₹20 LPA In-Hand Salary: Monthly Take-Home Estimate Tax Year 2026–27
A ₹20 lakh CTC works out at roughly ₹1,44,025 a month in hand on the assumptions below, not ₹1,66,667, which is what dividing by twelve suggests.
The short answer
There is no universal in-hand salary for a ₹20 lakh CTC. PF structure, how much of your package is Basic, variable pay, employer contributions, your state's Professional Tax and your tax regime all move the number.
Across the structures employers actually use, this CTC lands anywhere between ₹1,29,330 and ₹1,47,199 a month. The figure shown here is the mid-range case, and every assumption behind it is listed.
Adjust this estimate for your own offer
Opens the full calculator with ₹20 LPA already filled in.
Change the assumptions here
Two switches account for most of the variation between offers. Change them and the numbers on this page update.
Estimated take-home for this package
Estimated monthly in-hand salary
₹1,44,025- Annual in-hand
- ₹17,28,298
- Of CTC
- 86.4%
- Monthly gross
- ₹1,60,858
- Take-home pay ₹17,28,298 · 86.4%
- Income tax and cess ₹1,77,902 · 8.9%
- Your PF and VPF ₹21,600 · 1.1%
- Professional Tax ₹2,500 · 0.1%
- Employer-side costs ₹69,700 · 3.5%
| Component | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Annual CTC | ₹20,00,000 | ₹1,66,667 |
| Employer's PF contributionGoes to your EPF and pension account, not your bank account. ₹15,000 a year of it funds the pension scheme rather than your PF balance. | −₹21,600 | −₹1,800 |
| Gratuity provisionAn accounting entry. You only receive it if you stay long enough to qualify. | −₹48,100 | −₹4,008 |
| Gross salaryWhat your offer letter’s salary table adds up to. | ₹19,30,300 | ₹1,60,858 |
| Your EPF contributionDeducted from salary, but it is still your money. | −₹21,600 | −₹1,800 |
| Professional TaxRs 200 a month, Rs 300 in February. Salaries up to Rs 25,000 a month pay nothing, after the threshold was raised from Rs 15,000 in April 2025. | −₹2,500 | −₹208 |
| Income tax and cessTaxable income ₹18,55,300 under the new regime. | −₹1,77,902 | −₹14,825 |
| Estimated take-home | ₹17,28,298 | ₹1,44,025 |
Show the tax calculation
What we subtracted before taxing
- Standard deduction, ₹75,000 Automatic for salaried employees.
Entered but not allowed under this regime
- Professional Tax paid: ₹2,500. The new regime does not allow the section 16(iii) deduction, so PT still leaves your bank account but does not reduce taxable income.
Taxable income: ₹18,55,300
| Slab | Income in slab | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| ₹0 to ₹4,00,000 at 0% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹0 |
| ₹4,00,000 to ₹8,00,000 at 5% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹20,000 |
| ₹8,00,000 to ₹12,00,000 at 10% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹40,000 |
| ₹12,00,000 to ₹16,00,000 at 15% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹60,000 |
| ₹16,00,000 to ₹20,00,000 at 20% | ₹2,55,300 | ₹51,060 |
| Tax before rebate | ₹1,71,060 | |
| Add: Health & Education Cess at 4% | ₹6,842 | |
| Total income tax | ₹1,77,902 |
Show the salary structure used
| Component | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic salary | ₹10,00,000 | ₹83,333 |
| House Rent Allowance | ₹4,00,000 | ₹33,333 |
| Special allowance and other payThe balancing figure, whatever is left of gross after Basic, DA and HRA. | ₹5,30,300 | ₹44,192 |
| Gross salary | ₹19,30,300 | ₹1,60,858 |
Using these assumptions
- Basic salary is 50% of CTC, ₹10,00,000 a year, ₹83,333 a month.
- No Dearness Allowance, which is normal in the private sector.
- Your PF is capped at the ₹15,000 statutory wage ceiling.
- The employer's PF contribution is counted inside your CTC.
- A gratuity provision of 4.8% of Basic + DA is included in CTC.
