West Bengal Professional Tax From 1 October 2026: Old and New Slabs
West Bengal's new professional tax schedule (Notification 756-L) applies to salaried employees from 1 October 2026. The exemption doubles from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 a month, most bands pay ₹10 to ₹60 less, and salaries above ₹1,00,000 pay ₹208 a month, up from ₹200.
West Bengal has replaced its professional tax schedule. Notification No. 756-L, dated 7 August 2026, amends the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979. For salaried employees the new rates apply from 1 October 2026. The salary exemption doubles from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 a month, and the slabs are reset. To check a salary against the new slabs, use the professional tax calculator.
Old and new slabs for salaried employees
| Monthly salary | Until 30 September 2026 | From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹10,000 | Nil | Nil |
| ₹10,001 to ₹15,000 | ₹110 | Nil |
| ₹15,001 to ₹20,000 | ₹130 | Nil |
| ₹20,001 to ₹25,000 | ₹130 | ₹100 |
| ₹25,001 to ₹30,000 | ₹150 | ₹100 |
| ₹30,001 to ₹40,000 | ₹150 | ₹140 |
| ₹40,001 to ₹50,000 | ₹200 | ₹140 |
| ₹50,001 to ₹1,00,000 | ₹200 | ₹170 |
| Above ₹1,00,000 | ₹200 | ₹208 |
The new maximum is ₹208 a month, or ₹2,496 a year, which stays just under the ₹2,500 constitutional cap.
Who pays less and who pays more
- ✓Employees earning up to ₹20,000 pay nothing from October. Those between ₹10,001 and ₹20,000 were paying ₹110 or ₹130 a month before.
- ✓Employees between ₹20,001 and ₹1,00,000 pay less, by ₹10 to ₹60 a month depending on the band.
- ✓Employees earning above ₹1,00,000 pay ₹8 a month more.
Other groups
The notification also resets rates for self-employed professionals, traders and service suppliers, and those changes apply from financial year 2027-28. It lists 25 classes that pay a flat ₹2,500 a year, including companies, banks, factory occupiers, directors, hospitals and several digital and technology professions. If you run a business in West Bengal, read the schedule for your own category.
What payroll teams should do
- Update the West Bengal slab in payroll with effect from the October 2026 salary. Check which pay period your system treats as October.
- Look at employees whose tax goes to nil. Make sure the deduction stops and no arrears are created.
- Re-run a sample of employees at each band, and compare the new deduction with the table.
- Tell employees that the payslip will change, and why.
- Update the amounts that you file and pay. The payment and return process did not change, so use your usual route.
- Keep the old schedule for the months up to September 2026, since you may need it for corrections and assessments.
An example
An employee earns ₹28,000 a month. Until September the tax was ₹150. From October it is ₹100. Over a full year at the new rate that is ₹1,200 instead of ₹1,800. An employee earning ₹18,000 paid ₹130 a month and now pays nothing.
Sources
- ✓SGCMS: West Bengal overhauls professional tax, new schedule notified
- ✓United Consultancy: revision of West Bengal professional tax rates effective 1 October 2026
- ✓WBXpress: Schedule of rates of tax on professions, trades, callings and employments, 2026
Check the notification itself and your state tax office before you change the amounts you deduct.
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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