Tools To India

PF Calculator

Enter your monthly basic salary to see how much provident fund you and your employer contribute, and how much of the employer’s share is diverted to the pension scheme rather than your EPF balance.

Last updated

₹30K · Provident fund is calculated on basic plus dearness allowance, not on gross salary.

How does your employer calculate PF?

The law requires contribution only on wages up to ₹15,000 a month. Many employers voluntarily contribute on full basic.

12% is standard. A reduced 10% rate applies to certain establishments.

The result updates as you type. Nothing you enter is saved, sent to a server or shared.

Added to your EPF account each month

₹2,351

₹1,800 from you plus ₹551 from your employer

Where the total 24% goes

  • Your EPF share: ₹1,800
  • Employer EPF share: ₹551
  • Pension scheme (EPS): ₹1,250

Monthly

PF wage usedCapped at the ₹15,000 statutory ceiling.
₹15,000
Your contribution (deducted from salary)
−₹1,800
Employer contribution — to EPF
₹551
Employer contribution — to EPS pensionBuilds your pension, not your EPF balance.
₹1,250
Total into EPF
₹2,351

Annual

Your contribution
₹21,600
Employer into EPF
₹6,606
Into EPS pension
₹14,994
Total into EPF for the year
₹28,206
  • Interest is credited at the rate declared by EPFO, currently 8.25% p.a..
  • Your own contribution qualifies for section 80C under the old regime. The employer’s contribution is not taxable in your hands within the prescribed limits.

How this calculator works

Provident fund is deducted at 12% of basic salary plus dearness allowance — not on gross salary, and not on allowances. Your employer matches that 12%, so 24% of your basic goes into retirement savings every month.

The two halves are not treated the same. Your entire 12% goes into your EPF account. Of the employer’s 12%, a portion equal to 8.33% of wages is diverted to the Employees’ Pension Scheme instead, and only the remainder joins your EPF balance. That diversion is capped: EPS contribution is calculated on wages up to ₹15,000, so it never exceeds ₹1,250 a month.

This is why the employer’s visible contribution to your EPF passbook is smaller than yours whenever your basic exceeds ₹15,000. The missing money is not lost — it is building a pension entitlement under EPS, which pays a monthly amount after retirement rather than a lump sum.

The ₹15,000 figure is a statutory floor, not a limit. An employer may contribute on your full basic salary, and many do. It makes a large difference over a career, so it is worth knowing which approach your employer follows.

The formula

Monthly contributions

Employee EPF = 12% of (basic + DA) Employer total = 12% of (basic + DA) EPS = 8.33% of wages, capped at 8.33% of ₹15,000 = ₹1,250 Employer EPF = employer total − EPS

basic + DA
Basic salary plus dearness allowance. Allowances and HRA are excluded.
₹15,000
The statutory wage ceiling for mandatory contribution and for EPS

Worked example: ₹30,000 basic, PF on the ceiling

Neha’s monthly basic plus DA is ₹30,000. Her employer contributes on the ₹15,000 statutory ceiling rather than full basic.

Step-by-step calculation for the worked example
Basic + DA₹30,000
PF wage used (capped)₹15,000
Employee contribution, 12%₹1,800
Employer contribution, 12%₹1,800
of which EPS, 8.33% of ₹15,000₹1,250
of which employer EPF₹550
Total added to EPF each month₹2,350
Total added to EPF each year₹28,200

If Neha’s employer contributed on her full ₹30,000 basic instead, ₹3,600 would come from each side, EPS would still take ₹1,250, and ₹5,950 would enter EPF each month — more than double. Over a thirty-year career, at a typical rate of interest, that difference is worth a very large sum.

Things worth knowing

  • PF is calculated on basic plus DA. Employers sometimes keep basic low precisely to reduce this liability, which raises your take-home now and reduces your retirement corpus later.
  • The EPS diversion is capped at ₹1,250 a month regardless of how high your salary goes. Everything above that stays in EPF.
  • You can contribute more than 12% through Voluntary Provident Fund. The employer is not obliged to match it, but it earns the same rate of interest as EPF.
  • Interest above a prescribed annual contribution threshold is taxable. If you make very large voluntary contributions, check the current threshold before assuming the whole return is tax-free.
  • Establishments with fewer than twenty employees, and certain notified sick units, may contribute at a reduced 10% rate instead of 12%.
  • Withdrawing your EPF when changing jobs resets the clock on continuous service and loses years of compounding. Transferring the balance to your new employer using the same UAN is almost always better.

Frequently asked questions

Is PF deducted from gross salary or basic salary?
From basic salary plus dearness allowance only. HRA, special allowance, conveyance and other components are excluded. This is why two people with the same gross salary can have very different PF deductions.
Why is my employer’s EPF contribution smaller than mine?
Because part of the employer’s 12% goes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme rather than your EPF balance. That share is 8.33% of wages up to ₹15,000, so a maximum of ₹1,250 a month. The rest joins your EPF. Both amounts are yours; they simply sit in different schemes.
Can I opt out of PF?
Generally no, once you are covered. An employee earning basic plus DA above ₹15,000 at the time of first joining a covered establishment may be treated as an excluded employee in certain circumstances, but if you have ever been an EPF member you normally continue. Check with your employer and with EPFO rather than assuming.
What is VPF and is it worth it?
Voluntary Provident Fund lets you contribute more than the statutory 12% of basic. It earns the same rate as EPF, which is usually attractive compared with a fixed deposit, and qualifies for section 80C under the old regime. The trade-offs are limited liquidity and a threshold above which the interest becomes taxable.
How do I check my PF balance?
Through the EPFO member portal or the UMANG app using your activated UAN, by giving a missed call to EPFO’s registered number from your registered mobile, or by SMS. Our EPFO guide walks through each method step by step.

Sources

Every figure on this page is traceable to the official source below. If a source has changed since the date shown, please tell us and we will correct it.