Professional Tax in Bihar (2026): Slabs, Once-a-Year Payment, Registration and Due Dates

Bihar runs one of the simplest — and most unusual — professional tax systems in India. The tax is set on annual income, the slabs are wide, and employers deduct the whole year's tax once, from September's salary, instead of every month. That catches out payroll teams who set up Bihar like Maharashtra or Karnataka. This guide is for employers, HR teams, traders and professionals in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and across the state. It covers the slabs, who is liable, registration and enrolment, the September and February deduction rules, the November deadlines, penalties and worked rupee examples.

Quick answer

In Bihar, professional tax is nil up to ₹3,00,000 a year, then ₹1,000 a year (₹3–5 lakh), ₹2,000 a year (₹5–10 lakh) and ₹2,500 a year (above ₹10 lakh). Employers deduct the whole year's tax from September salary and deposit it by 15 November. Annual returns (PT-VIII for employers, PT-IX for others) are due by 30 November.

• Law: Bihar Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 2011, run by the Commercial Taxes Department

• Late joiners or higher earners: catch-up deduction from February salary, deposit by 15 April

• Register (employers) or enrol (others) within seven days of liability

• Interest 2% a month on unpaid tax

Bihar professional tax slab for 2026

The rates are in the Schedule to the Bihar Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 2011 (Bihar Act 10 of 2011), published in the Bihar Gazette in 2011. They are based on income per annum, using the meaning of income in the Income-tax Act, and they apply to every taxable person — employee, trader, professional or company.

The proviso to section 4(1) caps the tax at ₹2,500 for any person for a year, matching the ₹2,500 a year limit in Article 276 of the Constitution. In monthly terms, the nil band covers salaries up to ₹25,000 a month, the ₹1,000 band runs up to about ₹41,667, the ₹2,000 band up to about ₹83,333, and anyone above that pays ₹2,500.

The salary slab has not changed since 2011. Section 17 lets the State Government alter, add to or cancel any entry in the Schedule by notification, laid before the legislature, so changes can arrive without a new Act. Compliance trackers report one such change: a notification of 20 November 2018 substituting Serial No. 2 so that dealers registered under the Bihar VAT Act, the Central Sales Tax Act or the Bihar GST Act pay ₹2,500 a year. We could not obtain the official text. Payroll references continue to apply ₹2,000 to salaried people earning ₹5–10 lakh, so we show that rate above; a GST-registered trader should confirm with the circle office whether the flat ₹2,500 applies to it.

What counts as salary. Section 2 defines "salary or wages" to include pay, dearness allowance and all other regular remuneration, in cash or kind, plus perquisites and profits in lieu of salary under section 17 of the Income-tax Act. For the slab, employers look at the employee's expected salary income for the financial year.

Who has to pay

Section 4(2) makes every person engaged in a profession, trade, calling or employment in Bihar liable at the Schedule rate. Section 2(f) defines "person" widely — it includes a Hindu undivided family, firm, company, corporation, society, club or association — and its Explanation says every branch of a firm, company, corporation, society, club or association is a separate person. A bank with twelve branches in Bihar has twelve liabilities, each capped at ₹2,500. The one group left out is people who earn wages on a casual basis.

Exemptions. Section 15 says the Act does not apply to members of the armed forces of the Union serving in Bihar, and lets the State Government exempt any class or group by notification.

Local bodies are barred. Section 16 stops every municipal corporation, municipality and panchayat in Bihar from levying its own tax on professions, trades, callings or employments. In Bihar, unlike Kerala or Tamil Nadu, only the Commercial Taxes Department collects it.

How employers deduct: September, then February

The deduction rule is in rule 5 of the Bihar Professional Tax Rules, 2011:

1. September salary. Every employer deducts the tax payable by each employee for the year from the salary or wages for September — the full ₹1,000, ₹2,000 or ₹2,500 in one go.
2. Deposit by 15 November. The amount is deposited into the government treasury, or online, by 15 November.
3. Statement PT-IV with details of the tax deducted for the year goes to the prescribed authority by the end of November.
4. February catch-up. If an employee becomes liable after September's salary is paid — a new joiner, or someone whose raise pushes them into a higher band — the tax or the extra amount is deducted from February's salary, deposited by 15 April, and reported in Statement PT-V by the end of May.
5. Certificate PT-VI. The employer gives every employee a certificate of the tax deducted.

