PF Wage Ceiling Raised to ₹25,000: What Employers Must Change

What the notifications say

We read these from published summaries of the notifications. Read the notification text on the eGazette and EPFO's circulars before you change payroll.

• S.O. 5109(E), dated 17 September 2026, sets ₹25,000 a month as the wage ceiling for Chapter III of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (provident fund), replacing the ₹15,000 figure.
• G.S.R. 847(E), dated 25 September 2026 and effective from 17 September 2026, amends the Employees' Pension Scheme so that EPF members who were outside EPS, and whose wages were within the new ceiling when it was notified, become EPS members.
• G.S.R. 890(E), dated 15 October 2026, keeps the Central Government's own 1.16% pension contribution on wages up to ₹15,000.

EPS on ₹25,000: NeevHR's reading

Published commentary differs on one point: whether the employer's 8.33% diversion to the Employees' Pension Scheme is now worked out on wages up to ₹25,000 or stays on ₹15,000. NeevHR applies the new ceiling to EPS as well from 17 September 2026, so the most an employer diverts to EPS is ₹2,083 a month (8.33% of ₹25,000, rounded). The Central Government's 1.16% stays on ₹15,000 under G.S.R. 890(E).

This is our reading of the notifications, not legal advice. Confirm the EPS basis with your CA or PF consultant before you file. In NeevHR the EPS ceiling is a dated setting, so a different reading is a settings change, not a code change.

Who is newly covered

• Employees whose PF wages are up to ₹25,000 a month are within compulsory coverage. Before 17 September 2026 the line was ₹15,000.
• EPF members who were excluded from EPS because their wages were above ₹15,000 when they joined, and who were within ₹25,000 when the new ceiling was notified, come into EPS under G.S.R. 847(E).
• Employees above ₹25,000 when they first join are still not compulsorily covered, though employers may extend membership.

Worked example: PF wages of ₹30,000, contributions capped at the ceiling

The employee's take-home falls by ₹1,200 a month and the employer's cost rises by ₹1,300 when the contribution is capped at the ceiling. Where an employer already contributes on actual wages above the ceiling, the employee and employer 12% do not change; only the EPS and EPF split moves.

September 2026, a split month

The new ceiling applies from 17 September 2026, so 1 to 16 September falls under ₹15,000 and 17 to 30 September under ₹25,000. NeevHR apportions the ceiling by calendar days for September 2026: ₹15,000 × 16/30 + ₹25,000 × 14/30 = ₹19,666.67. Check EPFO's instructions for the September ECR; if EPFO prescribes a different treatment, the ECR should follow it.

Policy and payroll wording to change

1. 1

   Replace '₹15,000'

   Offer letters, CTC structures and PF policies that say contributions are 'capped at ₹15,000' should say 'capped at the PF wage ceiling (₹25,000 from 17 September 2026)'.

2. 2

   Check CTC carve-outs

   Employer PF inside CTC rises for capped employees, so the balancing component falls unless CTC is revised.

3. 3

   Review EPS membership

   Identify members outside EPS who come in under G.S.R. 847(E) and update their records.

4. 4

   Recompute open months

   Months not yet published from 17 September 2026 should use the new ceiling; published months stay as filed unless your CA advises a correction.