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CTCPlanner

Provident fund (EPF) calculator

The Employees' Provident Fund takes 12% of your basic salary from you and 12% from your employer every month, growing at a government-declared rate. This page explains the math; the calculator and retirement planner do it for your numbers.

Project my EPF corpus

What it means

EPF is a statutory retirement scheme under the EPF & MP Act, 1952. Contributions are a percentage of basic salary (plus DA where applicable); interest is credited annually at the EPFO-declared rate (8.25% currently).

The formula

Monthly EPF = 12% × Basic (employee) + 12% × Basic (employer)

Both sides contribute 12% of basic. The employee's share reduces in-hand pay but also counts toward the ₹1.5L Section 80C limit in the old regime. A part of the employer share funds EPS (pension) for eligible wages.

Worked example

  • Basic ₹8,00,000/year → employee PF ₹96,000/year (₹8,000/month).
  • Employer adds another ₹96,000/year.
  • At 8.25% with salary growth, this alone compounds into a multi-crore corpus over a 30-year career — see the retirement planner.

How to use it

  1. 1Find your basic. On a standard structure, basic is about 40% of CTC.
  2. 2Apply 12% twice. Once for your contribution, once for your employer's.
  3. 3Project the corpus. Use the retirement planner to compound both sides with salary growth and the current EPF rate.

Frequently asked questions

Is employee PF part of the 80C limit?

Yes. Your own 12% counts toward the ₹1,50,000 Section 80C cap in the old regime, which is why PF often leaves limited 80C headroom for PPF or ELSS.

Does employer PF reduce my in-hand salary?

Not from gross — it is part of CTC that never reaches gross pay. Your own 12% is what reduces monthly in-hand.

What interest rate does EPF pay?

The EPFO declares the rate yearly; it is 8.25% currently. Our retirement projections use the configured rate and state it alongside every result.

Related tools & guides

Calculations on this site are based on official government provisions and should be verified against the latest government publications (incometax.gov.in).