The one-shot deduction is easy to administer but has a cash-flow effect on staff: someone on ₹60,000 a month sees ₹2,000 taken from one September payslip. Tell employees in advance, especially in the first year.

Two employers. Under section 5, someone who works for more than one employer at the same time can give each employer a certificate in Form PT-VII saying they will pay the tax themselves. The employers then stop deducting. If the certificate is not given before salary is paid, rule 5(9) makes the employer deduct.

Bihar PT for an employer, each year

Step 1

Project annual salary

Step 2

Above ₹3 lakh?

pick the slab

Step 3

Deduct from September pay

₹1,000 / ₹2,000 / ₹2,500

Step 4

Deposit by 15 Nov

+ PT-IV

Step 5

PT-VIII return

by 30 Nov

Step 6

February catch-up

deposit by 15 Apr, PT-V by May

Registration and enrolment

Section 6 provides for a registration number for employers (other than central and state government officers) and an enrolment number for everyone who pays their own tax.

• Employers apply in Form PT-I to the in-charge of the circle where the office is located. Others — traders, professionals, firms, companies paying for themselves — apply in Form PT-IA to the circle where they reside.
• Rules 3 and 4 ask for the application within seven days of becoming liable, either at the circle counter or online on the Commercial Taxes Department's website.
• For an online application, the circle in-charge checks it and issues the certificate (Form PT-II for employers, PT-IIA for enrolment) within fifteen days, by e-mail or registered post.
• The registration number is your TAN prefixed with "10"; if you have no TAN, it is your PAN prefixed with "10". Where the person paying salary lives outside Bihar, the application is signed by whoever is in charge of management in the state.

According to compliance trackers, the 2018 notification also substituted rule 3, so employers now start by declaring their TAN, mobile number and e-mail in Part A of Form PT-I on the department's website. The department's portal at biharcommercialtax.gov.in has Payment for professional tax and Professional Tax Registration Status under e-Services. Its helpdesk is on the toll-free number shown there.

Getting compliant in Bihar

1. 1

   Work out who is liable

   List staff whose annual salary will exceed ₹3,00,000 a year. Check your own business income and each branch.

2. 2

   Register or enrol

   Form PT-I (employer) or PT-IA (own tax), online or at the circle office, within seven days of liability.

   Bihar Commercial Taxes Department portal
3. 3

   Deduct from September salary

   Take each employee's full-year tax from September pay and deposit it by 15 November.

   Tip: Issue Form PT-VI certificates to employees once deposited.

4. 4

   File by 30 November

   Statement PT-IV and the annual return PT-VIII (employers) or PT-IX (enrolled persons) by 30 November.

5. 5

   Catch up in February

   New or higher liability after September: deduct from February salary, deposit by 15 April, PT-V by end of May.

Due dates in Bihar

Bihar professional tax calendar

Within 7 days of liability

Apply for registration (PT-I) or enrolment (PT-IA)

September salary

Deduct each employee's full-year tax (rule 5(1))

15 November

Deposit the September deductions

30 November

Statement PT-IV; annual return PT-VIII (employers) and PT-IX (enrolled persons)

February salary

Deduct tax for employees who became liable, or liable at a higher rate, after September

15 April

Deposit the February deductions

31 May

Statement PT-V for the February deductions

Payment is made by challan in Form PT-X into the treasury or an authorised bank, and rule 7(2) lets the Commissioner require electronic payment through the department's website. In practice, pay online through the portal and keep the receipt with your PT-VIII or PT-IX return. Enrolled persons should pay their own year's tax before filing PT-IX by 30 November, because section 8 interest runs on any tax that is unpaid when due.

Worked examples in ₹

Example 1 — a single employee. Priya earns ₹35,000 a month at a Patna hospital: ₹4,20,000 a year. That falls in the ₹3–5 lakh band, so her employer deducts ₹1,000 a year from her September salary and deposits it by 15 November. Nothing is deducted in any other month. At ₹24,000 a month (₹2,88,000) she would pay nothing.

