EPF Wage Ceiling Calculator
₹15,000 → ₹25,000Work out EPF/EPS contributions under the revised ₹25,000 wage ceiling — including the 17 September 2026 transition month — check whether an employee is newly covered, and estimate the bulk cost impact for your organisation.
Neither approach is prescribed by the Gazette notification, which is silent on September's contribution mechanics. Both are shown so you can apply whichever your payroll policy follows — see the disclaimer below the results.
By default, Pension (EPS) stays capped at the ceiling even when the PF wage basis is “on actual” — this is the standard rule. Set a Pension basis to “on actual” only for an employee with a valid, already-exercised higher-pension option.
Contribution wage basis
₹17,333
Pro-rated: blends 16 day(s) at the ₹15,000 ceiling with 14 day(s) at the ₹25,000 ceiling. The other approach (not pro-rated) would give a contribution wage of ₹20,000.
Supporting documents
Old ceiling vs new ceiling — full month, capped basis
For educational and internal planning purposes only; this is not legal advice. Verify figures against the final Gazette notification, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and applicable EPF/EPS Schemes before acting.
What changed
The Union Cabinet approved raising the EPF wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month, and the Ministry of Labour & Employment formally notified it via S.O. 5109(E), dated 17 September 2026, under Section 2(89) of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The notification took effect from its date of publication in the Official Gazette — 17 September 2026 — and superseded an earlier notification, S.O. 2702(E) dated 29 May 2026.
This is the ceiling used for mandatory coverage and the statutory minimum contribution base under Chapter III (Employees' Provident Fund) of the Code — it had remained unchanged since September 2014, when it was last raised from ₹6,500.
How the contribution is calculated
The ceiling caps the wage figure used for the statutory minimum contribution — it doesn't change the contribution rates themselves, which stay at 12% for both employee and employer.
An employee already earning above the ceiling still contributes on their actual wages if their employer already uses actual wages as the base (common under Para 26(6) of the EPF Scheme) — the ceiling only sets the statutory minimum, not a hard cap on every arrangement.
The September 2026 transition month
Because the new ceiling took effect mid-month, September 2026 straddles both the old ₹15,000 ceiling (1–16 September) and the new ₹25,000 ceiling (17–30 September). The Gazette notification itself is silent on how to calculate contributions for this broken period.
This tool gives you two approaches to choose from — a day-based pro-rated blend of the two ceilings, or simply applying the new ceiling to the whole month — so you can match whichever your organisation's payroll policy adopts. Neither is presented as an EPFO-mandated formula; check for a follow-up EPFO circular specifically addressing this transition before finalising September payroll.
Who's newly covered
Employees earning up to ₹15,000 were already within mandatory coverage before this change. Employees in the new ₹15,001–₹25,000 band may now fall within mandatory coverage, though whether a specific employee who was never enrolled needs fresh enrolment — versus remaining an excluded employee because their wages exceeded the ceiling in force when they joined — is a case-specific question. Use the Coverage Checker tab as a starting point, and confirm edge cases against EPFO guidance.
Frequently asked questions
17 September 2026 — the date the Gazette notification (S.O. 5109(E)) was published. The notification states the ceiling applies from the date of publication, with no retrospective effect.