An IIT Roorkee alumnus has shared a detailed breakdown of his ₹25 LPA salary package, explaining why his monthly take-home pay was significantly lower than what the headline CTC suggested. Siddharth Maheshwari, a 35-year-old IIT Roorkee alumnus and Indian School of Business (ISB) graduate, currently works at a Gurgaon-based startup as an Associate Vice President (AVP).The techie currently works at a Gurgaon-based startup as an Associate Vice President (AVP). (Unsplash/Representational Image)In an Instagram post, the 35-year-old techie recalled receiving his first salary after completing his studies at ISB. He shared that, despite an offer letter mentioning a ₹25 LPA package, he was surprised to find only about ₹1.45 lakh credited to his bank account.“Pehli salary credit hui. ₹1,45,000. Balance check kiya dobara. Phir teesri baar. Same number. ₹1,45,000. Mujhe laga bank ne galti ki hai. Bank ne nahi ki thi. Offer letter ne ki thi,” Maheshwari wrote in the caption of the Instagram post.Breakdown of ₹25 LPA CTCIn the post, the techie explained how a ₹25 LPA CTC translates into actual earnings. According to his calculations, the package amounts to a monthly CTC of about ₹2.08 lakh. However, the salary structure on payroll looks very different.He said that his monthly salary included ₹80,000 basic pay, ₹40,000 as house rent allowance (HRA), ₹45,000 as special allowance and ₹5,000 under LTA and medical benefits, taking the gross monthly salary to around ₹1.7 lakh.Then, from this amount, Maheshwari said that deductions such as employee provident fund (PF), professional tax and income tax are made. He estimated that employee PF contributions at around ₹9,600 per month, professional tax at ₹200 and tax deducted at source (TDS) at around ₹20,000. After these deductions, the monthly in-hand salary comes roughly to ₹1.4 lakh.In the caption, Maheshwari further highlighted several components that are counted within the CTC but never appear as cash in an employee’s bank account. These include the employer’s PF contribution, gratuity, medical insurance and variable pay.“Employer PF: ₹9,600/month (Tumhare PF account mein jaata hai. Access 58 saal mein). Gratuity: ₹3,200/month (5 saal naukri karne ke baad milegi. Tabhi agar chode nahi). Medical insurance: ₹2,500/month (Benefit hai. Cash nahi). Variable pay: ₹12,500/month (Target number hai. Company performance pe depend karta hai. Guarantee zero),” the techie wrote.The IIT graduate also calculated income tax under the new tax regime for FY 2026-27. Based on an annual taxable income of ₹20.25 lakh after the standard deduction, he estimated the total annual tax liability at over ₹2.14 lakh, which translates to monthly TDS deductions of nearly ₹18,000.Maheshwari concluded the post with 3 key lessons. First, employer PF contributions and gratuity are included in CTC despite not being immediately accessible cash. Second, variable pay should not be treated as fixed income. Third, employees living in cities with high rent expenses may benefit from comparing the old and new tax regimes before making a choice.He also shared a piece of advice for job seekers evaluating offers.“Offer letter mein sirf ek number maango - monthly in-hand after tax and deductions. CTC marketing number hai. In-hand number woh hai jo EMI bharta hai,” he wrote.