Payslip format in India: what every salary slip must show

A payslip in India should show who is paying whom and for which period, the days paid and any loss of pay, every earning and deduction, and the net pay in figures and words. Under the Code on Wages, 2019, every employer must issue a wage slip to each employee in the form the applicable rules prescribe. Most payslips also carry the UAN, PAN, year-to-date totals and leave balances.

This guide covers the payslip itself: what goes on it, how to lay it out and how to issue it safely. For how CTC is split into Basic, HRA and allowances in the first place, see our salary structure and CTC breakup guide.

Is a payslip mandatory in India?

Yes. Section 50(3) of the Code on Wages, 2019 requires every employer to issue wage slips to employees in the form and manner prescribed. The Code has been in force since 21 November 2025 and applies to all employees, whether permanent, temporary, part-time or contractual, not only to the lower-paid "workers" the older wage laws focused on.

The format comes from the rules. For establishments where the Central Government is the appropriate government, the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, notified on 8 May 2026, prescribe a wage slip form and allow it to be issued electronically or on paper, on or before the day wages are paid. Most private employers fall under their state government, and states are notifying their own rules progressively. The Ministry's FAQs say the earlier rules continue during the transition to the extent they are consistent with the Codes. Check your state's position and the Ministry of Labour updates before you redesign the template.

A payslip also does work beyond compliance. Employees use it for loans, rentals and visas, and it is the first document anyone reaches for in a pay dispute.

What every salary slip must show

The prescribed forms differ in layout, but the content is broadly the same. A payslip that covers the sections below will meet the usual requirements and answer most employee questions.

Section	What it contains	Why it matters
Employer details	Legal name of the establishment and its address	Identifies the employer liable for the wages
Employee identity	Name, employee ID, designation, department, location, date of joining	Ties the slip to one employment record
Statutory identifiers	UAN, ESI insurance number (if covered), PAN, usually masked	Lets the employee match PF, ESI and TDS credits
Pay period	Wage month, pay date, days in the month, paid days, LOP days	Explains why pay differs from the full-month rate
Earnings	Each component with its full-month rate and the amount earned	Shows how gross pay was built
Deductions	Employee PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS, loan EMI and any other recovery	Shows every rupee withheld and why
Employer contributions	Employer PF, EPS and ESI, shown separately if shown at all	Explains the gap between CTC and gross
Net pay	Amount credited, in figures and in words	The number the bank credit must match
Year-to-date	Gross, TDS and other key totals since 1 April	Helps the employee track tax through the year
Tax and leave	Tax regime, leave balances by type	Answers the two most common follow-up questions

Employer and employee identity

Use the legal entity name, not a brand name, especially in groups with several entities. Show the work location, because professional tax and labour welfare fund follow the state of employment, and the date of joining, which explains a prorated first month.

UAN, ESI number and PAN

The UAN lets the employee check that the PF deducted reached their passbook. Show the ESI insurance number only where the employee is covered. Mask PAN and bank account numbers to the last four characters. The full numbers add nothing to the employee, who already knows them, and increase the damage if a slip is forwarded or leaked.

Pay period, paid days and LOP

Show the days in the month, the paid days and the LOP days, and use the same divisor your policy states. If the slip says 30 paid days in a 31-day month, the reader should be able to see that one day was LOP. Mid-month joiners and leavers need this section most; our guide to prorated salary for joiners and leavers explains the divisors.

Earnings: rate and actual

For each component, show the full-month rate and the amount actually earned. Without the rate column, a prorated month looks like a pay cut. One-time items (arrears, bonus, incentives, reimbursements) belong on their own lines with a label that names the period or reason, for example "Arrears: increment from 1 July 2026". Never merge arrears into Basic.

Deductions

List statutory deductions first (PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS), then recoveries such as loan EMIs, advances and canteen charges. For a loan, show the EMI and the balance outstanding after the deduction. Total deductions from wages are capped under the Code on Wages, so a slip with unusually large recoveries deserves a second look; see wage payment deadlines and permitted deductions.

Employer contributions: show them or not?

Employer PF and ESI are not deductions from the employee's pay. Many employers show them in a separate block labelled "Employer contributions (not deducted from pay)", because it helps employees reconcile the slip to their CTC. If you show them, never put them in the deductions column: it makes the net pay look wrong and generates queries. Gratuity accrual is usually not shown monthly.

Net pay in figures and words

The net pay in figures must equal total earnings minus total deductions, and must match the bank credit to the rupee. The amount in words is a simple control against typing and formatting errors, and many lenders still expect it.

Year-to-date totals, tax regime and leave

Year-to-date gross and TDS help employees follow their tax through the year and check it against Form 16 later. State the tax regime used for TDS, because employees often forget what they declared. Our guide to salary TDS explains how the monthly figure is projected. Leave balances by type are optional but popular, and they stop a stream of "how much leave do I have" queries.

Sample payslip format with figures

Here is a sample for an employee in Maharashtra for October 2026. The monthly fixed pay is ₹1,20,000: Basic ₹50,000, HRA ₹25,000 and special allowance ₹45,000. October has 31 days and the employee had 1 day of LOP, so the paid days are 30 and each component is prorated at 30 ÷ 31. The employer contributes PF on wages capped at ₹25,000, the ceiling in force from 17 September 2026. ESI does not apply because gross pay is above ₹21,000.

