Understanding PF Deductions: Why Are Salaries Above 6500 Still Affected?

Hello all,

I wanted to know why, even though the PF ceiling is 6500, there are still people having salaries higher than 6500 who are subject to PF deductions.

Can you explain why this is the case? What is the percentage of the employee and employer share, and how is this calculated?

Thank you.

Hi Chuggani,

Though the PF ceiling limit is 6500.00, those people who have a basic salary higher than 6500.00 are eligible for PF deduction. You can deduct 12% of their actual basic salary for PF or consider their basic as 6500.00 for PF deduction. Deduction of PF is mandatory by law if you have more than 20 employees on the payroll.

Moreover, 12% is deducted from the employee's salary, which directly contributes to the PF, and 12% is contributed by the employer. Out of the employer's share, 8.33% goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme, and 3.67% is again deposited into the employees' PF account.

I believe the above explanation addresses both of your queries.

Thanks,
Amit

Hi Amit,

I have some doubts about the Rs 6500 limit that you mentioned in your post. Please clarify if an employee crosses Rs 6500 in basic salary, whether the calculation is based on their actual basic salary or only Rs 6500. As per my understanding, an employee will have the option to choose PF if their basic salary exceeds Rs 6500.

Kindly correct and clarify this for me.

Regards,
Amith R.

Dear Amit,

You are right. It's the employees' choice whether they opt for the 6500.00 or the actual basic. However, in some organizations, it is the management policy to curtail the liability expenses, so those who have crossed the limit of 6500.00 basic will be considered as basic 6500.00 for PF deduction. This was a practice followed in my first organization where I worked for almost 5 years.

I hope your doubt is clear.

Thanks,
Amit

Dear all,

If any employee's basic salary is greater than 6500, you mentioned that there is an option not to deduct over 6500. However, in the salary sheet, how do we differentiate between employees with salaries less than 6500 and those greater than 6500? If there is an audit by the PF department, employees might question why some are covered by PF while others are not.

Please guide us on whether we should deduct PF for employees with a basic salary exceeding 6500 and how to reflect this on the salary sheet.

Kindly email me regarding this matter at my ID: rajnish_sapra2005@yahoo.com.

Regards,
Rajnish Sapra

Hi Amit,

Thank you for your explanation. I now understand, but I also wanted to know what is the use of the PF ceiling of 6500? Is 6500 considered as gross or basic?

If an employee has a basic salary of 16000 and his basic is 5600, will PF be deducted or not?

Thank you.

Dear Gaurav
If employee basic salary is more than 6500/- and that specific employee is not earlier the member of provident fund, under such circumstances if employees not desire to become the member of provident fund than he may be treated as “Excluded Employee u/s 2.1.3. Of EPF & MP Act 1952(Para 2 (f) of E.P. Scheme.
But before that you can fill up declaration from those specific employees who are not desire to become the member of P.F.
Regards,
Dipak

Dear All,

I would like to bring to your notice that the PF limit is Rs. 6,500. So, the employer is bound to pay their contribution on Rs. 6,500 only. If the employer pays more than that, it is treated as follows:

Example:
Basic = 10,000
Employee 12% = Rs. 1,200
Employer 12% = Rs. 1,200

The contribution will go into the Pension Account with only 8.33% of Rs. 6,500, i.e., Rs. 541; the rest will go into EPF, i.e., Rs. 1,859.

I hope this clears all your queries.

Regards,
Jitender

Hi All,

Provident fund is a type of employee benefit that involves contributions from both employers and employees. It is a common practice in many companies to deduct the PF from the employee's salary and include it in the CTC as an added advantage, with the employer also contributing 12%.

The salary ceiling is Rs. 6500/-, meaning that deductions are compulsory for salaries less than Rs. 6500.

Regards,
Pradnya

Dear Amit,

Thank you very much. I will definitely keep in touch with you.

Dear Friends,

I would like to know if an employee quits within six months and wants to apply for PF, should they fill out both Form 10c and Form 19 or only Form 10c? In my opinion, only Form 10c should be submitted. Can you clarify this for me?

Regards,
Amith R.

