ESI Calculator

ESI calculator for employee and employer contributions

This ESI calculator works out Employees’ State Insurance contributions: 0.75% of wages from the employee and 3.25% from the employer, each rounded up to the next rupee. Check one employee, or paste a whole payroll to get each person’s eligibility, monthly shares, totals for the six-month contribution period and a CSV for your records.

It follows the Code on Social Security, 2020, which replaced the ESI Act, 1948 on 21 November 2025. The change that catches most payrolls out is the meaning of wages: in June 2026 ESIC confirmed that coverage and contributions use the Code’s definition — basic pay, DA and retaining allowance, with allowances above half of total pay added back — rather than gross pay. The calculator applies that rule, or you can switch to gross pay to compare.

Payroll data stays in your browser. Results are estimates for checking payslips, not legal advice.

How to use the ESI Calculator

1. Choose Single employee or Payroll list, then the Wage basis (Code wages is the default).
2. For one employee, enter Total monthly pay, Basic + DA and Days paid in the month; tick the disability box if it applies.
3. If pay rose above the ceiling during the contribution period, add the ESI wages at the start of this period.
4. For a payroll, paste or import lines of name, total pay, basic + DA, days paid, disability (Y) and wages at period start.
5. Check Rates and limits, then read the shares, period totals and due date, or download the results.

ESI Calculator features

ESI contribution rates with examples

Since 1 July 2019 the employee pays 0.75% and the employer 3.25% of ESI wages — 4% in all. Fractions of a rupee are rounded up:

Which wages count for ESI under the Code

Section 2(88) of the Code defines wages as all remuneration minus listed exclusions such as house rent allowance, conveyance, overtime, bonus and the employer’s PF contribution. But if the excluded items add up to more than half of total pay, the excess is added back. In practice ESI wages are the higher of basic + DA and half of total pay. The Labour Ministry’s FAQs of 16 March 2026 add that overtime counts towards that 50% test.

Example: total pay ₹25,000 with basic + DA of ₹12,000. Half of total pay is ₹12,500, so ESI wages are ₹12,500 and the employee is covered even though gross pay is above ₹21,000. Contributions: ₹94 + ₹407. Under the old Act, which counted most allowances, the same person would usually have been outside ESI. Check their PF contributions too.

Contribution periods, continued cover and deadlines

• There are two contribution periods: 1 April–30 September (benefits 1 January–30 June the following year) and 1 October–31 March (benefits 1 July–31 December).
• If wages cross the ceiling during a period, the employee stays covered and contributions continue on the actual, higher wages until the period ends. Coverage is tested again at the start of the next period.
• Employees whose average daily wage is ₹176 or less pay no employee share; the employer still pays 3.25%.
• Contributions are due within 15 days of the end of the month — October wages by 15 November.
• For employees with disabilities the ceiling is ₹25,000, and Rule 19 lets the Central Government bear the employer’s share for up to three years.

Rules used (as of October 2026)

• Code on Social Security, 2020, Chapter IV — in force from 21 November 2025, with a one-year transition for ESI to 20 November 2026.
• Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026, notified 8 May 2026 — Rule 19: 0.75% and 3.25%, rounded to the next higher rupee.
• ESIC letter of 4 June 2026 — the section 2(88) definition of wages applies from 21 November 2025; the ceiling stays ₹21,000 (₹25,000 for persons with disability), unchanged since 1 January 2017.
• ESIC contribution page (esic.gov.in) — rates from 1 July 2019, the ₹176 daily-wage exemption, contribution and benefit periods and the 15-day deadline. We could not confirm that the ₹176 exemption is restated in the 2026 Rules, so it is editable.
• Pending: raising the ceiling to ₹30,000 was discussed at a Labour Ministry meeting on 4 August 2026 but had not been notified by mid-October 2026 — update the ceiling field if it is.