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PAYE tax and take-home pay by monthly salary
Take-home pay and APIT for some monthly gross salaries. In each row all of the pay counts for EPF, with no overtime or bonus.
| Monthly gross salary | APIT | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|
| Rs 100,000 | Rs 0 | Rs 92,000 |
| Rs 150,000 | Rs 0 | Rs 138,000 |
| Rs 200,000 | Rs 3,000 | Rs 181,000 |
| Rs 250,000 | Rs 8,000 | Rs 222,000 |
| Rs 350,000 | Rs 32,500 | Rs 289,500 |
| Rs 500,000 | Rs 86,000 | Rs 374,000 |
Take-home pay is the gross salary less APIT and the 8% EPF. Rates for April 2026 to March 2027, checked on 12 November 2026.
How much APIT (PAYE) income tax do I pay?
APIT is the income tax taken from your pay each month. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) publishes the monthly table for it, called APIT Tax Table No. 01. This calculator uses that table.
The first Rs 150,000 of your pay each month is tax-free. The IRD has already allowed for it inside the table, so nothing is taken off your pay before the tax is worked out. Your EPF is not taken off first either.
The tax is worked out on your full gross pay for the month: salary, commission, overtime, travelling allowance and other allowances.
These are the rows of the table. Find the row your monthly gross pay falls in.
- Up to Rs 150,000 a month No APIT.
- Over Rs 150,000 and up to Rs 233,333 a month 6% of your monthly pay, less Rs 9,000.
- Over Rs 233,333 and up to Rs 275,000 a month 18% of your monthly pay, less Rs 37,000.
- Over Rs 275,000 and up to Rs 316,667 a month 24% of your monthly pay, less Rs 53,500.
- Over Rs 316,667 and up to Rs 358,333 a month 30% of your monthly pay, less Rs 72,500.
- Over Rs 358,333 a month 36% of your monthly pay, less Rs 94,000.
There is no jump between one row and the next: a rupee over the edge of a row gives almost the same tax as a rupee under it. The IRD prints its table in steps of a few rupees, so your payslip may differ from this page by a rupee.
EPF and ETF: what you pay and what your employer pays
- Your EPF: 8%. You pay 8% of your EPF earnings into the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), taken from your pay. Your employer pays 12% on top. These are the minimum rates.
- What counts as EPF earnings. The EPF Act counts wages, salary or fees, cost of living and similar allowances, holiday pay and meal allowances. The EPF Department’s guide for employers leaves out overtime pay, travelling expenses that are paid back to you, and incentive or bonus pay. That is why the calculator has a second box.
- ETF: 3%, paid by your employer. The Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) contribution comes only from your employer, and the ETF Board says it is not taken from your pay. It is 3% of total monthly earnings. The Board’s guide does not mention overtime, so the calculator uses the same earnings figure for the ETF as for the EPF.
- Your employer’s total cost. This is your gross salary plus your employer’s EPF and ETF.
What this calculator does not cover
For one monthly salary from a private-sector or semi-government job, your only or main job. The IRD’s table is for a resident employee who has given their employer a primary declaration, or who has only one job. It does not cover the following.
- Bonuses and other one-off payments. The IRD has a separate table for them.
- A second job. The IRD has a separate table for a second job.
- Joining or leaving a job during the year. The IRD has a separate way of working out the tax for people who join or leave part-way through a year.
- Benefits that are not paid in cash. The IRD counts them in your pay at their fair market value. This calculator does not.
- Terminal benefits, salary arrears, and refunds or credits on your yearly tax return. The IRD works out each of them in its own way.
- Government pensionable jobs. Pensionable government staff do not pay EPF, and government departments do not pay ETF. APIT still applies to them, so this calculator would show an EPF and an ETF that do not exist.
- Employers who pay more than the minimum EPF. The calculator uses the minimum rates.
This is general help, not tax advice; your payslip may differ by a rupee.
Questions people ask about APIT (PAYE) tax and take-home pay
What is APIT, and is it the same as PAYE?
APIT, Advance Personal Income Tax, is the income tax your employer takes from your pay each month. Many people still call it PAYE, or payee tax. This calculator uses the Inland Revenue Department’s APIT table.
What monthly salary is tax-free in Sri Lanka?
The first Rs 150,000 of your pay each month, which is Rs 1,800,000 a year. These rates come from Budget 2025, presented on 17 February 2025, and are in force from 1 April 2025.
How much PAYE do I pay on a Rs 200,000 salary?
Rs 3,000 a month. Your EPF is Rs 16,000, so you take home Rs 181,000, when all of the pay counts for EPF.
Is EPF taken off before the tax?
No. The tax is worked out on your full gross pay for the month, and your EPF is taken from the same pay.
Is EPF worked out on the basic or the gross salary?
On your EPF earnings: salary, cost of living and similar allowances, holiday pay and meal allowances. Overtime and bonuses are left out.
What does my employer pay on top of my salary?
EPF of 12% and ETF of 3% of your EPF earnings. Neither is taken from your pay.
Does a pay rise put me in a higher tax band?
Only the part of your pay above the edge of a row is taxed at the higher rate, so a pay rise never lowers your take-home pay.
Will Budget 2027 change the tax-free amount?
Budget 2027, presented on 12 November 2026, proposes a tax-free amount of Rs 162,500 a month from April 2027. It applies only after Parliament passes it; until then the main figures here use the rates in force from 1 April 2025.
Do government employees pay EPF and ETF?
Pensionable government staff do not pay EPF, and government departments do not pay ETF. APIT still applies to them.
PAYE tax rates, dates and sources
Rates for April 2026 to March 2027, checked on 12 November 2026. These rates come from Budget 2025, presented on 17 February 2025, and are in force from 1 April 2025.
Budget 2027, presented on 12 November 2026, proposes a tax-free amount of Rs 162,500 a month from April 2027. It applies only after Parliament passes it; until then the main figures here use the rates in force from 1 April 2025.
The tax table is the IRD’s table for 2025/26. The IRD’s index says its tables stay in force for later years unless it publishes others, and its tables page lists no set for 2026/27. Act No. 11 of 2026 does not change the rates for individuals. Rates can change, so check with the IRD before you rely on this page.
- APIT Tax Table No. 01, Inland Revenue Department (opens in a new tab) The monthly table: the tax-free amount, the rows and what counts as pay.
- APIT tax tables, Inland Revenue Department (opens in a new tab) The list of the IRD’s APIT tables.
- Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act, No. 2 of 2025, Parliament of Sri Lanka (opens in a new tab) The yearly rates and the yearly tax-free amount.
- Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act, No. 11 of 2026, Parliament of Sri Lanka (opens in a new tab) The later changes to the Act, which leave the rates for individuals as they were.
- Employees’ Provident Fund Act, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (opens in a new tab) The EPF rates and what counts as earnings.
- EPF guide for employers, EPF Department (opens in a new tab) What is left out of EPF earnings.
- Employees’ Provident Fund, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (opens in a new tab) What the EPF is and who it is for.
- Employers’ questions, ETF Board (opens in a new tab) The ETF rate and who pays it.
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