Your in-hand salary lower than what was offered in CTC? CA shares tips to help you avoid this situation
Chartered Accountant Abhishek Walia recently shared tips on social media for freshers and experienced professionals, cautioning those who celebrate offer letters without realising the challenges that follow months later.
"Because the real paycheck isn't what's written in your offer - it's what you keep, grow, and protect," said the CA in a post on LinkedIn
Check full post here
Your CTC is lying to you!
Every year, lakhs of freshers and experienced professionals celebrate offer letters with eye-popping CTCs.
But a few months in, reality hits:
'Why is my in-hand salary so low?'
'Where did half of my CTC go?'
'Should I be doing something about these deductions?'
Here's the truth: CTC ≠ Take-Home Pay
Let's break it down:
- Gratuity – Locked till 5 years. Not yours yet.
- Employer PF – Yours, but not liquid. Think long-term savings.
- Performance Bonus – Not guaranteed. Subjective, delayed.
- ESOPs – May sound glamorous, but only valuable if exercised + liquid.
- Insurance Premiums – Paid on your behalf, but no cash value in hand.
So what's actually yours each month? Your net pay after deductions. Yet most people plan their lifestyle expenses based on CTC - which is a trap.
So, here's what you should actually do:
✅ Understand your payslip. Not just the top line, but every component.
✅ Track net income, not gross. That's your real capacity to spend/invest.
✅ Build buffers for performance bonuses and variable components - treat them as bonuses, not baselines.
✅ Ask the right questions before accepting an offer: 'What's the fixed pay?
What's variable? What's the vesting period for ESOPs?'
Because the real paycheck isn't what's written in your offer - it's what you keep, grow, and protect.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Unbelievable: Calculator Shows The Value Of Your House Instantly (Take a Look)
Home Value Calculator
Search Now
Undo
What did people say?
"Until you decode your payslip, you're budgeting on fiction. This post is a must-read for every job seeker and young professional," said one user in reply to the post.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
State to roll out 299 interstate buses for festivals
Patna: To ease festival travel for migrants and improve interstate connectivity, CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that the Bihar govt will operate 299 buses connecting the state to major destinations in neighbouring states. The initiative is expected to address the long-standing difficulties faced by migrant workers and residents returning home during major festivals such as Chhath, Holi, Diwali and Durga Puja. Taking to X, the CM wrote, "People from Bihar return home in large numbers from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and West Bengal during various festivals, especially Chhath, Holi, Diwali and Durga Puja. They face difficulties travelling to Bihar during these times. To ease their journey and provide convenience, our govt is making continuous efforts. As part of this, the state government will operate 299 AC and non-AC buses on inter-state routes connected to Bihar. " This plan was formally approved during the cabinet meeting held on June 24. The CM added that the govt will request the Centre to run additional special trains during the festive period to further support travel demands. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Worst Home Items That People Own, Ranked CleverClassic Undo Of the total 299 buses, 75 air-conditioned deluxe and 74 non-AC deluxe buses will be procured by the state govt at a cost of Rs 105 crore. An additional 150 AC buses will be operated under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. According to an official release from the transport department, the buses will primarily operate on routes to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal. "This will provide safer, more accessible, and more reliable public transport for citizens, especially migrant workers," the statement said. Transport secretary Sandeep Kumar R Pudkalkatti said the enhanced bus services would strengthen interstate public transport through the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC). "The operation of modern and comfortable buses will make travel more convenient, safe, and affordable. It will also generate local employment opportunities," he said. He added that the daily passenger capacity of the newly introduced fleet — comprising 75 AC and 74 non-AC deluxe buses — will be around 6,000. Additionally, 150 more AC buses are expected to be operational during peak seasons such as Durga Puja, Chhath and Holi. At present, BSRTC operates 17 buses to Ranchi and two to Jamshedpur. The new additions are expected to vastly expand the reach and efficiency of Bihar's interstate public transport system.