- Professional Tax: Rs 200 a month, Rs 300 in February. Salaries up to Rs 25,000 a month pay nothing, after the threshold was raised from Rs 15,000 in April 2025.
- No variable pay or annual bonus.
- Tax is calculated under the new regime for Tax Year 2026–27.
Estimates only. Your payslip is the authority. Disclaimer
Why another ₹20 LPA offer might pay differently
Same CTC, different structures. Each row changes exactly one thing against the assumptions used above, so you can see which levers matter at this package.
| If your offer is structured like this | Monthly in-hand | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Basic at 50% of CTC, PF capped at the statutory wage | ₹1,44,025 | baseline |
| Basic at 40% of CTC | ₹1,44,660 | +₹635 |
| Basic at 60% of CTC | ₹1,43,390 | −₹635 |
| PF charged on the whole of Basic, not the ₹15,000 ceiling | ₹1,29,330 | −₹14,694 |
| Employer's PF sits outside CTC | ₹1,45,450 | +₹1,426 |
| A state with no Professional Tax, such as Delhi | ₹1,44,233 | +₹208 |
| No gratuity provision inside CTC | ₹1,47,199 | +₹3,175 |
At ₹20 LPA the biggest single lever is this one: PF charged on the whole of Basic, not the ₹15,000 ceiling, worth ₹14,694 a month on its own. That is 8.8% of the whole package, decided by a line in your salary structure rather than anything you negotiated.
The same package in a different state
Professional Tax is the only part of this calculation that depends on where you are payrolled. It is capped at ₹2,500 a year nationally, so it is never the reason a salary looks wrong, but it is real money, and several states charge nothing at all.
| State | Professional Tax a year | Monthly in-hand |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa, Odisha and other states with no Professional Tax | None | ₹1,44,233 |
| Telangana | ₹2,400 | ₹1,44,033 −₹200 |
| West Bengal | ₹2,400 | ₹1,44,033 −₹200 |
| Gujarat | ₹2,400 | ₹1,44,033 −₹200 |
| Karnataka | ₹2,500 | ₹1,44,025 −₹208 |
| Maharashtra | ₹2,500 | ₹1,44,025 −₹208 |
| Andhra Pradesh | ₹2,500 | ₹1,44,025 −₹208 |
What matters most at ₹20 LPA
- Your employer's provident fund policy is worth ₹8,200 a month here. Capped at the ₹15,000 statutory wage, your contribution is ₹1,800; charged on your full Basic it is ₹10,000. Your payslip says which. Work yours out.
- Moving Basic from 40% to 60% of CTC shifts take-home by ₹1,270 a month, and unusually at this package it moves the tax too, from ₹1,79,903 to ₹1,75,901 a year, because a higher Basic means more of your CTC goes to employer-side contributions instead of salary. How the components interact.
- The old regime catches up at about ₹6,83,000 a year of deductions. That needs a metro rent, a home loan and the full 80C set all at once, which is a high bar. How the regimes differ.
- Stepping up to ₹22 LPA adds ₹12,664 a month. That is 76% of the ₹2,00,000 added to the package. The rest goes to tax and to employer-side components that scale with Basic.
- If 15% of this package were variable, the monthly figure would be ₹1,19,025, not ₹1,44,025. Variable pay counts in CTC at 100% of target whether or not it pays out. Ask what it has actually paid over the last two years.
- Dividing ₹20 LPA by twelve overstates your salary by ₹22,642 a month. 13.6% of the headline figure never reaches your account, and ₹5,808 of that was never salary in the first place. Where the gap comes from.
How much income tax you pay on ₹20 LPA
After the ₹75,000 standard deduction, taxable income comes to ₹18,55,300 and the tax on it is ₹1,77,902 including cess.
The top band you reach is 20%, and only ₹2,55,300 of your income is charged at it. Everything below is taxed at the lower rates for its own band, which is why the effective rate across the whole package is 9.6% rather than 20%.
Open "Show the tax calculation" above to see it band by band.
Old regime or new regime at ₹20 LPA
New regime
₹1,44,025
a month · ₹1,77,902 annual tax
Old regime
₹1,26,839
a month · ₹3,84,134 annual tax
Based on the information entered, the estimated tax is lower under the new regime, leaving about ₹17,186 more in hand each month.
