PF, ESI & PT Calculation Software in India (2027)

Quick answer: Choose software that updates statutory rules without a support ticket, because three rules moved within a year: the EPF wage ceiling (₹15,000 to ₹25,000 from 17 September 2026), the Labour Codes' definition of wages (21 November 2025) and the form numbering for salary TDS. Zoho Payroll, Keka, greytHR and RazorpayX Payroll each document PF, ESI and PT handling. Test them on the worked cases below before you buy.

How we researched this: We read the Ministry of Labour's press release and Compliance Handbook, its FAQs on the Labour Codes, Press Information Bureau releases on the EPF ceiling, ESIC's coverage, contribution and FAQ pages, the Maharashtra and Karnataka professional-tax pages, and help or product pages from Zoho, Keka, greytHR, RazorpayX and Frappe HR. Everything was checked in October 2026 and rules can change again.

Four employees, three statutes: a calculation you can test

Every demo should start from a sheet like this. The figures below are our arithmetic using the rates the government pages and vendors publish. They are illustrations, not payroll advice, and rounding rules differ by tool.

Where each number comes from:

• PF. A Ministry of Labour document states that covered employees contribute 12% of wages and the employer matches it. The employer's 12% splits into 8.33% pension (EPS) and 3.67% EPF, per the rates shown in Keka's and Razorpay's guides. For Employee A at the new ceiling, EPS is about ₹1,833 and EPF about ₹807, against ₹1,250 and ₹550 on the old ₹15,000 base.
• ESI. ESIC's contribution page gives 0.75% for the employee and 3.25% for the employer, and its coverage page gives a ₹21,000 monthly wage limit (₹25,000 for persons with disabilities).
• Professional Tax. The Maharashtra rate schedule (as on 31 March 2025) lists, for men, nil up to ₹7,500, ₹175 a month from ₹7,500 to ₹10,000, and ₹2,500 a year above ₹10,000, paid as ₹200 a month and ₹300 in February. For women the schedule shows nil up to ₹25,000, then the same ₹2,500 a year.

Employee B is the case that catches generic tools: a gender-based threshold. Karnataka shows how local PT can be: its employer portal carries a notice that PT for February 2026 is to be deducted at ₹300 instead of ₹200, citing a 2025 notification. Check the same portal for a 2027 notice before the next February.

What changed in 2026, and how vendors responded

EPF wage ceiling. The Ministry of Labour's release of 16 September 2026 says the ceiling for mandatory coverage rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. A PIB release quoting EPFO's Imphal office says it was notified by Gazette Notification dated 17 September 2026, that employees whose contributions were restricted to ₹15,000 move to ₹25,000 or actual wages, whichever is lower, and that previously excluded employees earning up to ₹25,000 become eligible. Another PIB release cites notification S.O. 5109(E) and says the maximum employer pension contribution rises from ₹1,250 to ₹2,083 a month.

Vendors diverge on the messy part, September itself:

• RazorpayX Payroll offers three options: ₹25,000 for the full month, ₹15,000 for the full month, or ₹15,000 for 1 to 16 September and ₹25,000 for 17 to 30 September. It says ₹25,000 applies from October, and that the full September contribution still goes in the September ECR.
• greytHR's admin article calls proration "an open, unsettled question industry-wide" and tells admins to reassess employees earning between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000, check EPS eligibility separately, and reflect the change in ECR filings.
• Zoho Payroll's statutory-components help now says EPF is mandatory for employees earning less than ₹25,000 (revised from ₹15,000, effective 17 September 2026) and lets you restrict the employer contribution to ₹25,000. The same page still shows a maximum EDLI contribution of ₹75, which is 0.5% of the old ceiling; Razorpay's guide puts EDLI at the new ceiling at ₹125. Ask any vendor whether the EDLI base moved too.

Wages under the Labour Codes. The Ministry's FAQs say the revised definition of wages applies from 21 November 2025. Where allowances exceed half of total remuneration, the excess is added back. Overtime allowance counts in that test; annual performance incentives are not part of wages; employer PF and pension contributions and statutory bonus count towards remuneration, while gratuity and ESI do not. Zoho's help page notes that wages must be at least 50% of total remuneration and lets you mark how each earning is treated for wages. Review any salary structure with a very low basic.

