India raises the EPF wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 a month from Rs 15,000

India raises the EPF wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 a month from Rs 15,000

17 September 2026: India's Ministry of Labour and Employment has raised the wage ceiling for mandatory provident fund coverage from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 a month, so employees earning between those figures now fall inside the scheme. The change applied from the day notification S.O. 5109(E) was published in the Gazette, which means payroll systems that hard-code the old limit need updating.

Not yet independently verified. The Gazette text was read through a copy on Gazette Tracker, and the Cabinet figures through a law-report site, because the ministry and PIB pages could not be opened. We will link the official pages when they are reachable. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The notification is dated 17 September 2026 and is issued under clause (89) of section 2 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. It sets the ceiling for Chapter III of the Code, the provident fund chapter, at Rs 25,000 a month. It supersedes an earlier notification, S.O. 2702(E) of 29 May 2026, except for things done or omitted before the supersession.

The Union Cabinet approved the proposal on 16 September. According to the report of that decision, the government says more than 51 lakh additional employees come within mandatory coverage, with annual government outgo of Rs 11,339 crore and about Rs 56,696 crore over five years. The ceiling had stood at Rs 15,000 since September 2014. The same report puts the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation at 7.98 crore contributing members and 7.68 lakh contributing establishments.

BDO India notes that employers and employees are each required to contribute 12% of wages, although employers may restrict contributions to the statutory ceiling. At 12%, the capped monthly figure moves from Rs 1,800 to Rs 3,000. The firm lists the work for employers: identify the newly covered staff, work out the cost, review how the contribution is split with the pension scheme, update payroll, and tell affected workers.

Because the new ceiling took effect on 17 September, the September payroll run is the first one that has to be checked against it, including for staff who joined or received a raise during the month.

Sources

• Ministry of Labour and Employment: Gazette notification S.O. 5109(E) (copy on Gazette Tracker), 17 September 2026
• SCC Online: Cabinet approves EPFO wage ceiling limit from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, 17 September 2026
• BDO India: PF wage ceiling increased to Rs 25,000 under Social Security Code, 18 September 2026