Hi Amit,

If the service is less than 6 months, the pension fund is non-refundable. Therefore, we only need to fill out form 10C.

Regards,
Jitender

Dear Jitendra,

Thanks a lot for the information.

Dear Dhameja,

The point to be clarified is that if any employee quits his/her organization, then he/she will only have to fill up Form 10c when it comes to the withdrawal of PF. At such times, the resigned employee will only be getting 15.67% of PF, i.e., 12% of the employee's PF fund and 3.67% of the employer's PF fund, and will not be getting the remaining 8.33% of the pension fund. So Form 19 is not required to be submitted since it is related to the pension fund. I hope it is clear now.

Regards,
Amith R.

Dear All,

One of our CiteHR members has started a discussion on statutory issues and has brought up the topic of PF. There were many different views shared on this topic. For any clarifications, please refer to the link provided below in CiteHR only.

(The link is no longer available)

Thanks,
Amit Shah

Hi,

I have created a small tool for easy PF calculation and filing. I hope you will like it too. If you have any further modifications, please let me know.

Regards,
Prasad

Dear Friend,

Yes, there is a ceiling limit of 6500 on the basic salary. According to my knowledge, if the employee's basic salary is Rs. 16,000, then the contributions are as follows:

- Employee contribution is 16,000 * 12% = Rs. 1,920.00
- The Employer contribution (12%) is divided into 2 parts:
- 8.33% of basic salary (8.33% * 16,000 = Rs. 1,332) goes to the Pension Fund.
- 3.67% of 6500 (Rs. 238) goes to the P.F.

I'M ALSO VERY CONFUSED ABOUT THIS. IF I'M WRONG, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Regards, K. Ravi Kumar
E-mail: kasinaravikumar@gmail.com
Ph: 09989111149

Hi All,

Let me just write stepwise to clear the doubts.

Rule for deduction of PF: An employee with a basic salary less than 6500/- and working for a company with more than 20 employees must have PF deductions. The Employee Contribution is 12%, and the Employer contribution is 13.61% (8.33% for the pension fund, 3.67% goes to PF, and 1.61% for admin charges) from the basic salary.

An employee with a basic salary more than 6500 has the option to opt for or opt out of PF. If the employee chooses PF deduction, it can be calculated on the basic salary of 6500 as fixed or can be calculated based on the total basic salary, subject to the company policy.

Hi all,

Let me write step by step to clear the doubts.

Rule for deduction of PF: An employee with a basic salary less than 6500/- and working in a company with more than 20 employees has to have PF deduction. The PF employee contribution is 12%, and the employer contribution is 13.61% (8.33% for the pension fund, 3.67% for PF, and 1.61% as admin charge) from the basic salary.

An employee with a basic salary of more than 6500 has the option to opt for or opt out of PF. If the employee opts for PF deduction, it can be calculated on a basic salary of 6500 as fixed or can be calculated based on the total basic salary the employee has, subject to the company's policy.

I hope this clarifies.

Regards,
Abhishek Singh

PF contribution is 12% from both the employer and the employee. However, for ESI, the employee should contribute 1.75%, and the employer should contribute 4.75%.

Regards,
Anand.G

Hi all,

Actually, when I read my previous reply, it looked a little confusing. So, I am presenting it in a simpler way:

PF CONTRIBUTION
- From Employee: 12%
- From Employer: 12%

ESI CONTRIBUTION
- From Employee: 1.75%
- From Employer: 4.75%

Regards,
Anand.G

PF ceiling is 6500/-, but PF may be deducted above 6500/- of basic + DA.

Employee's contribution:
- EPF (Employee Provident Fund): 12%
- EPF Pension Contribution: 8.33%

Employer's contribution:
- EPF: 3.67%
- Pension: 8%

Hi Folks,

In PF, we have the option for ceiling PF at 6500/-, allowing employees to benefit from a higher net take-home salary. If the gross salary is 16,000/- and the basic is 5,600/-, then 12% would be deducted on the basic. For others whose basic is 6500 or more, in that case, 12% on 6500 will be deducted.

Hope the problem is clear. Kindly email if the idea is still not clear at [Login to view].

