What gross salary means
Gross salary is your pay before your own deductions come out. It adds up the parts of salary you earn, such as basic pay, HRA (house rent allowance) and other allowances. Your PF contribution, professional tax and TDS are then taken from it. What is left is your net pay, also called take-home.
Gross sits between two other numbers. It is smaller than CTC (cost to company), because CTC also counts money your employer pays on your behalf. And it is bigger than take-home.
Rohit’s four numbers
Rohit, 29, works in Gurugram, Haryana. His monthly salary has three parts: basic ₹25,000, HRA ₹10,000 and a special allowance of ₹20,000. PF is 12% of basic. Tax is worked out under the new regime for Tax Year 2026–27. Rohit is a made-up example.
| Per month | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Basic | 25,000 |
| HRA | 10,000 |
| Special allowance | 20,000 |
| Gross salary | 55,000 |
| − Rohit’s own PF (12% of basic) | 3,000 |
| − Professional tax (none in Haryana) | 0 |
| − TDS (income tax) | 0 |
| Take-home | 52,000 |
People often mix up four yearly figures. Here they are for Rohit:
- CTC: ₹7,10,424. This adds the employer’s PF (₹3,000 a month) and a gratuity provision (₹1,202 a month) to his gross. Gratuity is a lump sum paid when you leave after enough years of service.
- Gross salary: ₹6,60,000.
- Taxable income: ₹5,85,000. That is gross minus the ₹75,000 standard deduction, a fixed amount salaried people subtract before tax is worked out.
- Take-home: ₹6,24,000.
His tax is zero because a resident with taxable income up to ₹12 lakh gets a rebate in the new regime. The rebate cancels the tax. For the full path from CTC to bank credit, see our guide CTC, gross and take-home.
Where you see it
On a payslip, gross often appears as “gross earnings” or “total earnings”, above the list of deductions. Form 16, the yearly TDS certificate from your employer, shows your gross salary for the whole year. Offer letters may show a monthly gross next to the CTC. Rent agreements or other forms sometimes ask for “gross monthly income”. Give the figure they ask for, and say which one it is.
Common mix-ups
One month’s gross can mislead. If that month included arrears (late pay for earlier months), overtime or a bonus, it will be higher than usual. Use a normal month when you plan.
Gross is also not the same as taxable income. Under the new regime, salaried people subtract the ₹75,000 standard deduction first. Professional tax does not reduce taxable income in the new regime, and the HRA exemption is available only in the old regime.
A higher gross doesn’t always mean more in hand. Rules on PF can change the split. Under the new Labour Codes (in force since 21 November 2025), allowances above 50% of pay are partly added back to “wages” for PF and gratuity. Rohit’s allowances are ₹30,000 of his ₹55,000 gross, so his employer may need to check this.
What to check on your payslip
- Find the gross earnings line and see which parts make it up.
- Add up the deductions and subtract them from gross.
- Match the result with the amount that reached your bank.
- Build your budget on that take-home figure, not on gross.
To see your own gross and take-home side by side, try the Salary calculator. Your numbers stay on your device.