ESI calculator

ESI covers employees with wages of ₹21,000 a month or less

ESI, the Employees' State Insurance scheme, gives medical care and cash benefits to employees and their families. Since 21 November 2025 it runs under Chapter IV of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which replaced the ESI Act, 1948.

• Where you work: every establishment that employs ten or more people, other than a seasonal factory, and any establishment doing work the Central Government has notified as hazardous, even with one employee. Smaller establishments can be covered voluntarily under section 1(7) of the Code, on the conditions it sets (ESIC Regional Office (Chennai) circular of 12 December 2025 on who must register).
• What you earn: wages of ₹21,000 a month or less, a limit in force since 1 January 2017, or ₹25,000 for persons with disability (ESIC: coverage and wage limit).
• If your pay rises: ESIC's FAQ, written under the ESI Act, says an employee whose wages go above the limit during a contribution period stays covered until that period ends. A Ministry of Labour notification, S.O. 2351(E) of 8 May 2026, is reported to keep this rule under the Code; we have not read its text. The periods run from April to September and October to March (ESIC: frequently asked questions on the ESI scheme; ESIC: contribution rates).

ESI wages now leave out HRA, conveyance and overtime

From 21 November 2025, ESIC uses the Code's definition of wages in section 2(88) (ESIC circular of 11 December 2025 on the new definition of wages). Wages are all your pay except the items the Code lists, including house rent allowance, conveyance allowance, overtime, commission and a bonus payable under a law. If those items come to more than half of your pay, the part above half counts as wages again.

So a salary of ₹24,000 a month with ₹6,000 of HRA has ESI wages of ₹18,000 and is covered, where under the ESI Act, 1948 HRA counted as wages and all ₹24,000 would have been above the limit. ESIC has told its offices that many employees who were outside the scheme are likely to be covered under the new definition. Employers are still applying the change, so check how your payroll works out your ESI wages.

You pay 0.75% and your employer pays 3.25%

Your share has been 0.75% of wages since 1 July 2019, and your employer's is 3.25% (ESIC: contribution rates). This calculator rounds each share up to the next rupee.

ESIC's contribution page, written under the ESI Act, also says that employees whose average daily wage is ₹176 or less pay nothing, while their employer still pays its share. We have not found that exemption under the Code on Social Security or its rules, so the calculator does not apply it: it only tells you when your daily wage is at or below ₹176. Check your payslip.

The in-hand salary calculator and the salary breakup calculator do not take off ESI, so on salaries where you are covered, take this amount off their result too.

ESI, in short

What is the ESI contribution rate?

You pay 0.75% of your wages and your employer pays 3.25%, 4% in all, each rounded up to the next rupee.

Who is covered by ESI?

Employees whose wages are ₹21,000 a month or less (₹25,000 for persons with disability), working where ten or more people are employed, or in work notified as hazardous even with one employee.

Is HRA counted in ESI wages?

Not since the Code on Social Security, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. Its definition of wages leaves out HRA, conveyance, overtime and commission, unless those are more than half of your pay.