Verify before relying on this. Some figures or dates here are pending confirmation against the official gazette or circular. Check the sources below, or ask us.
Why PT needs attention this year
Professional Tax is a state levy on employment. Article 276 of the Constitution caps it at ₹2,500 per person per year. The Labour Codes do not touch it, so every state keeps its own Act, slabs, deduction months and due dates. Payroll must apply the rules of the state where the employee works, not where the company is registered.
Three changes in 2026 affect payroll directly.
1. West Bengal: new schedule from 1 October 2026
West Bengal has overhauled its schedule for salary and wage earners with effect from 1 October 2026. The nil threshold doubles to ₹20,000 a month, and a new top slab of ₹208 applies above ₹1 lakh.
| Monthly salary | Up to Sep 2026 | From Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹10,000 | Nil | Nil |
| ₹10,001 – ₹15,000 | ₹110 | Nil |
| ₹15,001 – ₹20,000 | ₹130 | Nil |
| ₹20,001 – ₹25,000 | ₹130 | ₹100 |
| ₹25,001 – ₹30,000 | ₹150 | ₹100 |
| ₹30,001 – ₹40,000 | ₹150 | ₹140 |
| ₹40,001 – ₹50,000 | ₹200 | ₹140 |
| ₹50,001 – ₹1,00,000 | ₹200 | ₹170 |
| Above ₹1,00,000 | ₹200 | ₹208 |
Worked example, FY 2026-27, monthly salary ₹1,20,000. April–September at ₹200 comes to ₹1,200. October–March at ₹208 comes to ₹1,248. The total is ₹2,448, within the ₹2,500 cap. At ₹45,000 a month, the deduction falls from ₹200 to ₹140. At ₹18,000 it falls from ₹130 to nil.
Which month is "October"? The October 2026 wage month should use the new slabs. Apply the rate in force for the wage period, and keep September wages paid in early October on the old schedule. Deposit remains due by the 21st of the following month.
For self-employed professionals and traders, publishers report that the revised rates start in FY 2027-28.
Status (verify). Publishers cite the notification both as No. 756-L dated 07.08.2026 and as Finance Department No. 1407-F.T. dated 18.08.2026. We could not retrieve the official gazette text. Confirm the slabs against wbprofessiontax.gov.in before you run the October payroll.
2. Odisha: PT abolished from 1 April 2026
The Odisha State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act 2000 was repealed with effect from 1 April 2026 by Odisha Ordinance No. 02 of 2026, gazetted on 21 April 2026.
- Do not deduct PT from April 2026 wages onwards.
- If April 2026 PT was deducted before the gazette was published, refund it to employees. Where the amount was deposited, keep the refund-claim trail.
- Keep records for FY 2025-26 and earlier. Arrears and assessments for those years remain enforceable.
- Odisha LWF is unaffected.
Before the repeal, Odisha charged nil up to ₹1.6 lakh a year, ₹125 a month between ₹1.6 lakh and ₹3 lakh, and ₹200 a month above that (₹300 in March).
3. Karnataka: ₹300 in February and a ₹25,000 threshold
The Karnataka Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act 33 of 2025, effective 1 April 2025) raised the February deduction to ₹300. The annual total becomes ₹2,500 (earlier ₹2,400). The threshold stays at ₹25,000 a month, where it has been since 2023.
- Below ₹25,000: nil.
- ₹25,000 or more: ₹200 a month, and ₹300 in February.
- Deposit and statement: by the 20th of the following month (Form 5-A).
- Employer registration: within 30 days of starting to employ staff.
Some payroll tools still carry a ₹150 band for Karnataka. It no longer exists.
State table (salaried employees, as on 27 Sep 2026)
| State | Slabs (monthly unless stated) | Special month | Deposit / return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Men: nil to ₹7,500, ₹175 to ₹10,000, ₹200 above. Women: nil to ₹25,000, ₹200 above | ₹300 in Feb | Monthly if prior-year liability was ₹1 lakh or more, else annual |
| Karnataka | Nil below ₹25,000, ₹200 at or above | ₹300 in Feb | 20th of the following month |
| West Bengal (from Oct 2026) | Nil to ₹20,000, ₹100, ₹140, ₹170, then ₹208 above ₹1 lakh | — | 21st |
| Tamil Nadu (Greater Chennai) | Half-yearly income bands: ₹180 / ₹425* / ₹930 / ₹1,025 / ₹1,250 per half-year | — | Half-yearly (30 Sep, 31 Mar) |
| Kerala | Half-yearly: ₹320 to ₹1,250 per half-year (revised Oct 2024) | — | Half-yearly |
| Telangana / Andhra Pradesh | Nil to ₹15,000, ₹150 to ₹20,000, ₹200 above | — | 10th |
| Gujarat | Nil to ₹12,000, ₹200 above | — | Form 5 by the 15th |
| Madhya Pradesh | Annual-salary bands: ₹125 / ₹166 / ₹208 a month | Higher amount in the 12th month (₹174 / ₹212) | Within 10 days |
| Assam | Nil to ₹15,000, ₹180 to ₹24,999, ₹208 from ₹25,000 (revised Apr 2025) | — | By the 28th |
| Bihar | Annual: nil to ₹3 lakh, ₹1,000 / ₹2,000 / ₹2,500 | — | Annual (30 Nov) |
| Jharkhand | Annual: nil to ₹3 lakh, ₹1,200 / ₹1,800 / ₹2,100 / ₹2,500 | — | Quarterly or annual |
| Punjab (PSDT) | ₹200 a month, where taxable income is above the basic exemption | — | Monthly (15th or 30th: sources differ) |
| Odisha | Abolished from 1 Apr 2026 | — | — |
*Chennai's ₹30,001–45,000 band is ₹425 in most sources and ₹430 in one. Other Tamil Nadu local bodies may use different amounts.
No PT on salaried employees: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh (salaried exempt since 2011), Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar, and now Odisha. Goa's position is disputed. We treat it as not applicable pending confirmation from the Goa Commercial Taxes Department. Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura and Puducherry levy PT on their own schedules.
What employers should do
- To do: Load the West Bengal schedule effective for the October 2026 wage month, and keep the old schedule for arrears.
- To do: Stop Odisha PT deductions. Refund any April 2026 deductions, and close or suspend the Odisha PT registration after the final return.
- To do: Check Karnataka's February override (₹300) and the ₹25,000 threshold in your payroll engine.
- To do: Map every employee to a work-location state. Remote workers follow the state where they actually work.
- To do: Check the gender-based slabs for Maharashtra women and the half-yearly deduction months for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- To do: Hold separate employer registration and enrolment certificates in each PT state.
Effective dates at a glance
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 Apr 2025 | Karnataka February PT raised to ₹300. Assam nil threshold raised to ₹15,000 |
| 1 Apr 2026 | Odisha PT repealed (Ordinance 02 of 2026, gazetted 21 Apr 2026) |
| 1 Oct 2026 | West Bengal new salaried slabs (verify) |
General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed 27 Sep 2026.