Item	Rate (full month)	Amount (October 2026)
Employee	Ananya Kulkarni, EMP-1042, Senior Analyst, Pune, joined 04 Jul 2022
UAN / PAN	XXXXXXXX4521 / XXXXXX123X
Days in month / paid days / LOP	31 / 30 / 1
Basic	₹50,000	₹48,387
HRA	₹25,000	₹24,194
Special allowance	₹45,000	₹43,548
Total earnings	₹1,20,000	₹1,16,129
Employee PF (12% of ₹25,000)		₹3,000
Professional tax (Maharashtra)		₹200
TDS (new regime)		₹7,250
Total deductions		₹10,450
Net pay		₹1,05,679
Net pay in words		Rupees One Lakh Five Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy-Nine only
Employer PF: EPS (8.33% of ₹25,000) and EPF		₹2,083 and ₹917 (not deducted)
YTD gross / YTD TDS (April to October)		₹8,36,129 / ₹50,750
Leave balance		Earned leave 12.5, sick leave 4

The arithmetic: Basic ₹50,000 × 30 ÷ 31 = ₹48,387; HRA ₹25,000 × 30 ÷ 31 = ₹24,194; special allowance ₹45,000 × 30 ÷ 31 = ₹43,548. These add to ₹1,16,129, the same as ₹1,20,000 × 30 ÷ 31 rounded. Deductions are ₹3,000 + ₹200 + ₹7,250 = ₹10,450, so net pay is ₹1,16,129 minus ₹10,450 = ₹1,05,679. The employer's ₹3,000 PF splits into EPS of ₹2,083 (8.33% of ₹25,000, rounded) and EPF of ₹917. Year-to-date gross assumes six earlier months at the full ₹1,20,000: ₹7,20,000 + ₹1,16,129 = ₹8,36,129. The TDS figure is illustrative and held at ₹7,250 a month for simplicity; in practice it is re-projected every month.

Electronic payslips, password-protected PDFs and the DPDP Act

Electronic payslips are now the norm, and the central rules expressly allow them. The real question is how to deliver them safely, because a payslip holds salary, PAN, UAN and bank details: personal data under the DPDP Act 2023.

• Prefer a self-service login to email. Employees download the slip after signing in, and access is logged. Emailed attachments get forwarded, auto-synced to personal devices and kept forever.
• If you email, protect the file. A password-protected PDF is common practice. Avoid passwords anyone can guess from the employee's public details, and never send the password in the same email.
• Mask what you can. Last four characters of PAN and bank account are enough.
• Restrict internal access. Payroll staff need to see slips; most HR and IT staff do not.
• Handle exits. Leavers still need their slips for loans and tax. Give them a way to download them for a reasonable period, or send a final set at the time of full and final settlement.
• Keep records for the required period. Wage registers and tax records have their own retention requirements, which outlast the employment.

Paper slips remain valid where the rules allow them, which helps at sites without regular system access. Either way, issue the slip on or before the pay date.

Common mistakes

• Rate column missing. A prorated or LOP month looks like a salary cut, and the helpdesk pays for it.
• Arrears merged into Basic. The employee cannot tell what was paid for which month, and audits get harder.
• Employer PF shown as a deduction. The net appears wrong and every employee asks about it.
• Net pay that does not match the bank credit, usually from a manual adjustment made after the slips were generated.
• Full PAN and account numbers printed on a document that is routinely forwarded to banks and landlords.
• No paid days or LOP days, so nobody can check the proration.
• Wrong entity name in multi-entity groups, which causes problems with lenders and visa applications.
• Slips released after the pay date, when the rules expect them on or before payment.

FAQs

Is it mandatory for employers to give salary slips in India? Yes. The Code on Wages, 2019 requires every employer to issue wage slips to employees in the prescribed form and manner. The exact format depends on the central or state rules that apply to your establishment.

Can a payslip be sent only by email or through a portal? Generally yes. The central rules allow wage slips to be issued electronically or physically. Check your state's rules, and make sure employees without system access can still get their slip.

Should a payslip show the employer's PF contribution? It is optional. If you show it, put it in a separate block marked as not deducted from pay, so the net pay calculation stays clear.

What is the difference between a payslip and a salary certificate? A payslip covers one pay period and is issued every month. A salary certificate is a one-off letter, usually confirming current pay or annual earnings for a bank or embassy.

Why does my payslip show less than my monthly CTC? CTC includes employer PF, gratuity and sometimes variable pay, none of which appears as monthly earnings. Gross earnings then reduce further by PF, PT and TDS to reach net pay.

How long should employers keep payslip records? Keep payroll and wage records for at least the period your applicable labour rules and income-tax law require, and longer where a dispute or audit is open.

How NeevHR helps

NeevHR releases payslips when a payroll run is published, after compute, verify and approval steps, so the slip, the bank file and the statutory returns all come from the same approved figures. LOP, arrears, loan EMIs and reimbursements appear as their own lines, and employees view and download payslips, Form 16 and tax declarations in web self-service. Slips are also stored in the employee's document vault alongside letters and certificates.

This article provides general information for educational purposes. Statutory rules, thresholds, rates and filing requirements may change; verify with the relevant authority or a qualified professional. Last reviewed: 06 Oct 2026.