To take home Rs 150,000 a month in 2026-27, your taxable salary must be Rs 156,742 a month. Income tax on that is Rs 6,742 a month. The calculator works backwards from the amount you want in hand to the gross figure that produces it.
It uses the same salaried slabs as our salary tax calculator, so the two always agree. Use it before a job offer, a salary talk, or when an employer has to gross up a promised net salary.
How to calculate gross salary from net salary
Income tax on salary is set on the annual figure. Each slab charges a fixed amount plus a rate on the income above the slab's starting point. So, within one slab:
- Take-home = gross − (fixed amount + rate × (gross − slab start))
- Turned round: gross = (take-home + fixed amount − rate × slab start) ÷ (1 − rate)
The catch is that you do not know the slab in advance. Try the slab your take-home seems to fall in, work out the gross, then check that the gross really sits inside that slab. If it lands above the slab's upper limit, move up one slab and repeat. The calculator does this for every slab and picks the one that fits.
Worked example: Rs 200,000 take-home in 2026-27
- Annual take-home: Rs 200,000 × 12 = Rs 2,400,000.
- Try the slab from Rs 2,200,001 to Rs 3,200,000: Rs 116,000 plus 20% of the amount over Rs 2,200,000.
- Gross = (2,400,000 + 116,000 − 20% × 2,200,000) ÷ 0.80 = 2,076,000 ÷ 0.80 = Rs 2,595,000.
- Check: Rs 2,595,000 is inside the slab, so the answer stands.
- Tax for the year: 116,000 + 20% × 395,000 = Rs 195,000, which is Rs 16,250 a month.
- Gross per month: Rs 216,250. Take away Rs 16,250 of tax and Rs 200,000 is left.
When the first slab you try is wrong
For Rs 300,000 a month (Rs 3,600,000 a year), the 25% slab gives a gross of Rs 4,154,667. That is above Rs 4,100,000, the top of the 25% slab, so it fails the check. The 29% slab gives (3,600,000 + 541,000 − 29% × 4,100,000) ÷ 0.71 = Rs 4,157,746 a year. That is Rs 346,479 a month gross and Rs 46,479 tax.
Gross salary needed for common take-home amounts
Monthly figures for a full year of 12 equal salaries, no bonus, rounded to the nearest rupee.
| Take-home per month | Gross needed 2026-27 | Tax per month 2026-27 | Gross needed 2025-26 | Tax per month 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 50,000 | Rs 50,000 | Rs 0 | Rs 50,000 | Rs 0 |
| Rs 75,000 | Rs 75,253 | Rs 253 | Rs 75,253 | Rs 253 |
| Rs 100,000 | Rs 100,562 | Rs 562 | Rs 100,562 | Rs 562 |
| Rs 150,000 | Rs 156,742 | Rs 6,742 | Rs 156,742 | Rs 6,742 |
| Rs 200,000 | Rs 216,250 | Rs 16,250 | Rs 217,532 | Rs 17,532 |
| Rs 300,000 | Rs 346,479 | Rs 46,479 | Rs 356,538 | Rs 56,538 |
| Rs 500,000 | Rs 637,692 | Rs 137,692 | Rs 664,231 | Rs 164,231 |
Below Rs 2.2 million a year the 2025-26 and 2026-27 slabs are the same, so the gross needed is the same. Above that, the lower 2026-27 rates mean a smaller gross buys the same take-home.
Salaried tax slabs used for 2026-27
The calculator highlights the slab your gross salary falls in.
| # | Annual taxable income | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Up to 600,000 | 0% |
| 02 | 600,001 to 1,200,000 | 1% of the amount over 600,000 |
| 03 | 1,200,001 to 2,200,000 | Rs 6,000 + 11% of the amount over 1,200,000 |
| 04 | 2,200,001 to 3,200,000 | Rs 116,000 + 20% of the amount over 2,200,000 |
| 05 | 3,200,001 to 4,100,000 | Rs 316,000 + 25% of the amount over 3,200,000 |
| 06 | 4,100,001 to 5,600,000 | Rs 541,000 + 29% of the amount over 4,100,000 |
| 07 | 5,600,001 to 7,000,000 | Rs 976,000 + 32% of the amount over 5,600,000 |
| 08 | Above 7,000,000 | Rs 1,424,000 + 35% of the amount over 7,000,000 |
Earlier years and what changed are on the income tax slabs page.
What the take-home figure should include
Enter your salary after income tax only. Provident fund, EOBI or other payroll deductions are not income tax, so add them back first if your target is the amount that reaches your bank. The employee's share of EOBI is worked out on our EOBI contribution calculator.
The gross figure is taxable salary. Allowances that the Second Schedule exempts sit on top of it and do not change the tax.
These slabs apply where salary is more than 75% of your taxable income. If most of your income is from business or rent, other rates apply.
High salaries in 2025-26
In 2025-26 a 9% surcharge applied to the tax where taxable income passed Rs 10 million. At exactly Rs 10 million the take-home was Rs 7,319,000 a year, and one rupee more cut it to about Rs 7,077,711. For a take-home between those two amounts, two gross salaries give the same result, and the calculator shows the lower one. Finance Act 2026 removed the surcharge from tax year 2027.
Reverse salary tax questions
What gross salary gives Rs 100,000 take-home in 2026-27?
Rs 100,562 a month. At exactly Rs 100,000 gross the tax is Rs 500 a month, so the take-home falls short. The gross has to rise into the 11% slab: (1,200,000 + 6,000 − 132,000) ÷ 0.89 gives Rs 1,206,742 a year. Tax is Rs 562 a month.
Is there a simple formula for net to gross salary?
Only within one slab. Gross equals take-home plus the slab's fixed amount minus the rate times the slab start, all divided by one minus the rate. Use annual figures, then check the gross falls inside the slab you used. If it does not, move to the next slab.
Why can't I just add the tax rate to my take-home?
Because tax is a share of the gross, not of the net, and only the income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Adding 20% to Rs 200,000 gives Rs 240,000, which is Rs 23,750 a month more than the Rs 216,250 actually needed in 2026-27.
I join a job mid-year. Does that change the gross?
Yes, it can lower it. Tax is charged on the salary you earn in the tax year, so fewer months mean a smaller annual income. Rs 150,000 take-home for 6 months needs Rs 150,505 gross a month, against Rs 156,742 for a full year. Set the months employed field to match.
How much less gross do I need than last year for the same take-home?
Nothing below Rs 2.2 million a year, where the slabs did not change. Above that it is less: Rs 300,000 take-home needs Rs 346,479 gross in 2026-27 against Rs 356,538 in 2025-26, about Rs 10,060 a month less. Pick a year under Compare with to see your own figure.
Can an employer use this to gross up a net salary offer?
Yes. When a contract promises a fixed amount in hand, the employer must pay the gross that leaves that amount after the tax it deducts under section 149. The gross shown here is the taxable salary to put on the payslip. Exempt allowances and the employer's own contributions are extra.
An estimate for planning, not an FBR service. Your employer's deduction can differ if you get a bonus, arrears, taxable perks or a tax credit. Check your payslip and annual tax certificate for the final figure.
Last reviewed 1 October 2026. Results are estimates; official notices always take precedence.