ESI calculator: both shares, instantly
Enter gross monthly wages and see the 0.75% employee and 3.25% employer contribution, with the ₹21,000 eligibility ceiling applied the way ESIC actually applies it.
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The contribution
Rates as re-verified July 2026: 0.75% + 3.25%, ceiling ₹21,000, deposits due by the 15th. Coverage runs by contribution period (April–September, October–March): once covered at a period's start, contributions continue through it even if wages later cross the ceiling. Rates per ESIC.
How ESI contributions work
Employees earning gross wages up to ₹21,000 a month are covered: 0.75% deducts from the employee and the employer adds 3.25%, making 4% total on gross, which for ESI means essentially everything paid regularly, allowances included. Two rules trip up manual calculations. First, the base is gross, not basic: the opposite of PF. Second, coverage is decided at the start of each contribution period and holds through it: a raise past ₹21,000 in July keeps contributions running (on the full higher wage) until September, and only the next period exits the employee. In exchange, covered employees get ESIC medical care for themselves and dependants, sickness benefit, 26 weeks of ESIC-paid maternity benefit, and disablement cover.
A worked example
Gross ₹18,000: the employee contributes ₹135 (0.75%), the employer ₹585 (3.25%), so ₹720 a month total. Add ₹2,400 of overtime in a festival month: contributions compute on ₹20,400 that month (₹153 + ₹663), but the overtime does not count toward the exit test: the employee stays covered. Now a raise to ₹23,000 in July: contributions continue on ₹23,000 (₹173 + ₹748) through September, then stop from October. The wrong-but-common move (stopping in July) leaves three months under-remitted on the employer.
Figures are illustrative, for mechanism only; verify current rates before relying on any number.
Running payroll? The ceiling test, the period rule and the monthly files are what PeopleDeck's PF & ESI compliance handles on every run.
Frequently asked questions
Who is covered by ESI?
Employees earning gross wages up to ₹21,000 a month (₹25,000 for persons with disability) in registered establishments within ESI-implemented areas. Coverage starts from day one of employment; there is no waiting period.
Is ESI calculated on basic or gross salary?
On gross — basic, DA, HRA and regularly paid allowances all enter the base, which is the opposite of PF's basic+DA convention and the most common manual-calculation error.
What happens if my salary crosses ₹21,000 mid-year?
Coverage continues to the end of the running contribution period (April–September or October–March), with contributions on the full higher wage; you exit only from the next period. Deductions stopping the month of a raise is an employer error, not a benefit.
Does overtime affect ESI?
Overtime attracts contributions when paid but does not count toward the ₹21,000 coverage test, a heavy-overtime month never pushes you out of coverage.
What do I get for the contribution?
ESIC medical care for you and dependants, sickness benefit around 70% of wages, 26 weeks of maternity benefit paid by ESIC, and disablement and dependants' cover — substantial insurance for 0.75% of wages.
ESI right through every period.
Applied on every payslip, files generated by the 15th. PeopleDeck, per employee.
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