Maharashtra Profession Tax for Employers: Slabs, PTRC Returns and the New 15th Due Dates
In Maharashtra, deduct profession tax of ₹200 a month and ₹300 in February (₹2,500 a year) from men earning above ₹10,000 a month and women above ₹25,000. Men earning ₹7,501 to ₹10,000 pay ₹175. Since a 28 February 2026 amendment, PTRC returns are due on the 15th, and annual returns by 15 March.
Maharashtra profession tax looks simple until a payroll team has to answer three questions at once: which slab applies to whom, whether the company files monthly or once a year, and when the return is due now that the dates have moved. This post settles all three for employers running payroll in the state, using the rate schedule and circulars on the MahaGST portal. For other states, see PT slabs for every state.
The slabs for salaried employees
The schedule to the Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1975 sets separate slabs for men and women, based on monthly salary or wages.
| Employee | Monthly salary or wages | Profession tax |
|---|---|---|
| Men | Up to ₹7,500 | Nil |
| Men | ₹7,501 to ₹10,000 | ₹175 a month |
| Men | Above ₹10,000 | ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February (₹2,500 a year) |
| Women | Up to ₹25,000 | Nil |
| Women | Above ₹25,000 | ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February (₹2,500 a year) |
Three points payroll teams get wrong:
- ✓The February ₹300 is not a penalty or an arrear. It is how the schedule reaches the constitutional cap of ₹2,500 a year: ₹200 × 11 months + ₹300 = ₹2,500.
- ✓The slab is tested every month. A woman whose salary rises from ₹24,000 to ₹27,000 in July starts paying ₹200 from July. A month of loss of pay that drops a man below ₹10,000 moves him to ₹175 or nil for that month.
- ✓The women's threshold is ₹25,000, not ₹10,000. Older payroll templates still carry the earlier limit.
PTRC and PTEC: two registrations, two jobs
| PTRC (Registration Certificate) | PTEC (Enrolment Certificate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who needs it | Every employer that deducts profession tax from salaries | The business itself, and persons such as directors and professionals |
| What it covers | Tax deducted from employees | The entity's or person's own annual tax |
| Amount | As per the slabs above, per employee | Fixed annual amount, ₹2,500 for most entities and for company directors |
| Return | Monthly or annual return | No return; pay once a year |
A company in Pune therefore usually holds both: a PTRC for its staff and a PTEC for itself. Each director who is not nominated by the Government pays ₹2,500 a year under his or her own PTEC; the schedule excludes directors of companies registered outside Maharashtra who do not live in the state.
Monthly or annual: the periodicity list
Rule 11 of the Profession Tax Rules fixes whether an employer files monthly or annually based on its PTRC liability in the previous year. A newly registered employer files monthly until the end of its first year.
For FY 2026-27, the department published a list of PTRC numbers with their periodicity on mahagst.gov.in under What's New. Commentary on that list puts the cut-off at ₹1,00,000 of previous-year liability (monthly above it, annual below it); older guides quote ₹50,000. Do not guess: look up your PTRC number in the department's list and file on that basis.
Due dates after the February 2026 amendment
Notification dated 28 February 2026 amended the Rules and replaced the old month-end dates with the 15th.
| Obligation | Old due date | Due date now |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly PTRC return and payment | Last day of the month the return relates to | 15th of that month |
| March monthly return | 31 March | 15 March |
| Annual PTRC return (annual filers) | 31 March | 15 March of the same financial year |
| PTEC annual payment | 30 June | 15 June |
Two practical effects:
- Annual filers now pay before the year ends. For FY 2026-27, the annual return and full-year tax are due by 15 March 2027, so February and March deductions have to be estimated and paid with it.
- Monthly filers have a shorter window. Check on the portal which return period your deduction falls in, and set the payroll calendar so the challan goes out before the 15th.
The return is filed and tax paid on the MahaGST portal, which moved to a new IT system in 2026.
Late fee and interest
- ✓Late fee for a return: ₹200 if filed within 30 days of the due date, ₹1,000 from the 31st day. Trade Circular 2T of 2026 sets out these amounts when granting a one-time waiver for the March 2026 and FY 2025-26 returns.
- ✓Interest on late payment: commonly applied at 1.25% per month or part of a month on the unpaid tax.
- ✓The employer bears it. Tax deducted but not paid remains the employer's liability; it cannot be recovered again from staff.
A worked example
A Nashik engineering firm has 40 employees on its PTRC:
- ✓30 men earning above ₹10,000 a month
- ✓1 man earning ₹9,000 a month
- ✓6 women earning above ₹25,000 a month
- ✓3 women earning ₹25,000 or less
Monthly deduction (April to January, and March):
- ✓36 employees × ₹200 = ₹7,200
- ✓1 employee × ₹175 = ₹175
- ✓Total = ₹7,375
February deduction:
- ✓36 × ₹300 = ₹10,800
- ✓1 × ₹175 = ₹175
- ✓Total = ₹10,975
Annual liability: ₹7,375 × 11 = ₹81,125, plus ₹10,975 = ₹92,100. Check: 36 × ₹2,500 = ₹90,000, plus ₹175 × 12 = ₹2,100, giving ₹92,100.
If the firm's previous-year liability was of this size, the ₹1,00,000 cut-off reported for FY 2026-27 would make it an annual filer, due by 15 March 2027; under the older ₹50,000 figure it would file monthly. That is exactly why the firm should check the department's periodicity list. If it files the return 45 days late, the late fee is ₹1,000, not ₹200.
Frequently asked questions
Is profession tax deducted on gross salary or basic pay?
The schedule uses monthly salary or wages, which employers apply to gross monthly pay. Do not use basic pay alone to test the slab.
Does a woman earning exactly ₹25,000 pay profession tax?
No. Tax applies only when monthly salary exceeds ₹25,000.
Do we deduct profession tax from interns on a stipend?
If the stipend is paid as salary under an employment relationship, the slabs apply. A stipend below ₹7,500 for men or ₹25,000 for women attracts nil tax anyway.
Can an employer with no staff above the threshold skip the PTRC return?
No. A registered employer must file its return even when the tax deducted is nil.
Sources
- ✓Profession Tax rate schedule, MahaGST%20(1).pdf)
- ✓Trade Circular 2T of 2026 on late fee for March 2026 returns, MahaGST%20of%20the%20PT%20Act%20for%20filing%20of%20returns%20of%20March-2026.pdf)
- ✓Profession Tax trade circulars, MahaGST
- ✓Maharashtra advances profession tax due dates to the 15th, TaxGuru
- ✓Periodicity of PTRC dealers for FY 2026-27, Udyamica
This is a summary, not legal advice. Confirm your periodicity, return period and due date on mahagst.gov.in or with a profession tax practitioner before you file.
Written by
HR Manager, Airwix Technologies (Sleet)
Nihit Dobariya is the HR Manager at Airwix Technologies in Ahmedabad, where he runs HR and payroll for the team behind Sleet. He writes about payroll, PF and ESIC, professional tax, the labour codes and everyday HR practice for Indian employers, and checks each rule against the official notification before it is published.
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