India's payroll compliance landscape is one of the most layered in the world, governed by central legislation, state-level variations, and multiple regulatory bodies. WorkWisely's India payroll module is engineered to handle every dimension of Indian payroll law — from Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) to Professional Tax (PT) — with full automation, zero manual calculations, and seamless statutory filing.
Payroll in India is governed by a combination of central acts and state-specific rules. Employers must comply with the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act (1952), the Employees' State Insurance Act (1948), the Income Tax Act (1961), the Payment of Gratuity Act (1972), and various State Professional Tax Acts. Failure to comply with any of these can result in significant financial penalties, legal action, and reputational damage.
The Employees' Provident Fund is a mandatory retirement savings scheme governed by the EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation). It applies to every establishment with 20 or more employees.
WorkWisely automatically calculates both employee and employer EPF contributions, generates the monthly ECR file in the exact format required by the EPFO portal, and tracks every employee's UAN (Universal Account Number) to ensure seamless portability when employees change jobs.
WorkWisely EPF Automation: Auto-generates ECR files, tracks UAN linkages, manages optout cases for employees earning above the wage ceiling, and handles voluntary PF at higher rates.
The ESI scheme provides medical, maternity, disability, and dependent benefits to eligible employees. It applies to establishments with 10 or more employees where any employee earns up to INR 21,000 per month (INR 25,000 for persons with disabilities).
WorkWisely manages employee insurance numbers, automatically identifies ESI eligibility (including mid-year eligibility changes), calculates contributions on gross wages, and generates the ESIC half-yearly return. The system also handles the transition when an employee's salary crosses the threshold.
TDS on salaries is governed by Section 192 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Every employer is required to deduct income tax at source from the salary paid to employees, based on their projected annual income and applicable tax regime.
WorkWisely's TDS engine supports both Old and New Tax Regimes simultaneously, allowing each employee to choose their preferred regime at the start of the financial year. The system projects annual income, considers all declared deductions (HRA, LTA, 80C, 80D, etc.), auto-calculates monthly TDS, and generates Form 24Q returns and Form 16/16A certificates.
Gratuity is a statutory benefit payable to employees who have completed at least 5 years of continuous service with an employer, governed by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
WorkWisely automatically tracks each employee's service period, calculates gratuity liability for actuary reports, and generates the payable gratuity amount at separation. Gratuity provisioning is available for management reporting and helps Finance teams plan for future liabilities.
Professional Tax is a state-level tax levied by individual state governments on salaried employees. The rates, slabs, and filing frequencies vary significantly by state. It is applicable in approximately 21 states and union territories across India.
WorkWisely maintains a built-in Professional Tax matrix for all applicable Indian states and automatically deducts the correct PT amount based on the employee's work location state and gross salary slab. Multi-state organisations benefit from automatic routing of PT deductions to the correct state authority.
Input Stage: Upload or sync attendance data, salary revisions, new joiners, and full & final settlements.
Pre-Payroll Validation: WorkWisely flags missing PAN, UAN, or ESI numbers; identifies employees crossing ESI/EPF thresholds.
Gross Salary Computation: Calculates all earnings (Basic, HRA, Special Allowance, Bonus, arrears, etc.).
Statutory Deductions: Auto-applies EPF, ESI, TDS, and PT deductions based on real-time rules.
Net Pay Calculation: Computes take-home salary after all deductions and advances.
Payroll Lock & Approval: Finance/HR approves the payroll run through the multi-level approval workflow.
Bank File Generation: Creates bank-ready NEFT/RTGS files for salary disbursement.
Statutory Filing: Exports ECR (EPFO), ESIC returns, 24Q (TDS), and PT challans in ready-to-file formats.
Q: Can WorkWisely handle both Old and New Tax Regimes in the same payroll run?
A: Yes. WorkWisely allows each employee to independently select their preferred tax regime (Old or New) at the beginning of the financial year. The system maintains separate TDS computation for each employee based on their chosen regime and recalculates if an employee switches regimes.
Q: How does WorkWisely manage employees who cross the ESI wage ceiling mid-year?
A: WorkWisely tracks gross wages each month. When an employee's salary crosses INR 21,000 during a contribution period (April-September or October-March), the system automatically stops ESI deductions at the start of the next contribution period, in line with ESIC regulations.
Q: Does WorkWisely support arrear salary processing for TDS?
A: Yes. Arrear payments are processed under Section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act. WorkWisely calculates relief u/s 89(1), prepares Form 10E (for employee filing), and ensures the arrear is taxed correctly in the month of payment.
Q: How are full & final settlements handled?
A: WorkWisely's F&F module calculates all components — pending salary, earned leave encashment, gratuity, and TDS on the entire settlement amount — and generates the F&F payslip with a clear breakup of all components and deductions.