Professional Tax Registration (PTRC & PTEC)
Professional tax is a state tax on salaries, professions and trades, capped at ₹2,500 per person a year by Article 276 of the Constitution. If your employees work in a levying state such as Maharashtra or Karnataka, you need professional tax registration there before the first deduction. We register you and keep the filings on time, in any state.
What it is
Professional tax, or PT, is a tax a state charges on people who earn a living there through a salary, profession, trade or business. Employers deduct it from salaries every month and deposit it with the state. In many states, businesses and professionals also pay it on their own account. Professional tax registration lets you do both legally.
Article 276(2) of the Constitution limits the total to ₹2,500 per person per year, a ceiling unchanged since 1988. The amounts are small; the paperwork is not. Each state has its own Act, slabs, due dates and portal (mahagst.gov.in in Maharashtra), so an office in Pune and one in Bengaluru follow different rules.
Who it applies to
You employ staff in a levying state
If anyone works at your office, shop or factory in a levying state, you register there and deduct PT from their salary. The workplace decides it, not where the company was incorporated.
You run a company or LLP in Maharashtra
The company or LLP pays ₹2,500 a year under its own enrolment, and so does each director (other than a government nominee) and each partner.
You practise or trade on your own
Doctors, lawyers, consultants and shop owners in a levying state pay PT themselves under an enrolment certificate: ₹2,500 a year for most in Maharashtra.
You are based in Faridabad or Delhi
Haryana and Delhi do not levy professional tax, so a team based only there needs no PT registration. Take a Faridabad auto-parts maker with everyone at its plant: nothing to register. The day it opens a Pune warehouse and hires a supervisor there, the 30-day clock in Maharashtra starts.
PTEC vs PTRC
Both are Maharashtra terms, for two separate certificates.
| Point | PTEC (Profession Tax Enrolment Certificate) | PTRC (Profession Tax Registration Certificate) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Paying your own professional tax | Collecting PT from employees’ salaries |
| Who holds it | The company or LLP, each director, each partner, a proprietor or a professional | The employer |
| How much | ₹2,500 a year for most enrolled persons | Each employee’s slab, up to ₹2,500 a year |
| When you pay | Once a year, by 15 June | Monthly by the 15th, or once a year by 15 March if last year’s PT liability was below ₹50,000 |
Most companies with Maharashtra staff need both: a PTEC for the company and each director, and a PTRC for the payroll. Here is the catch: the PTRC covers only what you collect from salaries. The company’s own ₹2,500 goes separately, under the PTEC.
State-wise snapshot
How the main levying states treat salaried staff in 2026:
| State | Salaried employee starts paying at | Top rate |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Men: above ₹7,500 a month (₹175 up to ₹10,000). Women: above ₹25,000 a month | ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February |
| Karnataka | ₹25,000 a month | ₹200 a month, ₹300 in February |
| West Bengal | Above ₹10,000 a month | ₹200 a month |
| Telangana | Above ₹15,000 a month | ₹200 a month |
| Andhra Pradesh | Above ₹15,000 a month | ₹200 a month |
| Gujarat | ₹12,000 a month | ₹200 a month |
| Madhya Pradesh | Above ₹2.25 lakh a year | ₹2,500 a year (₹208 a month, ₹212 in the last month) |
| Tamil Nadu | Half-yearly income above ₹21,000 | ₹1,250 per half-year; local bodies set the rates |
| Kerala | Half-yearly income of ₹12,000 | ₹1,250 per half-year |
| Assam | Above ₹10,000 a month | ₹208 a month |
PT also applies in Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Puducherry. It does not apply in Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir or Goa. Odisha repealed it from 1 April 2026.
In practice, the threshold decides a lot. A Noida startup paying its Bengaluru sales executive ₹24,000 a month deducts nothing; at ₹25,000, ₹200 a month starts. Slabs change, so we check the current notification first.
Why it matters
Avoid paying your staff’s tax yourself
The employer is responsible for PT on salaries. Forget to deduct it, and the state still collects it from you, with interest.
Stop a daily penalty before it starts
Maharashtra’s late-registration penalty runs per day, so two years’ delay can mean ₹3,650 for the PTRC alone.
Give staff their salary deduction
PT shown in Form 16 lets employees in the old tax regime claim it. Keep it reconciled with PF, ESI and TDS as part of your payroll compliance.
Documents required
Send these from the business
- PAN of the company, LLP, firm or proprietor
- Certificate of incorporation, LLP agreement or partnership deed
- GST registration certificate, if any
- Cancelled cheque or bank statement
Add proof of the workplace
- Rent agreement or ownership proof of the premises
- A recent utility bill for the premises
- Date the first employee started work there
List your people and salaries
- PAN, Aadhaar and photograph of each director, partner or the proprietor
- Employees working in the state, with monthly gross salary
- Gender of each employee, where slabs differ (as in Maharashtra)
How it works
Map every employee to a state
We list where each person works, mark the states that levy PT, and work out every slab.
