Global Payroll Salary Calculator

How to Use the Calculator

Choose two nations to contrast. Support is given to the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. They address the most frequent cross-border employment choices made by Indian-based businesses.

Enter the gross annual salary for the role in each country's local currency. For India that is the rupee CTC, for the US it is the USD salary, for the UK it is the GBP salary. Use the figure on the offer letter, not the in-hand take-home.

Read the side-by-side cards. Each shows the gross salary, the statutory employer contributions broken out line by line, and the total cost in both local currency and USD so you can compare countries on the same footing.

To observe how the cost gap changes, change the salary in either column. A salary of Rs 18,000 per month loads up differently than a salary of Rs 1,50,000 per month in India since supplementary payments like ESI and statutory bonuses start to apply below specific levels.

The Real Employer Cost in India

The Indian side of the calculator includes the statutory loadings that most simple "cost of hire" calculators miss:

• Provident Fund (EPF) at 12% of Basic + DA, statutorily capped at Rs 15,000 of basic salary per month. So the maximum employer EPF cost per employee under the statutory cap is around Rs 21,600 a year, although employers often choose to contribute on actual Basic for higher-paid staff.
• EDLI at 0.5% and EPF administrative charges at 0.5%, both on the same capped wage.
• ESI at 3.25% of gross wages, but only when monthly gross is Rs 21,000 or below. Above that threshold, ESI does not apply.
• Gratuity accrual at about 4.81% of Basic + DA, which is the 15/26 monthly accrual baked into Indian gratuity law. Payable on separation after five years of service.
• Statutory bonus at 8.33% on a capped wage, only for employees within the Rs 21,000 monthly eligibility band.

For a typical desk role in a mid-sized Indian firm, statutory employer costs run anywhere from 3 to 5% of CTC at the higher salary end, where the EPF ceiling caps contributions, up to 15 to 20% at the lower end, where ESI and statutory bonus kick in. The calculator assumes Basic + DA is half of CTC by default; if your structure splits differently, your EPF and gratuity figures will shift accordingly. For a component-by-component breakdown, try our CTC Calculator and the salary structure and EPF walkthroughs.

How Other Countries Compare

The United States employer side is largely payroll tax driven. The federal piece is FICA, made up of Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45%, which together come to 7.65% on wages up to the annual Social Security wage base. On top of that, FUTA (federal unemployment) and SUTA (state unemployment) typically add 3 to 6% combined, depending on state and employer experience rating. The calculator uses an indicative 4.35% for FUTA + SUTA combined. State and city-specific payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and employer health insurance contributions are additional and vary widely.

At most pay levels, the UK is now the most heavily loaded of the three. Employer's National Insurance for salaries beyond the secondary threshold was raised from 13.8% to 15% on April 6, 2025. For qualified workers, pension auto-enrolment adds a minimum 3% employer contribution. Because of this, the average employer loading for mid-range pay in the UK is around 18% above gross, which is significantly higher than in the US or India.

Why the FX Rates Are Indicative

Every day, foreign currency prices fluctuate. The calculator employs preset rates for consistency of comparison, not as a transaction-grade conversion. In any case, a one-day FX snapshot is not the appropriate information for a recruiting choice you will have to make for a number of years. If you are budgeting in your native currency for a multi-year engagement overseas, create a buffer of at least 5 to 8% around the USD-equivalent amount.

If you need a transaction-grade rate for actually paying someone, use mid-market rates from your bank or a forex platform on the day of payment.

From Cost Comparison to Actual Hiring

Rarely is the wage amount the most difficult aspect of recruiting across borders. It includes all that goes into it, such as establishing a local company, creating a payroll account, enrolling in the local social security program, adhering to labour laws relevant to the nation, and filing monthly taxes. Establishing a foreign subsidiary only to hire one or two employees is not profitable for the majority of Indian businesses that hire overseas.

For this purpose, Employer of Record services are offered. You enter into a contract with the EOR, who acts as the destination country's legal employer and oversees payroll and legal compliance, rather than directly with the employee. The cost shows up as a service fee, often 8 to 15% of gross, in addition to the loaded pay. The calculator does not mimic EOR, therefore if it is in the table, add this penalty directly.

For domestic Indian payroll, TankhaPay's payroll software handles the EPF, ESI, gratuity, bonus, and TDS calculations the calculator runs at a high level, except actually filed and deposited each month. Our guide on payroll software in India goes into more depth.