Regards,
Sonal Mahajan

Employer's cont is divided into two parts as 8.33% of monthly basic salary goes to employee pension scheme subject to maximum 541/- per month and rest 3.67% goes to employer cont. of pf.
Regds
RuchikA

Dear Ravi,

Everything is correct, but when it comes to the matter of the Pension fund, there is a limit of Rs. 541/- or 8.33% of the basic salary, whichever is less.

Rgds,
Jitender

Hi,

If a person earns more than Rs. 6500/-, they are not covered under the Act. Most engineering companies do not adhere to this limit and generously contribute to PF as the employer's contribution, regardless of the earnings, as a welfare measure. This contribution is entirely voluntary and not statutory.

Similarly, in IT and ITES companies, employers provide the option to employees.

As you are aware, both the employer and employee equally contribute 12% of the basic wages. Out of this, 8.33% of the employer's contribution goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme, and the remaining 3.67% goes to PF. All 12% of the employee's contribution goes to the PF Account.

Nowadays, savvy employees prefer not to have indirect benefits like gratuity, especially since they may have to commit to a minimum period of 5 years, which is challenging in today's context. Therefore, contributions to indirect benefits are losing their significance. Furthermore, IT companies, ITES, and some engineering firms have introduced Flexi Benefit Pay, allowing prospective employees to decide on various components.

Please reach out to me for any clarifications.

Thanks & Regards,

Kalyan R

9840942232

Hi,

Regarding PF deduction, the following is the explanation from my side:

If the Basic Salary and DA are greater than 6500, then the salary for the purpose will be considered to be 6500, and accordingly, PF will be deducted. If the Basic Salary and DA are less than 6500, then PF will be deducted on the actual salary.

Again, if the PF of any organization is managed independently, then depending upon the policy laid down by the company, PF can be deducted on the actual basic, i.e., on basic higher than 6500.

Explanation: If Basic and DA are 10000, then PF will be deducted on 10000 only. But for EPS, the salary will be considered to be 6500 only.

If your query is solved, then it's okay; else, you can post your query again.

PF & ESI

Dear Friend,

The following information about PF & ESI may be conducive to you.

PF
Employee contribution: 12%
Employer contribution: 13.61% (Ceiling basic price Rs. 6500)
A/c No. 01 - Basic 12% (Employee) + Basic 3.67% (Employer) = 15.67% goes into Employee's PF account
A/c No. 02 - 1.10% admin charges of PF department (Paid by employer)
A/c No. 10 - 8.33% (Employer) goes into Pension Scheme
A/c No. 21 - 0.50% EDLI (admin. charges of PF department)
A/c No. 22 - 0.01% admin charges of PF department (Paid by employer)
PF contribution is submitted before the 15th of every month through challan in the bank.

ESI
Employee contribution: 1.75%
Employer contribution: 4.75%
Total: 6.50%
ESI contribution is submitted before the 20th of every month through challan in the bank.

Regards,
Pankaj Sharma
09928070658
sharma.ji@yahoo.com

Dear all,

Kindly help me with these queries.

a) A person worked for 15 months in an ITES Company and has been out of work for the past 8 months. He withdrew his PF during this time and is about to join another organization. If he received his 12% and the Company's 3.67%, how will he get the remaining 8.33% and when?

b) If an executive's in-hand salary is ₹19,500, what should be the breakdown, i.e., Basic Salary, House Rent Allowance, Variable Allowance, etc.? Is there a rule regarding this breakdown, or can it vary from Company to Company? Can such an employee opt out of PF? Please explain.

Thanks and Regards,
Neeraj

When will an employee receive the pension amount? I hope they have to serve the company for at least a year before they can receive their pension amount. Is that right? Please clear my doubt.

Advanced wishes,

M. Bharath

Dear Neeraj,

Explanation for Point a:
8.33% is non-withdrawable. He cannot withdraw that amount. This percentage goes towards EPS (Employee Pension Scheme). He will get this amount back as a monthly pension on completion at 58 years, i.e., on superannuation. For more clarification, you can call me at 9831000509.

