Why Your Salary Is Lower This Month — citizen guide 2026

You earned the same and worked the same days, so why is the credit a few thousand rupees short? Before you panic or fire off an angry email to HR, know this: in most cases your gross salary did not change, your deductions did. And every rupee is usually traceable on your payslip. This guide decodes every line, for private and government employees, so you can find exactly where the money went in ten minutes.

You read the bottom line, see a smaller number, and your stomach drops. But the bottom line hides the story. The honest answer is almost never “the company underpaid you”. It is “one deduction moved”. Let us find it.

Short on time? Jump to the error-detection checklist.

• Gross salary is everything you earn: Basic, DA, HRA and allowances.
• Deductions are what is taken out: tax, retirement, statutory levies and loans.
• Net salary, your take-home, is Gross minus Deductions. This is what hits your bank.

When take-home drops, gross usually stayed the same and a deduction rose. Find the changed line.

1. TDS jumped. This is number one. Early in the financial year, or after you fail to submit investment proofs, the employer deducts more tax. A tax-regime switch between old and new also changes the figure.
2. An advance or loan recovery started. A festival or salary advance you took is now being recovered in instalments.
3. Unpaid leave (LOP). Even one day beyond your leave balance is docked from gross.
4. Professional tax timing. Some states deduct a bigger slice in one month, often February.
5. A DA or Basic revision changed PF or NPS. A pay hike can raise these deductions and briefly lower take-home before arrears land.
6. A one-time recovery. An excess payment from an earlier month is being clawed back.

Here gross did not move. TDS rose by ₹3,700 because the investment declaration lapsed. The fix: submit proofs to HR. Excess TDS is adjusted later in the year or refunded when you file your return.

Government slips carry NPS, CGHS and GIS that private slips do not. A sudden change here is usually a DA hike, a promotion slab change, or a GPF or advance recovery. Figures are illustrative; check your own pay level and the latest DA notification.

Put both payslips side by side and tick through:

• Is gross the same as last month? If it dropped, look for LOP or a removed allowance.
• Did TDS change? This is the most common cause, so check your declaration and regime.
• Any new line, such as a loan EMI, advance recovery or society dues?
• Did EPF or NPS change? That usually means Basic or DA changed.
• Is professional tax a month-specific bigger cut?
• Any “recovery” or “arrear adjustment” line?
• Do the components add up: gross minus total deductions equals net?
• Are the leave days correct against what you actually took?

If everything reconciles, it is a deduction change, not an error. If a number does not add up, or a deduction is unexplained, raise it with HR.

Your TDS depends heavily on whether you are on the old or new tax regime. For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) the new regime is the default, with a basic exemption of ₹4 lakh and a ₹75,000 standard deduction. Thanks to the enhanced Section 87A rebate, income up to ₹12 lakh (and up to ₹12.75 lakh after the standard deduction) carries zero tax for a resident salaried individual. A regime switch alone can swing your monthly TDS by thousands. Confirm the current slabs against the latest Finance Act before assuming an error.

1. Do not accuse, ask. Most “errors” turn out to be explainable.
2. Reference the exact line and amount, comparing both months.
3. Ask for the calculation basis, such as the TDS computation or the leave ledger.
4. Give a reasonable deadline and ask for a written reply.

To: HR / Payroll
Subject: Clarification on salary deduction for [Month Year], Emp ID [XXXX]

Hi [Name],
My take-home for [month] is Rs [amount], which is Rs [difference] lower
than [previous month]. On comparing both payslips, the change appears
in the "[exact line, e.g. TDS / LOP / Recovery]" line, which moved from
Rs [old] to Rs [new].

Could you please share:
1. The basis of this deduction (calculation, leave ledger or regime).
2. Whether it is a one-time or a recurring change.
3. If it is a TDS change, my latest declaration status.

I would appreciate a written reply by [date]. Thank you.

[Name / Employee ID / Department]

Yes, if you are a government employee or work for a public-sector undertaking. You can file a Section 6(1) RTI with your own department or PSU asking for your pay-fixation statement, the basis of a specific deduction, your GPF or NPS ledger, or a recovery order. This is one of the most effective uses of RTI for employees, because the office must give a dated, signed answer in 30 days. Draft it with the AI RTI Drafter and track the deadline with the Timeline Tracker. Private-sector employees cannot use RTI against their employer, so raise it through HR; if salary or PF is being withheld, read how to complain to the Labour Department.

• Open this month's and last month's payslips side by side.
• Run the error-detection checklist above and circle the changed line.
• If it is TDS, check your investment declaration and tax regime.
• If it is a new recovery or EMI line, find the underlying advance or loan.
• If a number genuinely does not add up, send the HR email above with a deadline.

Because CTC and take-home are different. Your gross can be unchanged while a deduction rose, most often TDS, a new loan or advance recovery, or an unpaid-leave adjustment. Compare this month's payslip to last month's line by line; the changed deduction is your answer.

Common triggers are a new financial year, failing to submit investment proofs, a switch between old and new tax regimes, or the employer back-loading TDS in later months to meet the annual liability. Submit your declaration to HR; any excess TDS is adjusted later or refunded when you file your income-tax return.

Government slips usually include NPS (pension), CGHS (central-government health scheme) and GIS or CGEGIS (group insurance), plus GPF and any pay-advance recovery. Private slips mainly show EPF, professional tax, TDS and loan EMIs. A change in NPS or GIS usually follows a DA hike or a promotion.

Professional tax is a state levy on employment, capped at ₹2,500 a year under Article 276 of the Constitution. Many states collect it unevenly, with a larger cut in one month, often February, and smaller amounts otherwise. So a one-month spike in professional tax is usually normal, not an error.

No. Gross is everything you earn before deductions. Take-home, or net, is what reaches your bank after TDS, EPF or NPS, professional tax, insurance and any loan recovery. Take-home is always lower than gross, and it is the figure that changes when a deduction moves.

First confirm it is actually wrong using the checklist. Then email HR or payroll citing the exact line, both months' figures, and ask for the calculation basis with a deadline. Government employees can additionally file an RTI for the pay-fixation or recovery order. Keep all replies in writing.

Yes, an employer can recover a genuine excess payment, but it should inform you and recover it reasonably, usually in instalments, not in one shock deduction. Ask for the recovery basis in writing. Government employees can RTI the recovery order; private employees should check their appointment terms and raise it with HR.

That is a different problem. The money may be on hold or unsettled rather than deducted. Read salary credited but balance not updated to check available vs ledger balance and trace the hold.

• Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 192 (TDS on salary); current-year slabs per the latest Finance Act.
• Income Tax Department — new-regime slabs and Section 87A rebate for FY 2025-26.
• Employees' Provident Funds Act, 1952 — provident fund contribution.
• PFRDA — National Pension System.
• Constitution of India, Article 276 — professional tax cap of ₹2,500 a year.

• Salary credited but balance not updated: what to do
• Can a bank deduct your entire salary for an EMI?
• Complain to the Labour Department about salary or PF
• Check your PF balance and claim withdrawal
• TAN and TDS deduction basics
• AI RTI Drafter for pay-record RTIs
• The RTI Playbook for the full citizen guide, drafting to second appeal.