Example 2 — a mid-year raise. Arjun earned ₹40,000 a month from April to December and gets a raise to ₹55,000 from January. In September his projected income was ₹4,80,000, so ₹1,000 was deducted. With the raise his income for the year is 9 × ₹40,000 + 3 × ₹55,000 = ₹5,25,000, which is in the ₹2,000 band. The employer deducts the extra ₹1,000 from February's salary, deposits it by 15 April and reports it on PT-V by the end of May.

Example 3 — a Muzaffarpur manufacturer with 60 staff. Thirty-eight staff earn under ₹25,000 a month (nil), fifteen earn ₹30,000–₹40,000 (₹1,000 each), and seven managers earn ₹50,000–₹80,000 (₹2,000 each). September deduction: 15 × ₹1,000 + 7 × ₹2,000 = ₹29,000, deposited by 15 November with PT-IV, and the PT-VIII return filed by 30 November. Two workers who join in November on ₹32,000 a month earn ₹1,60,000 by 31 March — below ₹3 lakh — so nothing is due for them this year; from next September they fall in the ₹1,000 band.

Example 4 — a chartered accountant in Gaya. Her professional income for the year is ₹14 lakh. She enrols in Form PT-IA, pays ₹2,500 a year and files PT-IX by 30 November. As an employer of three staff on ₹18,000 a month — all below ₹3 lakh a year — she registers in Form PT-I only once someone crosses the nil limit.

Example 5 — a company with branches. A private limited company has its head office in Patna and branches in Bhagalpur and Darbhanga, each with profits well above ₹10 lakh. Each branch is a separate "person", so the company's own liability can be 3 × ₹2,500 = ₹7,500 a year, on top of the tax it deducts from employees.

Our free salary slip generator can show the one-off September deduction as a separate line, so employees understand the dip in take-home pay.

Penalties, interest and recovery

• Interest (section 8): an employer or enrolled person who doesn't pay is an "assessee in default" and owes simple interest at 2% a month (or part of a month) on the unpaid tax. ₹29,000 paid three months late carries about ₹1,740.
• Late return or late payment (section 7(3)): after a hearing, a penalty up to ₹100 for each month of delay.
• Breach of the Rules (rule 11): a penalty of up to ₹500, plus up to ₹10 a day while the breach continues.
• Recovery (section 9): tax, interest and penalty are recoverable as arrears of land revenue. The department can also use its Bihar VAT Act powers — assessment, inspection, recovery — because section 3 applies them to professional tax.
• Offences (section 11): the Act as published in 2011 makes wilful non-compliance punishable on conviction with simple imprisonment of up to three months, a fine of up to ₹5,000, or both, plus ₹50 a day for a continuing offence. Section 14 lets the assessing authority compound the offence for up to ₹5,000 or double the tax, whichever is greater.
• Appeals (section 10): within 45 days of the order, and only after the tax in dispute has been paid in full.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Deducting every month. Spreading ₹2,000 over twelve months may look fairer, but the Rules require one deduction from September salary. If you have been deducting monthly, align with the Rules and make sure the full amount is deposited by 15 November.

Missing the February catch-up. Employees who join after September or get a raise mid-year are the most common gap in an assessment. Run a February check every year.

Leavers before September. Someone who leaves in July has had no deduction yet, because the only deduction month is September. The Rules only provide for deductions from September and February salaries, so if that person's income for the year will exceed ₹3 lakh, the practical route is for the new employer in Bihar to deduct it in September or February, or for the person to enrol and pay directly. Section 4 still makes the individual liable for the year's tax, whoever ends up collecting it. Keep a note in the full-and-final settlement that no professional tax was deducted, so there is no argument later about who should have collected it.

Forgetting branches. A firm that enrols only its head office leaves every other branch exposed.

Confusing the statement with the return. PT-IV (and PT-V) are statements of deductions; PT-VIII is the annual return. File both.

Using monthly thresholds from other states. Bihar's nil limit is ₹3 lakh a year. Someone on ₹26,000 a month is liable even though the monthly figure sounds low.

