Net salary, also called take-home or in-hand salary, is the amount that actually reaches your bank account after every deduction. It is gross salary minus your statutory and voluntary deductions, and it is usually the number people mean when they ask what a job “pays”.

What gets deducted from gross

• Your own EPF contribution, 12% of basic plus DA
• Professional tax, where the state levies it
• TDS, your monthly income tax
• ESI, if your gross is within the wage limit
• Any loss of pay, loan EMI, or LWF

A sample month

The single biggest reason net salary changes month to month is TDS: it rises in the last quarter when declared investments are trued up against proofs, and it can fall after a fresh Form 12BB declaration.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my in-hand so much lower than CTC divided by 12?

Because CTC includes the employer’s PF and gratuity provision, insurance premiums and variable pay, none of which is monthly cash, and then your own PF and taxes come out of what remains.

Can two people with the same CTC have different take-home?

Yes. A higher basic means more PF and lower take-home now but a bigger retirement corpus; the tax regime and rent situation also change the result.

Is net salary fixed every month?

Roughly, but not exactly. TDS variation, one-off recoveries and reimbursements move it around.

Work out your figure with the Take-Home Salary Calculator or the fuller CTC to In-Hand Salary Calculator.