How this APIT calculator works
You type in your monthly gross salary, and the APIT calculator applies the Inland Revenue Department’s current APIT Table 1 — the official monthly tax table your employer must use for your salary. It then subtracts your 8% EPF contribution and your APIT to show your exact take-home pay. The first Rs. 150,000 you earn each month is tax-free; only what you earn above that is taxed, at rates that step up from 6% to 36%.
APIT tax table Sri Lanka 2026
These are the brackets your employer applies to your monthly pay. The table has a quick formula for each band, so you can check your payslip by hand:
| Monthly salary (LKR) | Tax rate | Quick formula for your monthly APIT |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 150,000 | 0% | No tax — within your personal relief |
| 150,001 – 233,333 | 6% | (Salary × 6%) − 9,000 |
| 233,334 – 275,000 | 18% | (Salary × 18%) − 37,000 |
| 275,001 – 316,667 | 24% | (Salary × 24%) − 53,500 |
| 316,668 – 358,333 | 30% | (Salary × 30%) − 72,500 |
| Above 358,333 | 36% | (Salary × 36%) − 94,000 |
Source: IRD APIT Tax Table 1, Y/A 2025/26, effective 1 April 2025 under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2025 — still the current table in 2026. Applies to regular pay from your main job.
What is APIT (PAYE tax)?
APIT — Advance Personal Income Tax — is the income tax your employer deducts from your salary every month and pays to the Inland Revenue Department on your behalf. It’s the same thing most people still call PAYE (Pay As You Earn); the name changed in 2020, and since April 2023 the deduction is mandatory. Each rupee deducted is a credit against your annual tax bill, itemised on the T-10 certificate your employer gives you at year end.
APIT is an advance, not a final tax. If you changed jobs mid-year, had months without pay, or paid qualifying reliefs, your employer may have deducted more than you actually owe — and the difference is claimable when you file your annual return. That’s exactly the problem LankanTax exists to solve: it helps you organise your return and a Chartered Accountant lodges it, free for individuals.
EPF and ETF: what’s deducted vs what your employer pays
Three retirement contributions ride along with every Sri Lankan payslip, but only one of them comes out of your pay:
- Your EPF 8% — deducted from your salary and banked in your name at the Employees’ Provident Fund.
- Employer’s EPF 12% — paid by your employer on top of your salary, into the same EPF account.
- Employer’s ETF 3% — also paid by your employer, into the Employees’ Trust Fund.
So for every Rs. 100,000 of EPF-liable pay, Rs. 23,000 goes into your retirement funds each month — and only Rs. 8,000 of it came from you. EPF applies to your basic salary plus cost-of-living-type allowances (not overtime), which is why the calculator lets you enter your basic separately. The money is yours: you can withdraw EPF at 55 (men) or 50 (women), and in special cases like permanent migration.
Worked example: a LKR 150,000 salary
Say you earn Rs. 150,000 a month, all of it EPF-liable:
- Your EPF deduction (8% × 150,000)− LKR 12,000
- Your APIT (within the tax-free Rs. 150,000)− LKR 0
- Your take-home payLKR 138,000
- Employer adds: EPF 12% + ETF 3%+ LKR 22,500 to your funds
Now a salary that does get taxed — Rs. 250,000 a month:
- Your EPF deduction (8% × 250,000)− LKR 20,000
- Your APIT ((250,000 × 18%) − 37,000)− LKR 8,000
- Your take-home payLKR 222,000
- Employer adds: EPF 12% + ETF 3%+ LKR 37,500 to your funds
Leaving a job? Check what your years of service are worth with our gratuity calculator.