## Computing Basic Salary from a Pay Scale

A pay scale is the structured progression of basic salary showing minimum, maximum, and periodic increments.

### Reading a Pay Scale

A scale like 30,000 – 1,000 – 32,000 – 3,000 – 50,000 means:

Starting basic: ₹ 30,000 p.m.
First increment: ₹ 1,000 annually, until reaching ₹ 32,000
Second increment: ₹ 3,000 annually thereafter, until ceiling of ₹ 50,000 p.m.

### Procedure

1. Identify date of joining / date of last increment.

2. Build a year-on-year table showing basic salary in each 12-month block from joining.

3. For the relevant Previous Year (1 April to 31 March), pick the applicable monthly basic for each month and aggregate.

Worked example

### Example 1

Worked Example: Mr. Aman joined on 1.2.2020 in scale 30,000 – 1,000 – 32,000 – 3,000 – 50,000. Compute basic for PY 2025-26.

PY 2025-26 (1.4.25 to 31.3.26):

• 1.4.25 to 31.1.26: ₹ 41,000 × 10 = ₹ 4,10,000

• 1.2.26 to 31.3.26: ₹ 44,000 × 2 = ₹ 88,000

Total Basic = ₹ 4,98,000

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

Applying increments on 1 April instead of the anniversary of joining.
Continuing the smaller increment (₹ 1,000) even after the scale shifts to the larger one (₹ 3,000).
Forgetting to split the PY into two sub-periods when increment occurs mid-year.
Stopping at the ceiling — when basic reaches the maximum (₹ 50,000), no further increments apply.

Reference:

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Basic Salary Calculation from Pay Scale

Worked example