Bihar professional tax checklist

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• Register in Form PT-I (employer) or enrol in Form PT-IA within seven days of liability
• Project each employee's annual salary; nil up to ₹3,00,000 a year
• Deduct the full year's tax from September salary
• Deposit by 15 November; file PT-IV and PT-VIII by 30 November
• In February, deduct for new joiners and raises; deposit by 15 April; PT-V by 31 May
• Issue PT-VI certificates and collect PT-VII certificates from multi-employer staff
• Enrol and pay for each branch; file PT-IX by 30 November

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Staff in other states and income-tax treatment

Professional tax follows the place of work. A Patna company with staff in Kolkata applies West Bengal's monthly slabs (revised from 1 October 2026 — see our West Bengal guide); staff in Guwahati follow Assam's April 2025 slabs; staff in Bhubaneswar pay nothing since Odisha repealed its tax from 1 April 2026. Our due dates table puts every state side by side.

Employees can deduct professional tax paid from salary income only under the old income-tax regime. A business can claim its own professional tax as an expense.

Official links

• Bihar Commercial Taxes Department — e-ServicesPayment for professional tax; registration status
• Bihar PT Act and Rules, 2011 — gazette copy (PDF)Copy hosted by greytHR

What to do next

Put September's deduction, 15 November, 30 November and the February catch-up into your payroll calendar, and check that each branch is enrolled. Setting wages for the year? Check the Bihar minimum wages first, and see the state-wise professional tax guide if you also employ people outside Bihar. If you are about to register under GST, the GST registration guide covers that side.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the professional tax slab in Bihar for 2026-27?

Bihar charges professional tax on annual income. Up to ₹3,00,000 a year is nil. Income above ₹3 lakh and up to ₹5 lakh pays ₹1,000 a year; above ₹5 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh pays ₹2,000 a year; and above ₹10 lakh pays ₹2,500 a year. These are the rates in the Schedule to the Bihar Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 2011.

When is professional tax deducted in Bihar?

Once a year. Rule 5 of the Bihar Professional Tax Rules, 2011 makes the employer deduct the whole year's tax from the salary for September and deposit it by 15 November. If an employee becomes liable, or liable at a higher rate, after September salary is paid, the employer deducts it from February's salary and deposits it by 15 April.

What is the last date for the Bihar professional tax return?

Registered employers file the annual return in Form PT-VIII, and enrolled persons file Form PT-IX, by 30 November each year. Employers also file a statement of the September deductions in Form PT-IV by the end of November, and a statement in Form PT-V by the end of May for any February deductions.

How do I register for professional tax in Bihar?

Employers apply in Form PT-I and individuals or businesses paying their own tax apply in Form PT-IA, online on the Commercial Taxes Department's website or at the circle office. The Rules ask for the application within seven days of becoming liable. The registration number is the employer's TAN, or PAN if there is no TAN, prefixed with '10'.

What is the penalty for late professional tax in Bihar?

Unpaid tax carries simple interest of 2% a month (or part of a month) under section 8. A late return or late payment can attract a penalty up to ₹100 for each month of delay under section 7(3). Breaking the Rules can cost up to ₹500 plus ₹10 a day, and arrears are recoverable as land revenue.

Do traders and professionals pay professional tax in Bihar?

Yes. The Act defines a taxable person to include individuals, HUFs, firms, companies, societies and clubs engaged in any profession, trade, calling or employment in Bihar, with every branch counted separately. They pay on the same annual income slabs as employees, enrol in Form PT-IA and file Form PT-IX. Compliance trackers report a 2018 amendment fixing ₹2,500 for registered dealers.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 11 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Bihar Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 2011 (Bihar Act 10 of 2011) and Bihar Professional Tax Rules, 2011 — Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) — Government of Bihar (gazette copy hosted by greytHR) · accessed 11 October 2026
2. 2.Commercial Taxes Department, Bihar — e-Services (Payment for professional tax, Professional Tax Registration Status) — Commercial Taxes Department, Government of Bihar · accessed 11 October 2026
3. 3.Professional Tax Registration Status (Commercial Taxes Department, Bihar) — Commercial Taxes Department, Government of Bihar · accessed 11 October 2026
4. 4.Article 276 — Taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments — Constitution of India · accessed 11 October 2026
5. 5.Bihar passes professional tax bill (April 2011 report) — TaxGuru · accessed 11 October 2026
6. 6.Professional Tax — Bihar — Simpliance · accessed 11 October 2026
7. 7.Professional Tax Bihar — slabs, registration and returns — greytHR · accessed 11 October 2026