What CTC Means
CTC, or cost to company, is everything your employer spends to employ you. Besides the salary you are paid each month, it usually includes:
- Employer PF: 12% of your basic salary, paid into your EPF and pension accounts, not to you.
- Employer ESI: 3.25% of gross, if your gross salary is ₹21,000 a month or less.
- Gratuity: often 4.81% of basic, paid only if you stay five years.
- Variable pay, insurance and benefits that are not part of your monthly credit.
Your in-hand salary (take-home) is what is left of your monthly gross after your own PF, ESI, professional tax and income tax. Our CTC vs in-hand guide breaks down every line.
Is CTC Monthly or Yearly?
Normally yearly. Offer letters and job posts quote CTC per annum, in lakhs per annum (LPA): ₹6 LPA means ₹6,00,000 a year. Some employers, mostly for entry-level, BPO, retail and contract roles, quote a monthly CTC such as "15k CTC" or "25k CTC" instead.
Monthly CTC to In-Hand: ₹15k to ₹50k
The table assumes a typical structure: basic is 50% of gross, employer PF is inside your CTC, ESI applies while gross is ₹21,000 or less, professional tax is ₹200 and no income tax (all these salaries are well under the ₹12 lakh new-regime limit). Gratuity is assumed to be outside CTC, as it often is at this level.
| Monthly CTC | Per year | Gross salary | Your PF / ESI | In-hand (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹15,000/month | ₹1.8 LPA | ₹13,730 | ₹824 + ESI ₹103 | ₹12,600 |
| ₹17,000/month | ₹2.04 LPA | ₹15,561 | ₹934 + ESI ₹117 | ₹14,300 |
| ₹18,000/month | ₹2.16 LPA | ₹16,476 | ₹989 + ESI ₹124 | ₹15,200 |
| ₹19,000/month | ₹2.28 LPA | ₹17,391 | ₹1,043 + ESI ₹130 | ₹16,000 |
| ₹20,000/month | ₹2.4 LPA | ₹18,307 | ₹1,098 + ESI ₹137 | ₹16,900 |
| ₹22,000/month | ₹2.64 LPA | ₹20,137 | ₹1,208 + ESI ₹151 | ₹18,600 |
| ₹23,000/month | ₹2.76 LPA | ₹21,698 | ₹1,302 | ₹20,200 |
| ₹25,000/month | ₹3 LPA | ₹23,585 | ₹1,415 | ₹22,000 |
| ₹26,000/month | ₹3.12 LPA | ₹24,528 | ₹1,472 | ₹22,900 |
| ₹30,000/month | ₹3.6 LPA | ₹28,302 | ₹1,698 | ₹26,400 |
| ₹35,000/month | ₹4.2 LPA | ₹33,019 | ₹1,981 | ₹30,800 |
| ₹40,000/month | ₹4.8 LPA | ₹37,736 | ₹2,264 | ₹35,300 |
| ₹50,000/month | ₹6 LPA | ₹47,170 | ₹2,830 | ₹44,100 |
Two things cause the jump around ₹22,000–23,000 CTC. Once your gross crosses ₹21,000, ESI stops: you no longer pay 0.75% and the employer no longer spends 3.25%, so more of the CTC becomes gross salary. Below that, ESI gives you medical cover in return.
Your basic may not be 50%, or your employer may pay PF on top of CTC. Enter your annual CTC in the CTC → In-Hand Calculator, or any figure in the custom salary calculator.
What "20 CTC" Means
Context decides. In job posts, interviews and on LinkedIn, "20 CTC" means ₹20 lakh per annum, roughly ₹1.42 lakh a month in hand under the new regime; see the full 20 LPA breakdown. In a monthly-pay job, "20k CTC" means ₹20,000 a month, which is ₹2.4 LPA and about ₹16,900 in hand. If a recruiter's figure is unclear, ask: "Is that per annum or per month, and does it include PF and variable pay?"
Working Back From In-Hand to CTC
If you know the take-home you need, add back roughly 12–13% for PF on both sides plus ₹200 of professional tax. For a ₹25,000 in-hand target, that is a CTC of about ₹28,000–29,000 a month, or ₹3.4–3.5 LPA. At higher salaries income tax also comes in, so use the CTC calculator rather than a rule of thumb.
Figures are illustrative and rounded to the nearest ₹100. PF follows the ₹25,000 EPF wage ceiling (from 17 September 2026); ESI applies to gross pay up to ₹21,000 a month; professional tax varies by state.