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
Despite supplying 90% of its oil exports to China, Iran is weakened now: Helen Thompson
Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University . Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, she discusses Iran — and why the Tehran conflict is occuing. Q. What is the core of your research? A. Over the last 10 years, my work has primarily focused on the geopolitics and political economy of energy, which includes both fossil fuels and the energy transition . I'm also interested in the historical impact energy has had on economic life around the world and democratic politics, particularly in Western countries. Q. Where does Iran earn its resources from, despite decades of sanctions? A. Since 2018, when Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran has been principally exporting oil to China — around 90% of Iranian oil exports go there. The fact that the United States being unable to deter Beijing from importing from Tehran is central to the Iranian regime's ability to have some sort of an economic foundation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Before that, the sanctions regime on Tehran, although in place since the 1980s, wasn't particularly harsh on oil exports. It took quite a lot of persuasion for the European Union to sign up to the sanctions Barack Obama pushed in 2011-2012 because European governments were too concerned about oil prices to contemplate serious restrictions on Iran — Obama convinced them the US shale oil boom meant despite sanctions, oil prices wouldn't get too hard. Live Events Q. Is this conflict now basically a scramble for Iran's oil? A. I don't think there is fundamentally a scramble for Iran's oil resources going on — although Iran's position as an oil exporter and a state on the Persian Gulf is of immense geopolitical significance. Two current factors are key here. First, Iran's strategic position has deteriorated greatly since the Hezbollah pager attacks — that was the turning point. Tehran had problems post the October 7, 2023 attack. But what changed things was this threat from Hezbollah — which constrained not just Israel but other actors in the region and the US — was eliminated in 2024. There was also the end of the Assad regime in Syria then — and the Russians didn't come to the rescue then. That was another defeat before Israel's air attacks began. There is the Trump factor too — although Donald Trump has an aversion to America actually going to war, he's consistently said Iran can't have nuclear weapons. I think when he stated there were '60 days to negotiate', he meant it. It seems Tehran thought it could drag out negotiations like before — that turned out to not be the case. Iranian leadership made an error of judgement — that gave Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to start serious attacks. Q. What are the implications for oil prices now? A. There's been some market responsiveness — it hasn't always been prices going up. It's also been prices coming down when tensions seem lowered or there appears less likelihood of the US becoming very seriously involved. Threats by the Iranian government around closing the Strait of Hormuz also raise oil prices, although there's some bluffing because the Iranians are actually quite dependent on Oman to impact anything effectively there. Despite many threats made over the years, Iran has never actually closed the Strait. Regime change would have a more deleterious effect on oil prices. Q. How would that impact China and Russia? A. They're in a very difficult position — Vladimir Putin has apparently made a strategic judgement that Russia won't go to Iran's aid. The Chinese have been relatively quiet, compared to what could have been said. Given that Iran is a very significant partner for China on energy and Beijing has tried to invest a lot in Iran, regime change in Tehran would be worrying, including for the 'China-Russia-Iran axis'. The last 18 months reflected the China-Russia part of that is quite firm — in many ways, the Ukraine war deepened it. However, the Iran part has become a lot more complicated because Iran is declining while Turkey is the rising power in the Middle East. How Ankara fits into all this will be important for China. Q. How will the energy transition now proceed? A. That is really hard. If it were to succeed — and that's the language used in Britain because it's a legal commitment to net zero by 2050 — that would mean effectively reconfiguring the entire material basis of our like this has ever been tried in human history. The Industrial Revolution only added coal to existing energy sources. There are countries in the Global South where the transition to coal hasn't even happened at scale. So, the immensity of this must be understood. In practice, this means decarbonising electricity rather than electrifying parts of the economy that run on fossil fuels. There's been some success but observing how, say, solar power is generating electricity in China, it's nothing like the capacity China actually has — hydropower does more there. Northern Europe depends climatically on wind but offshore wind is more expensive than solar and the technology for adequate storage isn't here yet. So, the energy transition will take time — while producing economic, political and geopolitical difficulties. Views expressed are personal
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Worse trade outcomes possible if uncertainty spreads globally, warns WTO
New Delhi: Global goods trade posted a strong uptick in early 2025 but weakening export orders suggest that this momentum may not be sustained, the World Trade Organisation ( WTO ) Thursday said in its Goods Trade Barometer . The uptick was driven by importers frontloading purchases ahead of anticipated higher tariffs. The barometer rose to 103.5 up from 102.8 in March while the forward-looking new export orders index fell to 97.9 pointing to weaker trade growth later in the year. The barometer is a composite leading indicator for world trade, providing real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends. Year-on-year growth in the world merchandise trade turned positive the fourth quarter of 2023 and strengthened in 2024 as falling inflation and lower interest rates boosted real incomes and consumption. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Top 25 Most Beautiful Women In The World Articles Vally Undo 'Year-on-year trade growth eased in the fourth quarter of 2024 but new trade volume indices set for release in July are expected to show a rebound in Q1,' WTO said. Live Events The Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report of April predicted stable merchandise trade growth of 2.7% in 2025 under a low-tariff baseline scenario, and a decline of 0.2% in an adjusted forecast reflecting higher tariffs and rising trade policy uncertainty . 'Policy shifts since April have nudged the forecast up and down, but worse outcomes are still possible if uncertainty spreads globally,' it said.
