8th Pay Commission Salary Calculator

What is the status of the 8th Pay Commission?

The 8th Central Pay Commission was set up by a Resolution of 3 November 2025 and has 18 months to report, so its recommendations are due by about May 2027. It has not decided a fitment factor, a pay matrix or new allowance rates.

• Chair: Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai. Member: Prof. Pulak Ghosh (part-time member). Member-Secretary: Pankaj Jain.
• Effective date: the government has said the revision would normally apply from 1 January 2026; no date has been notified.
• Where it stands: the Commission has been taking memoranda from staff associations and ministries and holding meetings around the country. It may send interim reports before the final one.
• What staff want: the National Council (JCM) staff side has asked for a fitment factor of 3.83, which would take the ₹18,000 minimum basic to about ₹69,000. That is a demand, not a recommendation.
• Who is covered: about 50 lakh central government employees, including defence forces and All India Services, and pensioners outside NPS and UPS.

How is the 8th Pay Commission salary calculated?

New basic pay = today’s basic × fitment factor. DA then restarts from a low rate, HRA is a smaller percentage of the bigger basic, and the gross pay is the sum of all three plus transport allowance. For a Level 6 employee on ₹35,400 in an X city, at a factor of 2.28:

That is a rise of ₹29,602 a month, or 39.9%, not the 128% the factor suggests. After the 10% NPS deduction, take-home before tax goes from ₹68,420 to ₹95,712. Basic pay is rounded up to the next ₹100 here; the real pay matrix will fix exact cells.

What fitment factor will the 8th Pay Commission use?

Nobody knows yet. The 6th CPC used 1.86 and the 7th CPC 2.57; staff unions have asked for 3.83. Most estimates published in the media fall between 1.92 and 2.86.

The 7th CPC’s 2.57 was built from two parts: 2.25 to absorb the 125% DA in force on 1 January 2016, plus about 14% as the real raise. The same logic today starts from the 60% DA on 1 January 2026, so a factor of 1.60 absorbs DA and anything above it is the real raise:

The same 2.57 that gave a 14% real raise in 2016 would give about 60% now, because DA is much lower this time. That is why a factor well below 2.57 is widely discussed. For Level 6 in an X city, a factor of about 1.61 is needed just to keep today’s gross pay unchanged.

8th Pay Commission pay matrix: entry pay by level

Each level’s starting basic multiplied by the factor, rounded up to the next ₹100. The Commission may reshape the matrix, merge levels or change the 3% annual increment, so treat these as scenarios.

If you are above the entry cell of your level, enter your actual basic in the calculator.

What happens to DA, HRA and transport allowance?

DA, now 63%, is folded into the new basic through the fitment factor and restarts from a low rate. HRA drops back to a lower percentage and rises again as DA climbs. Transport allowance stays a fixed amount plus DA.

• DA: revised every January and July from the consumer price index for industrial workers. Under the 7th CPC it started at 0% in January 2016. The calculator uses 0% by default; change it to see the pay a year or two later.
• HRA: under today’s rules, 24%, 16% or 8% of basic in X, Y and Z cities, rising to 27/18/9% once DA crosses 25% and 30/20/10% once it crosses 50%. Today you get 30/20/10%. The 8th CPC may set new rates.
• Transport allowance: ₹7,200 a month at Level 9 and above in the higher-rate cities (₹3,600 elsewhere), ₹3,600 (₹1,800) at Levels 3 to 8, and ₹1,350 (₹900) at Levels 1 and 2 unless basic is ₹24,200 or more, plus DA. The calculator keeps these amounts.
• NPS and UPS: 10% of basic + DA is deducted from your pay, so the deduction grows with the new basic.

How much arrears will you get?

If the new pay applies from 1 January 2026, you would get the difference in basic pay plus DA for every month until it is paid. Under the 7th CPC, HRA and most allowances were revised only from the date of the order, not paid back.

At Level 6 entry pay and a factor of 2.28, the monthly gap in basic + DA is about ₹24,200 falling to ₹23,100 (DA was 60% until June 2026 and 63% after). Over 18 months that is about ₹4.22 lakh, taxable in the year you receive it; you can reduce the extra tax by claiming relief for salary arrears under Section 157 (formerly 89) with Form 10E. Set the months in the calculator to match when you expect the new pay.

What will pensioners get?

If basic pensions are revised by the same fitment factor, as with the 7th CPC, your new pension = basic pension × factor, with dearness relief restarting from a low rate.

The terms of reference cover pension and gratuity for employees outside NPS and UPS, and gratuity for those in them. Pensioner associations have also asked for a higher minimum pension and a shorter period for restoring commuted pension; none of this is decided. Switch to the Pensioner tab to work out yours.

When to use a different calculator

• Income tax on your new salary? Use the Income Tax Calculator.
• How much HRA is tax-free in the old regime? Use the HRA Exemption Calculator.
• Your NPS corpus and pension? Use the NPS Calculator.
• Staying in UPS or switching back to NPS? Use the NPS vs UPS Calculator.
• Gratuity at retirement? Use the Gratuity Calculator.