Explanation for Point b:
Every company has its unique salary structure. So, if his in-hand salary is 19500, it cannot be said what the individual breakup may be. Regarding HRA, normally, it is 40% or 50% of Basic+DA. It's not a thumb rule; it can still vary from company to company.

Dear M Bharat,

Pensionable service is continuous service of 10 years. Only then an employee can be eligible for a pension. But here the catch is that he will get a pension only on superannuation or after 50 years of age at a reduced amount. For any clarification, you can also call me at the above-mentioned address.

Dear Pankaj, your explanation is really great.

Dear Bharat,

Once again, you cannot withdraw Pension. You receive it as a monthly amount. This amount vests with the RPF Office (Regional Provident Fund Office). After superannuation, you fill out Form 10D of the PF & MP Act and submit it to the RPF Office for the same.

One more thing: I am Nilendra, not Neeraj.

Dear Sir,

This is K. Ravi Kumar from Hyderabad. I have some doubts regarding P.F., mostly related to the employer's contribution. According to the rule, 12% comes from the employee and 12% from the employer.

Here I am enclosing the salary slips of three members, including mine. Could you please inform me about the employer's contribution practically?

PLEASE TELL ME THE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION.

With Regards,

K. Ravi Kumar

E-mail: kasinaravikumar@gmail.com

Ph: 09989111149

Dear Amit,

I have a query. Some companies deduct 24% from the employee's salary. Is that fair? Please reply.

Sunil

Dear Ravi, Your Basic is 4750.

Employer Contribution: 12% of 4750 = 570 (Since basic is less than 6500, so the entire basic will be considered).

Further employer contribution is broken into the following two components:

- Towards Employee Provident Fund 8.33%
- Towards EPS (Employee Pension Scheme) 3.67%

Therefore, 395.67 will go to the Employee Provident Fund, and 174.33 will go towards EPS (Employee Pension Scheme). I hope this clarifies your doubt.

Dear Sunil,

A company cannot deduct 24% from an employee's salary without the consent of the concerned employee.

Hello, Friend,

PF contributes 12% from both the employee and employer. The PF salary also depends on the employer's choice, i.e., fixed at Rs.6,500/-, but the employer may be willing to pay a higher wage salary (Basic + D.A). This depends on the individual employer's discretion.

Hi! As far as I know, PF will surely be deducted if the company has a rule of deducting PF. Otherwise, it again depends on the employee's discretion whether he wants his PF to be deducted or not.

I too wanted to ask a question. If any employee has joined in the middle of the month, should his PF be deducted for the whole month or only for the number of days worked? Please clarify.

Regards,
Nilima

Dear Neelima,

If any person joins in the month of mid, their PF will be deducted on working days.

Regards,
Rajnish Sapra

Yes, PF is deducted for the number of days worked in a month.

Regarding PF deduction, if an employee is working for an organization where PF is not deducted and subsequently joins a company where PF is deducted, then it is at the discretion of the employee whether he wants to join PF or not. However, if he has been working for a company where PF was deducted and subsequently joins an organization where PF is deducted, then he cannot discontinue his PF contributions.

Yes, the company has to deduct PF at a rate of 12% from the employee's salary. It depends on the employer whether they choose to deduct PF on a basic salary exceeding 6500/-. If they wish to do so, they can deduct it.

In this scheme, both the employer and the employee contribute 12% of the annual income towards the fund. Out of this 24% contribution, 8.33% is allocated towards the family pension plan. The remaining portion (15.67%) grows at a rate of 9.5% per annum, with this return guaranteed. Additionally, investments up to a maximum of Rs. 70,000/- per annum are not taxed.

My salary for the month of December '07 paid for 30 days as my employer deducted 1 day for excess EL. My basic salary per month is 15,000, so for 30 days, my basic is 14,516. My employer has contributed Rs. 755/- towards PF instead of 780/-, i.e., 12% of 6,500/-. Is it correct? I think my basic for 30 days is 14,516, so the PF contribution should be 12% on 6,500/-, i.e., 780/-. Can anybody clarify.

Regards,

Soum

Email: Soumpat3@gmail.com