Key points
- A payslip has four blocks: header details, attendance, earnings and deductions, ending with net pay.
- Show statutory identifiers — UAN for PF and the ESI (IP) number — where they apply.
- List PF, ESI, Professional Tax and TDS as separate deduction lines.
- State net pay in figures and in words.
Why the salary slip format matters
A salary slip (payslip) is the employee's monthly record of what they earned, what was deducted and what reached their bank account. Labour laws require employers to issue wage slips, and the applicable rules prescribe the particulars. Employees also rely on payslips for home and vehicle loans, credit cards, visa applications, rental agreements and income-tax filing — so a clear, consistent format saves HR a steady stream of queries.
What a salary slip must show
1. Employer and employee details
- Company name, address and logo
- Employee name, employee code, designation, department and date of joining
- PAN (often partly masked), bank name and account number (masked)
- UAN (Universal Account Number) for PF members and ESI IP number for ESI-covered employees
- Pay period — the month, or the cycle dates if you run a 26th-to-25th or other custom cycle
2. Attendance summary
- Days in the pay period, paid days and loss-of-pay (LOP) days
- Optionally leave taken, weekly offs, holidays and overtime hours
Paid days are what connect attendance to pay. If an employee has LOP, earnings are usually prorated as: monthly amount × paid days ÷ days in the period.
3. Earnings
| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | The core fixed pay; PF is calculated on basic (plus DA). |
| Dearness allowance (DA) | Cost-of-living component, common in some sectors; counts for PF. |
| House rent allowance (HRA) | Towards rent; may be partly tax-exempt under the old regime. |
| Conveyance allowance | Towards commuting costs. |
| Special / other allowances | The balancing component that makes up the agreed CTC. |
| Overtime (OT) | Pay for hours worked beyond the normal schedule, from attendance records. |
| Bonus / incentives / arrears | Variable or one-time payments in the month. |
The total of all earnings is the gross salary for the month.
4. Deductions
| Deduction | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Provident Fund (PF) | Employee share, usually 12% of basic + DA (see the PF ECR guide). |
| ESI | 0.75% of gross wages for employees earning up to ₹21,000 a month (see the ESI calculation guide). |
| Professional Tax (PT) | State-specific slab, e.g. Karnataka PT. |
| TDS (income tax) | Monthly share of the employee's estimated annual tax (see the TDS on salary guide). |
| Advances / loans | Recovery instalments agreed with the employee. |
| Other recoveries | Canteen, fines or other deductions permitted by law and policy. |
Employer contributions to PF and ESI are not deducted from the employee, so they normally do not appear in the deductions column. Some employers show them separately as "employer contributions" for CTC transparency.
5. Net pay
Net pay = gross earnings − total deductions. Show it in figures and in words, along with the payment mode or date.
Sample salary slip
The payslip below uses dummy data for illustration only. It shows an ESI-covered employee in Karnataka earning below the PT threshold.
Bengaluru, Karnataka · Payslip for September 2026
| Employee | Sample Employee | Employee code | EMP-0000 |
| Designation | Store Associate | Date of joining | 01-04-2025 |
| UAN | 1000 0000 0000 | ESI IP no. | 00-0000-0000 |
| Days in month | 30 | Paid days / LOP | 30 / 0 |
| Earnings | Amount (₹) | Deductions | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 10,000 | PF (12% of basic) | 1,200 |
| HRA | 4,000 | ESI (0.75% of 19,200) | 144 |
| Conveyance allowance | 1,600 | Professional Tax | 0 |
| Special allowance | 2,400 | TDS | 0 |
| Overtime (8 hrs) | 1,200 | Salary advance recovery | 500 |
| Gross earnings | 19,200 | Total deductions | 1,844 |
Rupees Seventeen Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-Six Only · Paid by bank transfer
Notice how the numbers tie together: PF is 12% of basic (₹10,000), ESI is 0.75% of gross including overtime (₹19,200), and PT is nil because monthly salary is below Karnataka's ₹25,000 threshold. Gross ₹19,200 − deductions ₹1,844 = net ₹17,356.
Handling loss of pay on the payslip
Suppose the same employee had 2 LOP days in a 30-day month. Paid days become 28, and each fixed earning is prorated: basic ₹10,000 × 28 ÷ 30 = ₹9,333, HRA ₹4,000 × 28 ÷ 30 = ₹3,733, and so on. PF and ESI are then calculated on the reduced amounts, not on the full monthly salary. The payslip should show both the days in the month and the paid days so the employee can see exactly why the figure changed. Whether LOP is calculated on calendar days, a fixed 26-day or 30-day month, or working days depends on your salary policy — pick one method, write it down and apply it consistently.
If you run a custom pay cycle — for example, the 26th of one month to the 25th of the next — print the cycle dates on the payslip rather than just the month name, so there is no confusion about which attendance the salary covers.
15 payslip templates, delivered automatically
AiroHR generates branded payslips from every payroll run — pick from 15 templates — and sends them to employees on email and WhatsApp the moment payroll is locked. Employees can download past payslips any time from the employee portal or Android app.
Payroll software Start free trialPayslip best practices
- Keep the format consistent month to month so employees can compare slips easily.
- Mask sensitive data — show only the last few digits of bank account and PAN.
- Match the payroll register. The payslip, bank transfer file and statutory returns should all come from the same locked payroll.
- Explain one-off items such as arrears or recoveries with a short note.
- Deliver as PDF and retain copies for your records.
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PF & ESI software See pricingThis article is general guidance, not legal or tax advice. Payslip particulars prescribed by law can differ by state and establishment type — confirm what applies to you. Last reviewed: 25 September 2026.