Professional tax by state · State · FY 2026-27
Professional tax in Kerala
Professional tax in Kerala costs up to ₹2,500 a year, banded on half-yearly income. Nothing is payable on half-yearly income up to ₹11,999. Slab table, statute and source below, verified and dated.
- Costs you at most
- ₹2,500 a year
- Banded on
- Half-yearly income
- Nothing payable up to
- ₹11,999
- Last verified
The Kerala slab table
| Half-yearly income | Tax per half-year | Over a full year |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹11,999 | Nil | Nil |
| ₹12,000 – ₹17,999 | ₹120 | ₹240 |
| ₹18,000 – ₹29,999 | ₹180 | ₹360 |
| ₹30,000 – ₹44,999 | ₹300 | ₹600 |
| ₹45,000 – ₹59,999 | ₹450 | ₹900 |
| ₹60,000 – ₹74,999 | ₹600 | ₹1,200 |
| ₹75,000 – ₹99,999 | ₹750 | ₹1,500 |
| ₹1,00,000 – ₹1,24,999 | ₹1,000 | ₹2,000 |
| ₹1,25,000 and above | ₹1,250 | ₹2,500 |
- ₹12,000 – ₹17,999 — ₹120 × 2 half-years = ₹240 a year.
- ₹18,000 – ₹29,999 — ₹180 × 2 half-years = ₹360 a year.
- ₹30,000 – ₹44,999 — ₹300 × 2 half-years = ₹600 a year.
- ₹45,000 – ₹59,999 — ₹450 × 2 half-years = ₹900 a year.
- ₹60,000 – ₹74,999 — ₹600 × 2 half-years = ₹1,200 a year.
- ₹75,000 – ₹99,999 — ₹750 × 2 half-years = ₹1,500 a year.
- ₹1,00,000 – ₹1,24,999 — ₹1,000 × 2 half-years = ₹2,000 a year.
- ₹1,25,000 and above — ₹1,250 × 2 half-years = ₹2,500 a year.
When it is collected
Banded on half-yearly income and collected twice a year by the local body.
What is worth knowing about Kerala
Levied by local bodies on half-yearly income, due 31 August and 28 February. The official audit-department source confirms the Act, the Rules and the Rs 12,000 floor but does not reproduce the band table; the bands are consistent across every secondary. Rs 2,500 a year at the top.
No primary source was reachable, but two or more independent secondary sources agree exactly. Also covers a negative claim ('no statute was ever enacted') that no single document can prove.
The cap every state is under
Article 276(2), Constitution of India limits professional tax to ₹2,500 a person a year, whatever a state’s own schedule says. Several states are written to land exactly on it — that is why Karnataka and Maharashtra charge a different amount in one month of the year, and why an annual total on this page never exceeds ₹2,500.
Where this comes from
Statute: Kerala Municipality Act 1994, s.245 with the Kerala Municipality (Profession Tax) Rules 2005, r.3; Kerala Panchayat Raj Act 1994, s.204
Read from ksad.kerala.gov.in, last verified . This dataset is re-checked quarterly — the failure mode here is a state joining or leaving the list, not a slab moving, so we search for repeals and re-introductions every cycle. The full method is on our methodology page.
Your actual take-home
Professional tax is one line on a payslip, and rarely the line that decides anything. The one that does is what reaches your account after income tax, EPF and this deduction have all been taken. Our CTC to in-hand calculator, opened on Kerala, carries the schedule above through automatically, alongside income tax under the Income-tax Act 2025, EPF and gratuity, and shows the working for every line. Put your own CTC in it and read the figure rather than the rate.
One thing worth knowing before you do: professional tax is deductible from salary under s.19 of the Income-tax Act 2025 only under the old regime. Under the new regime it leaves your pay and buys nothing back. Whether that is worth anything depends on the rest of your deductions, so compare both regimes on Kerala figures — it computes each one and says which pays less tax on the numbers you enter, and nothing beyond that.