Professional tax: what it is and how much each state charges
Professional tax is a small state levy on salaried income, capped at ₹2,500 a year by Article 276 of the Constitution and deducted by your employer each month. Karnataka, Telangana and West Bengal charge ₹200 a month, Maharashtra ₹2,500 a year, while Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan charge nothing.
FY 2026-27 figures, rules verified 3 Sep 2026. Numbers assume basic at 40% of CTC, employer PF inside CTC and ₹2,400 professional tax unless stated.
Each state sets its own slabs and thresholds. Most exempt low earners and charge the top slab once monthly gross crosses ₹15,000 to ₹25,000, so nearly every engineer pays the maximum for their state.
The amount is deductible from salary income under section 16(iii) in the old regime. In the new regime it is not deductible but still comes out of your pay.
The state is decided by your work location, not your home state, so moving from Bengaluru to Gurugram removes the deduction entirely. The professional tax by state page has the full table.
See the figure for your own salary on the in hand calculator.
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Related terms
- In hand salary — In hand salary, also called take home or net salary, is the amount credited to your bank account each month after income tax, employee provident fund and professional tax are deducted from gross salary.
- TDS on salary — TDS on salary is the income tax your employer deducts under section 192 each month, computed by estimating your tax for the whole year and spreading it across the remaining months.