# Salaries – Introduction and Charging Principles
## Structure of the head 'Salaries'
Income under 'Salaries' is built from three components:
1. Charging Section (Sec 15) – salary chargeable on due/receipt basis.
2. Meaning (Sec 17) – Salary, Perquisite, Profits in lieu of salary.
3. Deductions (Sec 16) – Standard deduction, Entertainment allowance, Professional tax.
## Pre-condition: Employer–Employee relationship
- Only payments made by an employer to an employee for services rendered are taxable as salary.
- The relationship of employer and employee must exist — without it, income cannot be charged under 'Salaries' (e.g., a professional's fee is business income, not salary).
- Applies whether employment is full-time or part-time.
## Key concepts
### 1. Forgoing of salary
Once salary has accrued, waiving or instructing the employer to donate it does not relieve the employee from tax. It is taxed first; the donation is a separate application of income.
### 2. Surrender of salary
Salary surrendered to the Central Government under the Voluntary Surrender of Salaries (Exemption from Taxation) Act, 1961 is exempt from tax.
> Contrast: Forgoing = taxable; Surrender under the 1961 Act = exempt.
### 3. Salary paid tax-free
- If the employer pays the tax on the employee's salary, the employee's income includes both the salary and the tax paid (the tax borne is itself a taxable benefit).
- Exception: Income-tax paid by the employer on non-monetary perquisites is exempt under Section 10(10CC).
### 4. Place of accrual & Section 9(1)
- Pension and leave salary paid abroad for services rendered in India is deemed to accrue in India.
- Government salary to an Indian citizen for services outside India is deemed to accrue in India.