Apply for PTRC and PTEC within 30 days
We apply on the state portal for the PTRC and, where needed, the PTEC.
Load the right slab into payroll
We set each employee’s amount in payroll, including the ₹300 February deduction in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Deposit and file before the due date
We generate the challan, pay the tax and file the monthly or annual return.
Match PT with Form 16 and TDS
We check that PT shows correctly in each salary certificate (Form 16, renamed Form 130 from tax year 2026-27) and matches your TDS return filing.
Timelines
Register within 30 days
Counted from the date you became liable, usually the day your first employee starts work in that state.
Deposit employees’ PT every month
Maharashtra: by the 15th (month-end until a notification dated 28 February 2026). Karnataka: by the 20th of the following month. West Bengal: by the 21st. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: by the 10th. Gujarat: by the 15th.
File Maharashtra’s annual return by 15 March
If your PT liability for the previous year was below ₹50,000, you file once a year, by 15 March (earlier 31 March). Others file monthly.
Pay the Maharashtra PTEC by 15 June
₹2,500 every year (earlier 30 June). Enrol after 15 May, and the first payment is due within one month of enrolment.
What happens if you miss it
Late registration costs by the day
Maharashtra can levy ₹5 for each day of delay in taking a PTRC, and ₹2 a day for a PTEC.
Late payment draws interest
In Maharashtra, interest starts at 1.25% a month on unpaid tax, and a penalty of up to 10% of the tax due can be added.
Late returns attract a fee
Up to ₹1,000 for each Maharashtra return filed after the due date.
Old Odisha dues survive the repeal
A Delhi services firm with a field team in Bhubaneswar stops deducting PT from April 2026 salaries. Unpaid tax up to March 2026 can still be recovered.
Frequently asked questions
Does a business in Faridabad or Delhi need professional tax registration?
No, not for staff who work in Haryana or Delhi; neither state levies it. You need it only when someone on your payroll works in a state that charges it. A Faridabad company that posts two sales staff in Pune must register in Maharashtra within 30 days and deduct PT from their salaries. We map each employee to a state, so you register only where required.
What is the difference between PTEC and PTRC?
PTEC covers the tax you pay on your own account; PTRC covers the tax you collect from employees. Both are Maharashtra terms. The company or LLP, each director, each partner or a professional holds a PTEC and pays ₹2,500 a year. The employer holds the PTRC, deducts PT from salaries and files returns. Most companies need both, and we apply for them together.
What is the most professional tax anyone pays in a year?
₹2,500 per person per year, in total. Article 276(2) of the Constitution sets this ceiling for all taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments. That is why Maharashtra and Karnataka deduct ₹200 for eleven months and ₹300 in February: eleven times ₹200 plus ₹300 is exactly ₹2,500. We set the slabs in your payroll so nobody is over-deducted.
Can employees claim professional tax in their income tax return?
Yes, but only under the old tax regime. For FY 2025-26, PT paid is deducted from salary under section 16(iii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The new regime under section 115BAC does not allow it; employees there get only the ₹75,000 standard deduction. From tax year 2026-27, the deduction sits in section 19 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Show PT correctly in Form 16, and old-regime staff can claim it.
We are opening an office in Bengaluru. Which state’s professional tax applies?
Karnataka’s, for everyone who works at the Bengaluru office. Professional tax follows the state where the employee works, not where the company is registered. You register in Karnataka, deduct ₹200 a month (₹300 in February) from staff earning ₹25,000 a month or more, and pay by the 20th of the following month. Each state is a separate registration, and we handle all of them.
Is professional tax still payable in Odisha?
No, not for periods from 1 April 2026. The Odisha State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employment (Repeal) Ordinance, 2026, dated 21 April 2026, ended the tax from 1 April 2026, so employers stop deducting it from April 2026 salaries. Unpaid tax for earlier periods can still be recovered. If you have old Odisha dues, we can settle them and close the account.
What happens if we forgot to deduct professional tax from salaries?
You, the employer, still owe it. The law puts the liability on the employer, so tax not deducted is paid from the company’s own funds, with interest. In Maharashtra, interest starts at 1.25% a month on unpaid tax, and a penalty of up to 10% of the tax due can follow. We work out the arrears month by month and bring the account up to date.
Do directors and partners pay professional tax?
In Maharashtra, yes. Each director of a company, other than a government nominee, and each partner of a firm or LLP enrols separately and pays ₹2,500 a year under their own PTEC. A partnership firm or HUF as an entity does not pay, but its partners or coparceners do. Other states have their own lists, so we check your state’s schedule before anyone enrols.
What it costs
Our fee plus the government fee that applies to your case, quoted before you commit. Tell us the situation and we will price it exactly.
The tax itself: up to ₹2,500 per employee a year under a PTRC, plus ₹2,500 a year for each PTEC in Maharashtra. Interest and penalties apply only if a date is missed.
Ready to begin?
Send us a list of where your people work. We will tell you which professional tax registrations you need, and file them.