Payroll & HR
Maharashtra Professional Tax 2026: Slabs and Due Dates
Maharashtra PT slabs for men and women, the Rs 300 February deduction, PTEC vs PTRC, and the new due dates on the 15th. A plain guide for employers.
Facts checked on 2 November 2026.
Professional tax (PT) is a state tax on salaries and on people in business. Maharashtra collects it, and every employer in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune deals with it every month. Two things changed recently: return dates moved earlier, and women's exemption now runs to a higher salary than many payroll sheets assume. This guide covers the slabs, the February rule, the difference between PTEC and PTRC, the new dates, and a worked example. Please confirm the points with your CA, since sources do not agree on every detail.
Who pays
An employee with a monthly salary above the exempt limit has PT deducted by the employer, who pays it to the state. Self-employed people, professionals, firms and companies pay on their own account. The state publishes the rates on its MahaGST rate schedule page. We could not open that page when we wrote this, so we checked the slabs against two payroll guides, one from Zoho and one from CalcGuru. They agree with each other.
The salary slabs
| Monthly gross salary | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Up to Rs 7,500 | Nil | Nil |
| Rs 7,501 to Rs 10,000 | Rs 175 | Nil |
| Rs 10,001 to Rs 25,000 | Rs 200 (Rs 300 in February) | Nil |
| Above Rs 25,000 | Rs 200 (Rs 300 in February) | Rs 200 (Rs 300 in February) |
Women earning up to Rs 25,000 a month have been exempt since 1 April 2023, per the Zoho guide. The maximum in a year is Rs 2,500, which is eleven months at Rs 200 plus Rs 300 in February.
The February rule
The extra Rs 100 is taken in February, so that the year adds up to Rs 2,500. It applies to people in the Rs 200 band. A man earning Rs 9,000 pays Rs 175 in every month, including February, because he is in the lower band. Many hand-made salary sheets miss this and deduct Rs 200 in all twelve months, which leaves the employee Rs 100 short in the year.
PTRC and PTEC: two different registrations
- PTRC is the registration for an employer. You deduct PT from salaries and file returns.
- PTEC is the enrolment for a person in business or practice, who pays on his own account. For most categories it is Rs 2,500 a year, but the guides we read differ on some categories, so check Schedule I of the Act or ask your CA. A company usually needs both. A person who only earns a salary needs neither.
The new due dates
A Maharashtra Finance Department notification dated 28 February 2026 amended Rule 11(3) of the PT Rules. In clause (a), "31st of March" became "15th of March", and in clause (c), "last date" became "15th day" (notification text on TaxGuru). Reports read this as follows:
- The annual return and the March return are due on 15 March (TaxClue).
- A monthly return is due on the 15th instead of the last day of the month (Lexplosion; CalcGuru).
- For PTEC, CalcGuru says the annual payment for an existing enrolment moves from 30 June to 15 June.
The notification text itself does not name PTRC or PTEC, so these readings come from commentary. Check the notification and your own registration.
The department also gave relief. Trade Circular 2T of 2026, dated 17 April 2026, waived the late fee for March 2026 monthly returns and FY 2025-26 annual returns filed by 30 April 2026, where the tax was nil or paid by 15 March. After that date, the late fee was Rs 200 for up to 30 days of delay and Rs 1,000 from the 31st day (TaxClue). That relief is for those returns and does not apply to all future ones.
Monthly or annual return: sources disagree
Employers file either a monthly return or one annual return, depending on how much PT they paid the year before. The sources we read give three different limits: Rs 20,000 (Lexplosion), Rs 50,000 (Zoho) and Rs 1,00,000 (CalcGuru). We could not settle this from the rule text, so we do not give a number. Your PTRC certificate and the PT portal tell you which return applies to you. If you are close to a limit, ask your CA.
A worked example: a Mumbai firm with ten staff
A trading firm in Mumbai has ten employees. This is an example, not a customer.
| Staff | Monthly gross | PT per month | PT in February |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 men | Rs 12,000 to Rs 40,000 | Rs 200 each = Rs 1,200 | Rs 300 each = Rs 1,800 |
| 1 man | Rs 9,000 | Rs 175 | Rs 175 |
| 2 women | Rs 22,000 | Nil | Nil |
| 1 woman | Rs 30,000 | Rs 200 | Rs 300 |
| Total | Rs 1,575 | Rs 2,275 |
The year's PT is eleven months at Rs 1,575 plus Rs 2,275 in February, which is Rs 19,600. Whether this firm files monthly or yearly depends on the limit that applies, which is why the sources above matter. Notice also that the two women on Rs 22,000 pay nothing, while a man on the same salary would pay Rs 200 a month.
Common mistakes
- Applying one PT figure to everyone, so women under Rs 25,000 are charged.
- Deducting Rs 200 in February instead of Rs 300 for those in the upper band.
- Charging Rs 300 in February to people in the Rs 175 band.
- Forgetting PTEC for the owners or partners, after registering for PTRC.
- Using the old last-day-of-month dates.
- Paying PT on the portal but never filing the return.
What payroll software should do
A payroll that is right for Maharashtra should apply the slab by gender and salary, take Rs 300 in February, and show a clear monthly total you can pay on the portal. In BecozAI, professional tax works in the pay run and is switched on in HR settings. BecozAI does not keep a PT register or file PT returns, so you pay and file on the state portal using the totals. Do not take our word for the slabs: in the 7-day free trial, set up one man on Rs 9,000, one woman on Rs 22,000 and one man on Rs 30,000, run February, and compare with the table above. Tell us if a line does not match. See our Mumbai payroll page for more, and our guide to the EPF ceiling of Rs 25,000 for the PF side.
This guide is information, not advice. Please confirm the points in it with your CA or labour consultant.