Quick answer
To decode a job offer in India, separate fixed CTC from variable pay and one-time bonuses — only fixed pay is dependable salary. Run fixed CTC through PF and FY 2025-26 tax to get real monthly in-hand; if variable and bonus exceed 30% of the headline CTC, the offer is optics-heavy and you should budget on the fixed number only.
Offer decoder
Is this job offer as good as it looks?
Paste the CTC and the fixed component from the breakup table. Get the real monthly number — and a call on whether the offer is clean or dressed up.
The big annual number everyone congratulates you on.
Basic + HRA + allowances. Excludes variable, bonus, ESOPs.
One-time money. Enter 0 if there isn't one.
In-hand math assumes EPF at 12% of basic, FY 2025-26 tax rules, and the better of old vs new regime on your fixed pay.
Decent offer — real number is ₹48,304/month
About 15% is variable — normal, but it's a target-linked maybe, not salary. Your dependable monthly number is ₹48,304.
See the full CTC → in-hand breakupSay this when parents ask
“It's ₹48,304 a month in-hand” — not the CTC. Saves a lecture later. Why parents get this wrong →