Next: Tax
How income tax actually works
Slabs are marginal, so a raise never leaves you worse off — and just above the ₹12 lakh rebate sits a marginal relief that almost nobody mentions.
14 min
beginner
Your first payslip, line by line
Basic, HRA, PF, professional tax, TDS: what each line on the slip does, which of them you can still influence, and which were settled before you signed.
2 lessons · about 14 minutes · written for reading age 13 · last checked 2026-08-01
What each line is
Basic drives your PF, your gratuity and the ceiling on your HRA exemption — and the employer's PF splits in two before it ever reaches your passbook.
8 min
Three things to do in your first month
Activate your UAN and check PF is actually landing, declare investments honestly so March holds no surprise, and know your real in-hand before signing for rent.
6 min
Check yourself
3 questions at the end. Every wrong answer explains itself.
Tools for this
CTC to In-Hand Salary Calculator
See what a CTC figure actually pays into your bank account each month, and which parts of it never reach you at all.
HRA Exemption Calculator
The three-part formula, worked out in full, showing which limb caps your exemption and why.
EPF Calculator
What your PF builds to, and where the employer’s 12% actually goes — because not all of it reaches your EPF.
What changed recently
Dated commentary on this topic — a Budget change, a new rule, a scam pattern.
2026-07-27 · 7 min read
A joining bonus is a loan in disguise
It arrives as cash and behaves like debt: leave inside the clawback window and you repay it. Variable pay is the mirror image — a target, not a promise.
2026-07-17 · 8 min read
Notice period and the final payslip
The last payslip is not a normal one. Leave encashment, notice recovery and gratuity all land on it at once, which is why it takes weeks to arrive.
2026-06-24 · 9 min read
Your first payslip, line by line
Basic, HRA, special allowance, employer PF, professional tax, TDS. What each line is, which ones you can influence, and why the total never matches your CTC.
Sources
- EPF Scheme 1952 and EPS 1995 — Employees' Provident Fund Organisation · checked 2026-08-01
- Income Tax Department — official portal — Income Tax Department · checked 2026-08-01