a PDF.
Facto Lite works out PF, ESI and professional tax on every payslip, from each person’s own salary structure. See Payroll.
Get PF and ESI right on every payslip.
Sixty days of Facto Lite free, no card. PF on the ceiling or the full wage, ESI coverage that holds for its six months, and the pension split worked out for you.