Sources
The rules and rates used in the calculator and guides come from the official Government publications listed below. Links go to the official websites, where the latest orders are published.
Always check the latest official order. Rates change, especially DA every six months. If an official order differs from anything on this site, the order is correct. Please tell us so we can update it.
8th Central Pay Commission
| Topic | What we use | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up the 8th CPC | Government announcement of the 8th Pay Commission in January 2025 (recorded in the Cabinet release of 28 October 2025) | Cabinet release, 28 Oct 2025 (PM India) |
| Terms of reference and members | Cabinet approval of the terms of reference (28 October 2025): Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (Chairperson), Prof. Pulak Ghosh (Member, part-time), Shri Pankaj Jain (Member-Secretary); report within 18 months; effect normally expected from 1 January 2026 | Cabinet release, 28 Oct 2025 · Press release (PDF, 8th CPC site) · 8th CPC: Terms of Reference |
| Constitution of the Commission | Ministry of Finance Resolution F. No. 01-01/2025-E.III(A), Gazette of India, 3 November 2025 | Gazette notification (PDF, Department of Expenditure) |
| Commission updates | Visits, consultations and deadlines used on the News page | 8th CPC: What’s New |
| Past pay commission reports | How earlier commissions set fitment factors and pay structures | Central Pay Commission Repository |
Pay Matrix
The full tables are on our Pay Matrix page, and every cell there has been checked against the official tables below.
| Topic | What we use | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Pay Matrix (civilian employees) | Levels 1 to 18: entry pay, number of cells and every cell (each 3% above the last, rounded to ₹100), with the 6th CPC pay band and Grade Pay for each level. Table 5 of the 7th CPC Report | 7th CPC Report, Table 5, page 75 (PDF) · Pay Commission Repository |
| Level 13 (modified) | Level 13 starts at ₹1,23,100 and ends at ₹2,15,900 (cell 20), replacing the report’s ₹1,18,500 from 1 January 2016 (CCS (Revised Pay) Amendment Rules, 2017; Office Memorandum No. 4-6/2017-IC/E-III(A), 28 September 2017) | Level 13 modification order (PDF) |
| Adoption by the Government | Pay bands and Grade Pay replaced by Pay Matrix levels; minimum pay ₹18,000; fitment factor 2.57; 3% annual increment (points 1 to 5) | Cabinet decisions, 29 June 2016 (PDF) · All 7th CPC orders |
| Academic Pay Matrix (teachers) | Academic Levels 10, 11, 12, 13A, 14 and 15 with 40, 38, 34, 18, 15 and 8 cells, linked to Academic Grade Pay 6000 to 10000 and HAG (Annexure-I, Ministry of Human Resource Development letter No. 1-7/2015-U.II(1), 2 November 2017) | MHRD order with Annexure-I (PDF, copy published by the Government of Delhi) · UGC Regulations, 2018 (PDF) |
Pay and allowances (7th CPC)
| Topic | What we use | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Dearness Allowance | DA raised from 58% to 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026 (Office Memorandum No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B), 22 April 2026). DA is based on the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers | DA order (PDF, Department of Expenditure) · Cabinet release, 18 Apr 2026 · Labour Bureau: CPI-IW |
| House Rent Allowance | HRA rates by city class (24/16/8%, 27/18/9% when DA crosses 25%, 30/20/10% when DA crosses 50%), minimum ₹5,400/₹3,600/₹1,800, and the X/Y/Z city list (Office Memorandum No. 2/5/2017-E.II(B), 7 July 2017) | HRA order with city list (PDF) |
| Transport Allowance | ₹7,200 / ₹3,600 / ₹1,350 in listed cities and ₹3,600 / ₹1,800 / ₹900 elsewhere, plus DA (Office Memorandum No. 21/5/2017-E.II(B), 7 July 2017) | Transport Allowance order with city list (PDF) |
| Children Education Allowance | Allowance retained under the 7th CPC; limits rise 25% each time DA goes up by 50% (DoPT Office Memorandum No. A-27012/01/2023-Pers.Policy(Allowance), 25 April 2024) | Resolution on allowances, 6 July 2017 (PDF) · DoPT |
| Annual increment | One increment of 3% a year (Cabinet decisions, point 5), on 1 January or 1 July | Cabinet decisions on the 7th CPC (PDF) · Pay fixation and increment clarifications (PDF) |
Deductions and pension
| Topic | What we use | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| NPS | Employee contribution of 10% of basic pay plus DA (Government adds 14%) | PFRDA: NPS for Central Government employees |
| UPS | Unified Pension Scheme, available from 1 April 2025 (notification F. No. FX-1/3/2024-PR, 24 January 2025), with a 10% employee contribution | PFRDA UPS Regulations, 2025 |
| CGHS | Monthly contribution: ₹250 (Levels 1–5), ₹450 (Level 6), ₹650 (Levels 7–11), ₹1,000 (Level 12 and above), from Ministry of Health Office Memorandum of 11 January 2017 | Central Government Health Scheme |
| CGEGIS | Monthly group insurance deduction: ₹120 (Group A), ₹60 (Group B), ₹30 (Group C), kept at existing rates under the 7th CPC (Cabinet decisions, point 9) | Cabinet decisions on the 7th CPC (PDF) |
Income tax
| Topic | What we use | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Tax slabs | New regime slabs for FY 2025-26 (nil up to ₹4 lakh, then 5% to 30%), old regime slabs, standard deduction, surcharge and 4% health and education cess, as set in the Union Budget 2025 | Income Tax Department: Tax rates · Budget speech 2025-26 (PDF) |
| Rebate under Section 87A | No tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income in the new regime (rebate up to ₹60,000; ₹5 lakh in the old regime), with marginal relief | Income Tax Department: Tax rates |
| HRA exemption | Old regime exemption under Section 10(13A): the lowest of HRA received, rent minus 10% of salary, and 50% (metro) or 40% of salary | Income Tax Department: Allowances for salaried employees |
| Arrears relief | Relief under Section 89 on salary arrears, claimed by filing Form 10E before the tax return | Income Tax e-Filing: Form 10E user manual |
What is our own estimate
Some figures cannot come from an official source yet, because the 8th Pay Commission has not reported. These are clearly marked as estimates in the calculator and guides:
- the 8th CPC fitment factor (you choose it; 1.92, 2.08, 2.28, 2.57 and 2.86 are offered as examples);
- 8th CPC DA, HRA rates and the date new pay is actually paid;
- future DA rises (3% every six months by default, which you can change).
How we keep figures up to date
- We check the 8th CPC website, PIB and the Department of Expenditure for new orders.
- When DA, allowances or tax rules change, the calculator, guides and the “Last reviewed” dates are updated.
- Found something out of date? Email nemedia909@gmail.com, ideally with a link to the official order.
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