What each tool says it automates

For small teams, Kredily lists PF, ESI, PT and TDS calculation even on its free plan; see our free payroll software guide. For manufacturing, read our top payroll software for manufacturing.

Other names on the shortlist include factoHR, Pocket HRMS and, for large groups, Darwinbox, whose payroll page names TDS, ECIS and PF ECR arrears reports; our Darwinbox vs Workday guide compares enterprise options, and Keka vs greytHR compares two mid-market ones.

Deposits and returns: dates your software should remember

Calculation is half the job; the other half is paying on time. The published consequences are specific. ESIC's FAQ says contributions are payable within 15 days of the last day of the calendar month, and that delay attracts simple interest at 12% per annum for each day. It also says a covered establishment must register within 15 days of the Act applying to it. The Income Tax Department's guidance says TDS deducted in March 2026 was due by 30 April 2026, and that late deposit attracts interest at 1.5% per month from the date of deduction to the date of payment.

For salaries, the quarterly statement is Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q), due 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. For PF, RazorpayX's guide says the full September 2026 contribution goes in the September ECR even if you adjust an employee's extra deduction in the next cycle. Ask each vendor to show a compliance calendar with reminders and a challan for every statute, and read our guide to Form 16 and 24Q payroll software for the year-end side.

Gratuity, bonus and VPF: where vendor pages lag the law

The Ministry's Compliance Handbook gives the Code on Social Security position: gratuity is payable after at least five years of continuous service, and to a fixed-term employee on completion of one year; the rate is 15 days' wages for each completed year, subject to the maximum notified by the Central Government; and payment is due within 30 days of becoming payable. Its FAQs add that gratuity follows the revised definition of wages from 21 November 2025, using the wages last drawn when the employee leaves.

Vendor calculators still lean on the older rule. Zoho's gratuity page uses (last drawn Basic plus DA) divided by 26, times 15, times years, and says Zoho Payroll calculates gratuity automatically at termination for employees with five or more years. Keka's calculator cites five years and the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and does not mention fixed-term staff. If you hire on fixed-term contracts, ask how the tool handles a one-year eligibility case.

On bonus, the Handbook says bonus is payable to employees drawing wages up to the limit the appropriate government sets who have worked at least 30 days in the accounting year, at a minimum of 8.33% and a maximum of 20% of wages. Zoho's settings let you pick monthly or yearly payment and a percentage between 8.33% and 20%, and note payment within eight months of the accounting year end. For the wider exit workflow, see our guide to full and final settlement with payroll.

Tracking VPF without breaking the ECR

Voluntary provident fund is the contribution an employee chooses to make above the statutory 12%. Zoho Payroll's help describes the set-up: mark Voluntary Provident Fund active under Settings, Salary Components, Benefits; add it to an employee as a percentage of Basic or a fixed monthly amount; and set an expiry. Frappe HR says its EPF handling supports voluntary top-ups as a fixed amount or a percentage. Zoho's page does not explain how VPF appears on payslips or in reports.

Before you buy, ask the vendor to show three things: where VPF appears on the payslip, whether it flows into the ECR correctly, and how a mid-year change or stop is recorded. It is a small line item that creates large reconciliation problems when it is wrong.

A test script for your demo

1. Run Employee A both ways: capped at ₹15,000 and at actual wage up to ₹25,000.
2. Push Employee C above ₹21,000 mid-year and see what the tool does with ESI. ESIC's FAQ says an employee whose wages cross the limit after a contribution period begins stays covered until that period ends.
3. Add overtime. ESIC's FAQ says overtime is excluded when testing the wage limit but included when contributions are computed.
4. Run February for a Maharashtra male employee and expect ₹300.
5. Add a fixed-term employee at the one-year mark and request the gratuity.
6. Ask for the ECR file and the ESI return for the same month.

Who should use which route

A 15-person Pune services firm with one state and simple pay can use a lightweight tool such as Kredily or Zoho Payroll, since monthly volumes are small. A 150-person Bengaluru and Hyderabad firm needs multi-state PT and clean exits, so shortlist Zoho, Keka and greytHR. A 600-person contract-heavy plant needs wage-code and overtime logic; start with our factory payroll guide and compare options in the payroll software category. Our guide to automating PF, ESI and PT compliance covers the monthly routine, and how to automate payroll in a small company covers the rollout.

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