This compares only the figures you entered. The old regime rewards rent, 80C investments, health insurance and home loan interest. If you have those and have not entered them, the comparison will understate it. Your employer also needs to know which regime you have chosen before they calculate TDS.
| Deductions and exemptions claimed | Old regime | Against the new regime |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing claimed | ₹1,26,839 | −₹17,186 |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹1,30,177 | −₹13,848 |
| ₹2,25,000 | ₹1,32,127 | −₹11,898 |
| ₹3,00,000 | ₹1,34,077 | −₹9,948 |
| ₹4,00,000 | ₹1,36,677 | −₹7,348 |
| ₹5,50,000 | ₹1,37,977 | −₹6,048 |
Each row spreads the total across the heads the old regime allows: section 80C first, then NPS, health insurance, home loan interest, and metro rent for anything beyond. Your own mix will differ, which is what the full calculator is for.
Nearby packages
Questions about a ₹20 LPA salary
Is ₹20 LPA divided by 12 my monthly salary?
No. ₹20 LPA divided by twelve is ₹1,66,667; the estimate here is ₹1,44,025. That is a gap of ₹22,642 a month, or 13.6% of the headline figure.
It is not one deduction but four: ₹69,700 a year of employer-side cost that never becomes salary, ₹21,600 into your own provident fund, ₹1,77,902 of income tax and ₹2,500 of Professional Tax.
Can two ₹20 LPA offers pay different amounts?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Running this CTC through the structures employers actually use produces a range from ₹1,29,330 to ₹1,47,199 a month, a spread of ₹17,869.
The largest single lever at this package is one line in the salary structure: PF charged on the whole of Basic, not the ₹15,000 ceiling. On its own it is worth ₹14,694 a month.
How much income tax will I pay on ₹20 LPA?
₹1,77,902 a year on these assumptions, which is ₹14,825 a month of TDS under the new regime for Tax Year 2026–27. That works out at 9.6% of taxable income.
Your own figure will differ if your Basic percentage is different, if you have other income, or if you are on the old regime with deductions to claim.
Which tax regime is better for ₹20 LPA?
It depends on how much you can claim. At this package the old regime overtakes the new one once your total exemptions and deductions reach roughly ₹6,83,000 a year.
If you pay substantial rent in a metro, have a home loan, and use the full section 80C and NPS allowances, that is reachable. If you rent modestly and have little invested, it is not. Run both with your actual numbers rather than guessing.
How much PF is deducted on a ₹20 LPA salary?
Between ₹1,800 and ₹10,000 a month, depending on your employer's policy. The lower figure applies where PF is capped at the ₹15,000 statutory wage; the higher where it is charged on your full Basic.
Your employer adds their own contribution on top, of which ₹15,000 a year goes to the pension scheme rather than your PF balance. Check your payslip to see which rule applies to you.
Is my annual bonus included in this monthly figure?
Not unless you add it. The estimate here assumes the whole package is fixed pay. If part of your ₹20 LPA is variable, common at this level. Your monthly salary is calculated on the remainder, and the variable portion arrives separately if targets are met.
Enter the variable amount under Advanced options in the full calculator and it will carve it out of the monthly figure while keeping the tax on it, which is how payroll actually handles it.
How this estimate was produced
- Tax rules are the ones in force for Tax Year 2026–27, under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (in force from 1 April 2026).
- EPF and pension figures follow EPFO’s published contribution rules.
- Professional Tax is included only for states where we have a rule we trust, and named as missing where we do not.
- Every assumption behind the estimate is shown on screen and can be changed.
- The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your salary is never sent anywhere.
Method and sources
Every figure on this page was computed by the same engine that powers the main calculator. This is a saved state of that tool, not a written-up example. Tax slabs, the section 87A rebate, surcharge, cess, the PF wage ceiling and Karnataka's Professional Tax rule all come from one versioned data file for Tax Year 2026–27.
Read the full methodology for what is and is not modelled, or the sources page for where each rule comes from. If something here looks wrong, tell us. Corrections are published.
Written by Divya Akash Dutta. Last reviewed 18 August 2026 for Tax Year 2026–27.