Payroll in West Bengal and Odisha 2026: Professional Tax, Labour Welfare Fund and Attendance
West Bengal and Odisha both have professional tax and a labour welfare fund, with different slabs and due dates. A clear guide for employers in Kolkata, Howrah, Siliguri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela.
Payroll in West Bengal and Odisha. The State Pieces People Forget
Central rules (PF, ESI (Employees' State Insurance), income tax and now the four labour codes) are the same everywhere. The mistakes usually happen in the state pieces: professional tax, the labour welfare fund and the holiday list. Here is how they look in Bengal and Odisha.
> Rates below are from compliance publications. Aggregator sites disagree on some slabs, so confirm on the state portals before filing.
West Bengal
Professional tax (monthly salary):
| Monthly salary | PT per month |
|---|---|
| Up to Rs 10,000 | Nil |
| Rs 10,001 – 15,000 | Rs 110 |
| Rs 15,001 – 25,000 | Rs 130 |
| Rs 25,001 – 40,000 | Rs 150 |
| Above Rs 40,000 | Rs 200 |
Labour welfare fund: paid half-yearly. A December 2024 notification raised the employer share to Rs 30 per half-year (from Rs 15); the employee share stays Rs 3. Payment is online on the WB Labour Welfare Board portal.
Odisha
- Professional tax: monthly slabs, with nil at the lowest band and Rs 200–208 at the top. Sources quote different middle slabs. Use the Odisha commercial tax notification.
- Labour welfare fund: applies to establishments with 20 or more employees, paid in June and December. Published guides give employer Rs 20 and an employee share of Rs 2 to Rs 10. Check the current Odisha notice.
Holidays are not one list
Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Poila Baisakh, Rath Yatra, Raja and Nuakhai mean a Kolkata office and a Bhubaneswar office have different holiday calendars. A firm with branches in both needs holidays per branch, and leave counted against the right list. HRPM (HR & Payroll Management) lets each firm keep holiday regions and apply them per branch.
Tea gardens, jute mills, ports
Large worker groups with daily wages, rations and housing need attendance per worker and per gang, not just per office employee. Workers without a smartphone need a supervisor's entry that is logged, alongside phone punches for those who have one.
Language
Many staff prefer Bengali or Odia. HRPM today runs in English and Hindi, and its screens are built so new languages can be added; Bengali and Odia are on our list. Every form already carries a short help line with an example, so new staff can fill it without calling HR.
Monthly checklist
- PT deducted on the right slab and paid by the state due date
- LWF in June and December
- PF (Employees' Provident Fund, EPF) / ESI on the labour-code wage base (at least 50% of pay)
- Branch-wise holiday list loaded before the year starts
- Salary slip on the employee's phone
Sources
- West Bengal LWF increase: Deloitte tax alert, WB Labour Welfare Board
- Professional tax: BankBazaar, TaxGuru
- Odisha LWF: ClearTax, Simpliance
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