Free Statutory Bonus Calculator
Work out the bonus an employee is owed under India's Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. Enter the monthly Basic plus DA, pick a rate between 8.33% and 20%, and see the bonus for the year, per month, and whether they qualify.
Bonus is capped at ₹7,000 a month or the state minimum wage, whichever is higher, and is due only up to ₹21,000 of Basic plus DA.
₹583 a month over 12 months at 8.33%
- Calculation base
- ₹7,000 / mo
- Bonus rate
- 8.33%
- Monthly bonus
- ₹583
- Total bonus (12 mo)
- ₹6,997
Bonus is worked out on the ₹7,000 ceiling, not the full ₹18,000 salary.
An estimate for planning. The exact bonus rate depends on the employer's allocable surplus for the year, and state minimum wages vary by role and region.
Work out a bonus in four steps.
The calculator applies the Payment of Bonus Act the way payroll teams do: cap the wage, apply a rate between the legal minimum and maximum, and pro-rate for the months worked.
Enter the monthly pay
Add the employee’s monthly Basic plus Dearness Allowance. Statutory bonus is worked out on this, not on the full gross salary.
Pick the bonus rate
Choose a rate between the 8.33% minimum and the 20% maximum. The exact figure depends on the employer’s profits for the year.
Set the ceiling and period
The bonus is capped at ₹7,000 a month or the state minimum wage, whichever is higher. Add the months worked in the year if it is not a full twelve.
Read the bonus due
See the statutory bonus for the year and per month, whether the employee qualifies, and how the minimum and maximum compare.
How the bonus maths works.
The bonus wage
Bonus is worked out on Basic plus DA, but capped at a ceiling.
ceiling = max(₹7,000, minimum wage)
base = min(Basic + DA, ceiling)
Example: on a ₹18,000 salary with a ₹7,000 minimum wage, the base is capped at ₹7,000, so the bonus is worked out on that, not the full ₹18,000.
The bonus due
Apply a rate between 8.33% and 20%, then pro-rate for months worked.
Monthly bonus = base × rate
Total bonus = monthly bonus × months
Example: a ₹7,000 base at the 8.33% minimum for a full year is about ₹6,997. At the 20% maximum it rises to ₹16,800.
What the Bonus Act requires.
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 sets who qualifies, what the bonus is calculated on, and the floor and ceiling on the rate. Here is the shape of it.
The Act applies to every factory and to any establishment employing 20 or more people on any day of the accounting year. Once it applies, it keeps applying.
Employees drawing Basic plus DA of ₹21,000 a month or less, who have worked at least 30 days in the year, are entitled to a statutory bonus.
Bonus is calculated on Basic plus DA, but capped at ₹7,000 a month or the minimum wage for the work, whichever is higher, even when actual pay is more.
Every covered employer must pay at least 8.33% of the bonus wage, roughly one month’s worth, even in a year with no profit or a loss.
When there is enough allocable surplus, the bonus can rise up to 20% of the bonus wage. Anything the employer pays beyond that is not statutory.
The bonus must be paid in cash within eight months of the close of the accounting year, or by any date a competent authority extends it to.
From a bonus estimate to real payroll software.
We build the payroll and HR platforms that companies run on, handling statutory bonus, PF, ESI and TDS, salary structures and compliant payslips end to end. If you need software that keeps a whole workforce compliant, we can help.
Need payslips too? Try our free payslip generator.
Common bonus questions.
It is a free online tool that works out the bonus an employee is owed under India’s Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. You enter the monthly Basic plus DA, a bonus rate and the period, and it returns the bonus for the year and per month, along with whether the employee qualifies.
It is a central labour law that requires covered employers to share a slice of profits with employees as an annual bonus. It sets who qualifies, the minimum and maximum a bonus can be, the wage it is calculated on, and when it has to be paid.
An employee whose monthly salary, meaning Basic plus Dearness Allowance, is ₹21,000 or less, and who has worked for at least 30 days in the accounting year. Above ₹21,000 there is no statutory entitlement, though an employer may still pay an ex-gratia bonus.
The bonus wage is Basic plus DA, capped at ₹7,000 a month or the minimum wage for that work, whichever is higher. The bonus is that wage times a rate between 8.33% and 20%, times the number of months worked. So on a ₹7,000 base at the 8.33% minimum for a full year, the bonus is about ₹6,997.
The 2015 amendment set the calculation ceiling at ₹7,000 a month, or the minimum wage for the scheduled employment if that is higher. So even an employee earning ₹18,000 has their bonus worked out on ₹7,000, unless their minimum wage is above that. It keeps the bonus tied to a defined base rather than full pay.
The minimum is 8.33% of the bonus wage, which every covered employer must pay even in a loss-making year. The maximum is 20%. Where the employer’s allocable surplus falls between the two, the rate lands somewhere in the middle, set by the profits for the year.
On Basic plus Dearness Allowance, not the full gross. Allowances like HRA, conveyance or special allowance are left out. That Basic plus DA figure is then capped at the ₹7,000 or minimum-wage ceiling before the rate is applied.
There is no statutory bonus obligation once Basic plus DA crosses ₹21,000 a month, so the tool shows the employee as not eligible. Many employers still choose to pay a discretionary or ex-gratia bonus, but that sits outside the Act.
Yes, as long as you worked at least 30 days in the accounting year. The bonus is pro-rated for the months you actually worked, so someone who worked six months gets roughly half of a full-year bonus on the same base and rate.
Yes. A statutory bonus is treated as salary income and taxed at your slab in the year you receive it. Your employer will usually account for it in your TDS. This tool shows the gross bonus, before any tax.
Within eight months of the end of the accounting year, in cash, unless a competent authority grants an extension. Many employers time it with a festival, which is why it is often called a Diwali or Puja bonus.
Yes on both. It is completely free, there is no sign-up, and it runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored, so the figures stay on your own device.
Disclaimer: This statutory bonus calculator is free and meant for planning and learning. It follows the main rules of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, but real cases can turn on set-on and set-off of surplus, minimum wages that differ by role and state, and other specifics. The output is an estimate, not legal or payroll advice. Check the current rules, and speak to a qualified professional, before you rely on any figure.
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