Salary slip format: what a monthly pay slip should show
A salary slip is the employer’s statement of one month’s pay: the days paid, each earning, each deduction and the amount that reaches the employee’s bank account.
The employer types every amount, including the totals, so gross, total deductions and net pay must be checked against payroll before the slip is issued.
It needs no stamp paper, registration, notary or witnesses in Punjab or Chandigarh, and provident fund, state insurance and professional tax appear only where they apply to that employer and employee.
Checked on against our Salary Slip page and its notes, which state the position for Punjab and Chandigarh. Our page states no rate or wage ceiling for any deduction, because they depend on the law in force and on the employer; check the current rules for your own establishment. Guide updated .
Who needs a salary slip, and who issues it?
The employer issues the slip and the employee keeps it. Employees need it for a bank loan, a visa, a rent agreement or a tax return, and an employer is expected to keep a record of wages paid.
Each slip should match the payroll record and the bank transfer for the month. If the employer runs payroll software, use its figures rather than retyping from memory. Our free salary slip takes you through the employer, the employee and the month, the earnings, and the deductions and net pay.
What does a salary slip show?
| Part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| The employer and the employee | The employer’s name and address; the employee’s name and designation; the employee ID or code, if any; the PAN, if you want it shown; the provident fund (UAN) number, if any |
| The month | The month and year of the slip, the days in the month, and the days paid, including paid leave and holidays |
| Earnings | Basic pay; house rent allowance; conveyance or travel allowance; any other earning such as special allowance, incentive or overtime; and total earnings (gross) |
| Deductions | The employee’s provident fund contribution; the employee’s state insurance contribution; professional tax, if charged; tax deducted at source on salary; any other deduction such as an advance or a loan instalment; and total deductions |
| Net pay and payment | Net pay (total earnings less total deductions); how and when it was paid; and the name and designation of the person issuing the slip |
For a feel of the earnings heads, our Salary Certificate form’s own example splits a monthly salary as basic Rs 40,000, HRA Rs 20,000 and special allowance Rs 20,000. It is an illustration of the layout, not a figure to copy.
Does the form work out the totals?
No. You type every amount, including the totals, and the form does not add or subtract. Add up the earnings and the deductions yourself and check the net pay before printing; our page asks you to recheck gross, total deductions and net pay against payroll before the slip is issued.
Which deductions belong on a salary slip?
Two further points are for the employer to check. First, whether the slip format satisfies the wage-slip and wage-register requirements of the law that applies to the establishment, since some laws prescribe particulars for a payslip. Second, whether the employee’s PAN and UAN should appear on a slip that may be shared widely; both are optional on our form.
Does a salary slip need stamp paper, registration or a notary?
No. In Punjab and Chandigarh a salary slip is a letter, not an instrument that creates or transfers any right, so it is not chargeable to stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Print it on the employer’s letterhead. Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 has no application to a letter of this kind, so it is not registrable. No notary and no witnesses are needed.
What matters is proof that the slip reached the employee: hand delivery against a signed acknowledgement, registered post, or a dated email. Keep that proof with the file.
What is the difference between a salary slip and a salary certificate?
A salary slip is the pay statement for one month. A salary certificate is a letter certifying a person’s pay to a bank or an embassy; use that for those purposes. A daily-wage worker paid in cash with no deductions may need only a simple receipt, not a slip.
Where does the slip fit among the hiring papers?
The offer letter gives the annual cost to the company, and says that the break-up, deductions and statutory contributions will be detailed in the appointment letter and the payslip. A mismatch between what an offer letter promises and what the appointment letter or the first payslip shows is one of the most common sources of a new joiner’s grievance. Our offer letter guide explains how the offer letter and the appointment letter fit together.
When the employee later leaves, the full and final settlement letter lists what is being paid and deducted; our experience certificate guide covers the letter that follows.
Questions people ask
What should a salary slip show?
The employer and the employee, the month and year, the days in the month and the days paid, each earning (basic pay, house rent allowance, conveyance and any other earning) and total earnings, each deduction (provident fund, state insurance, professional tax, tax deducted at source and any other) and total deductions, the net pay, and how and when it was paid.
Does the salary slip form calculate the totals?
No. You type every amount, including the totals; the form does not add or subtract. Add up the earnings and the deductions yourself and check the net pay, which is total earnings less total deductions, before printing.
Does a salary slip need to be stamped or notarised in Punjab or Chandigarh?
No. It is a letter, not an instrument that creates or transfers any right, so it is not chargeable to stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and it is not registrable. No notary or witness is needed. Keep proof that it reached the employee, such as a signed acknowledgement, registered post or a dated email.
Is a salary slip the same as a salary certificate?
No. A salary slip is the pay statement for one month. A salary certificate is a letter certifying a person’s pay to a bank or an embassy.
Do provident fund and state insurance have to appear on every salary slip?
Only where they apply. Provident fund and state insurance depend on the establishment’s size and wage ceiling under the law in force, and professional tax depends on the State or Union Territory rules. The slip names these heads but does not decide that any is due, so check the current rules for your own establishment.
This guide explains the rules as our document pages state them. It is not legal advice about your own situation; for that, speak to somebody who has heard your facts.