Guide · India · Software

How night shift allowance is usually calculated in India

Payslips rarely show the working. Two patterns cover most private-sector night work: a percentage of daily CTC, or a fixed rupee amount per night. This page explains both, then points you to a private calculator that never uploads your CTC.

Open the night calculator Worked examples

The common percentage model

If the question is “how many hours was 22:00 to 06:00?”, that is a different tool: the night shift hours calculator adds the hours after midnight and can apply a differential you type. The formula below is for a month of nights, not a clock.

Many software-company policies start from annual CTC, spread it across working days, then pay a slice of that daily figure for each night rostered:

Per night ≈ (annual CTC ÷ working days) × allowance %

Defaults people actually use in conversation: 240 working days and 20–30% (25% is a frequent midpoint). Example: CTC ₹12,00,000 → daily ≈ ₹5,000 → 25% night ≈ ₹1,250 per night. Twenty nights in a month ≈ ₹25,000 extra — before tax, attendance rules, and whether weekends count.

Fixed rupees per night

Some employers skip the percentage and publish a slab: ₹400, ₹800, ₹1,500 a night, sometimes higher for weekends or “graveyard” hours. If your offer letter or HRMS already shows a number, use that. A percentage model will only confuse you.

What this will not match

Attendance rounding, OD, or “eligible only if shift starts after 10 pm”.
Whether allowance is inside CTC or paid extra.
PF, professional tax, or how payroll taxes the component.

If the calculator and the payslip disagree, the payslip (and the policy PDF) win. Use the estimate to know whether a month of nights is ₹4,000 or ₹40,000 — order-of-magnitude honesty.

How to log it without sending data to anyone

The toolkit stores optional month-wise nights in your browser and totals them for the Indian financial year (April–March). Export JSON if you want a backup. Nothing is an HR submission.

Worked numbers (₹12 lakh, 240 days, 25%)

Daily CTC = 12,00,000 ÷ 240 = ₹5,000. Twenty-five percent of that is ₹1,250 a night. Ten nights ≈ ₹12,500; twenty nights ≈ ₹25,000. Change the percentage to 20% and the same CTC becomes ₹1,000 a night. Change working days to 260 and daily CTC falls, so the night rupee falls with it. Full tables: worked examples.

Is night allowance overtime?

Usually no. Overtime is extra hours on a day already worked. Night-shift allowance is a roster premium for unsocial hours, even on a standard 8–9 hour shift. Some employers stack both (night + OT after a threshold). The free calculator models one rate. If you have two rates, track them separately or use a sheet with weekday and weekend columns.

Inside CTC vs extra

Read the offer annexure. If “night shift allowance” is listed in the CTC breakup, the bank credit may already include it and the tool’s “extra” is only a way to see the component. If the letter says NSA is paid over and above CTC for rostered nights, the monthly total is closer to real cash — still before tax.

Tax treatment in one paragraph

For most private-sector salary structures, NSA is taxed as salary, not as a tax-free allowance. Run total CTC through the In-hand tab rather than taxing NSA alone. See new vs old regime. This is not a filing.