Tamil Nadu payroll: professional tax, LWF and state rules
Last reviewed: 24 Sep 2026 · Author: NeevHR team
Tamil Nadu professional tax is half-yearly and levied by local bodies, so rates vary by corporation or municipality. LWF is annual: ₹20 from the employee and ₹40 from the employer.
Professional Tax in Tamil Nadu
Unlike most states, Tamil Nadu's professional tax is levied by urban local bodies under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 (Chapter VI-A) and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, and by village panchayats in rural areas. It is half-yearly: April to September and October to March, and the slab is based on half-yearly income.
Employers deduct from the August and January salaries and pay by 30 September and 31 March with Form 14. Rates are revised by each council, so check your local body's current schedule. The Greater Chennai Corporation slab, revised from the second half of 2024-25, is shown below.
| Half-yearly income (Chennai) | PT per half-year |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹21,000 | Nil |
| ₹21,001 to ₹30,000 | ₹180 |
| ₹30,001 to ₹45,000 | ₹425 |
| ₹45,001 to ₹60,000 | ₹930 |
| ₹60,001 to ₹75,000 | ₹1,025 |
| ₹75,001 and above | ₹1,250 |
Labour Welfare Fund in Tamil Nadu
Under the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972, as amended in December 2022, the employee contributes ₹20, the employer ₹40 and the government ₹20 per employee each year. The deduction is made from December wages, and both shares are paid before 31 January with Form A.
The Act covers factories, plantations, motor transport undertakings, catering establishments and other establishments employing five or more persons. Supervisors drawing more than ₹15,000 a month and managerial staff are excluded.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contribution | ₹20 employee, ₹40 employer, per year |
| Deduction month | December |
| Due date | Before 31 January |
| Payment | Through the Board's LWMIS portal |
Minimum wages in Tamil Nadu
Minimum wages are fixed employment by employment through Government Orders, with a dearness allowance revised each April. Rates differ by zone; check the G.O. for your employment on the Commissioner of Labour's minimum wages page.
Shops and establishments and other considerations
- Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947: 8 hours a day and 48 a week, with overtime at twice the ordinary rate. Establishments with 10 or more persons may operate 24x7 for three years from 6 June 2025, subject to conditions including rotational weekly off and transport for women working between 8 pm and 6 am.
- A single statewide PT slab is wrong for Tamil Nadu: payroll must follow each local body's half-yearly schedule and deduction months.
Running Tamil Nadu payroll in NeevHR
- LWF follows each employee's work location, with the annual December deduction supported.
- State tables are configurable settings, and challan data is produced from the published payroll run.
- Tamil Nadu's local-body, half-yearly PT has its own deduction months and income basis; your implementation team will confirm the set-up for your local body.