Meera is a VP of design in Gurugram pulling an ₹84 lakh CTC, which reads as ₹7,00,000 a month in her offer letter. The deposit that clears is ₹4,21,102 monthly. Round numbers on top, messy numbers below. Her take-home has settled to almost exactly 60% of CTC, so four in ten rupees are spoken for before she budgets anything. The CTC keeps rising through the leadership band, but the surviving share stubbornly refuses to.
What ₹84 lakh CTC actually contains
Standard 50% basic structure at ₹84L:
| Component | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic salary | ₹42,00,000 | ₹3,50,000 |
| HRA (50% of basic) | ₹21,00,000 | ₹1,75,000 |
| Special allowance | ₹13,93,980 | ₹1,16,165 |
| Employer PF (12% of basic) | ₹5,04,000 | ₹42,000 |
| Gratuity provision (4.81%) | ₹2,02,020 | ₹16,835 |
| Total CTC | ₹84,00,000 | ₹7,00,000 |
Employer PF plus gratuity comes to ₹7,06,020. That money sits inside the ₹84 lakh CTC and never lands in your salary account. Your gross salary, the part payroll actually pays, is ₹76,93,980 a year.
Take-home calculation (new regime)
| Item | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary (excl. employer PF + gratuity) | ₹76,93,980 | ₹6,41,165 |
| Less: Employee PF | ₹5,04,000 | ₹42,000 |
| Less: Professional tax (Karnataka) | ₹2,400 | ₹200 |
| Less: Income tax | ₹21,34,354 | ₹1,77,863 |
| In-hand | ₹50,53,226 | ₹4,21,102 |
Tax working: gross ₹76,93,980 minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction leaves taxable income of ₹76,18,980. Slab tax is ₹20,000 in the 5% slab, ₹40,000 in the 10% slab, ₹60,000 in the 15% slab, ₹80,000 in the 20% slab, ₹1,00,000 in the 25% slab, and ₹15,65,694 in the 30% slab, totalling ₹18,65,694. A 10% surcharge of ₹1,86,569 applies because taxable income is above ₹50 lakh. Add 4% cess of ₹82,091 and the income tax is ₹21,34,354 a year.
Deductions that survive the new regime
Almost every old deduction is dead under the new regime, and the survivor worth using is employer NPS under 80CCD(2), which lets up to 14% of basic reduce taxable salary at source. Because taxable income here sits above ₹50 lakh, the 10% surcharge attaches, and it only escalates to 15% once taxable passes ₹1 crore, so holding taxable under a crore keeps that jump off your bill as CTC increases. Model your basic-and-NPS numbers in the take-home calculator before you assume the salary structure can save you much. On an ₹84 lakh CTC, ESOPs, RSUs, and deferred cash carry far more weight than any allowance you can rename. The payslip is a rounding error next to the stock.
How take-home moves across the salary ladder
| CTC | Monthly take-home | Income tax / year |
|---|---|---|
| ₹81L | ₹4,07,562 | ₹20,40,048 |
| ₹82L | ₹4,12,076 | ₹20,71,483 |
| ₹83L | ₹4,16,589 | ₹21,02,919 |
| ₹84L | ₹4,21,102 | ₹21,34,354 |
| ₹85L | ₹4,25,615 | ₹21,65,789 |
| ₹86L | ₹4,30,129 | ₹21,97,225 |
| ₹87L | ₹4,34,642 | ₹22,28,660 |
All figures: new regime, Karnataka professional tax, 50% basic structure, FY 2025-26. Plug your own CTC and city into the take-home salary calculator for an exact number.
Sources
- Income Tax Act 1961: Section 115BAC new regime slabs, ₹75,000 standard deduction, Section 87A rebate (FY 2025-26)
- EPFO: 12% employee plus 12% employer PF contribution on basic salary
- Payment of Gratuity Act 1972: 4.81% gratuity provision formula
- State Professional Tax Acts (Karnataka rate used as the representative figure)