ESI Contribution Guide โ FY 2025-26
Everything you need to know about Employee State Insurance: contribution rates, eligibility, wage ceiling, benefits, and how ESI works for employees and employers in India.
Calculate your ESI contribution instantly
Open ESI CalculatorESI at a Glance โ FY 2025-26
Who Is Covered Under ESI?
ESI coverage is mandatory for:
- Factories employing 10 or more persons (with or without power)
- Other establishments (shops, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, newspapers, road transport, private educational institutions, medical institutions) with 10+ employees, as notified by respective state governments
- Some states like Maharashtra and Chandigarh have a 20-employee threshold for certain categories
Employees earning gross wages up to โน21,000/month (โน25,000 for persons with disability) are covered. Wages include basic pay, dearness allowance, HRA, and city compensatory allowance.
ESI Benefits Explained
1. Medical Benefit
Free medical treatment at ESIC hospitals, dispensaries, and empanelled private hospitals. Covers the insured person, spouse, children, and dependent parents. Includes outpatient consultations, hospitalisation, specialist care, medicines, diagnostics, and super-specialty treatment. Medical benefit starts from day 1 of insurable employment.
2. Sickness Benefit
70% of wages for up to 91 days in two consecutive benefit periods. Extended sickness benefit at 80% of wages for up to 2 years for specified long-term diseases (tuberculosis, cancer, leprosy, mental illness, etc.). Requires minimum 78 days of contribution in the relevant contribution period.
3. Maternity Benefit
100% of wages for 26 weeks (can be extended to 12 weeks for miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy). Includes 6 weeks of medical bonus. Requires 70 days of contribution in the two preceding contribution periods.
4. Disablement Benefit
Temporary disablement: 90% of wages from day 1 until recovery or permanent settlement. Permanent disablement: 90% of wages for life (proportionate for partial permanent disablement). No minimum contributory period required.
5. Dependant's Benefit
90% of wages as monthly pension to dependants (widow, children, dependent parents) if the insured person dies due to employment injury or occupational disease. Payable for life for the widow, up to age 25 for sons, and until marriage for unmarried daughters.
6. Funeral Expenses
Lump sum of โน15,000 to the person who performs the last rites of the deceased insured person.
ESI Contribution Period and Benefit Period
Contributions made in one 6-month period determine eligibility for cash benefits (sickness, maternity, disablement) in the corresponding benefit period. Medical benefits, however, are available from day 1 of joining an ESI-covered establishment.
How to Use This Calculator
ESI Contribution tab
Enter your monthly gross wages (basic + DA + HRA + city compensatory allowance). The calculator instantly shows the employee deduction (0.75%), employer contribution (3.25%), total ESI (4%), and annual amounts. See the take-home impact and total employer cost per employee.
Am I Covered? tab
Enter your monthly salary, number of employees in your establishment, and state. The calculator checks your eligibility against the โน21,000 wage ceiling (โน25,000 for PwD) and the minimum employee count requirement for your state. If covered, it shows your contribution amounts.
Benefits Value tab
Enter your monthly wages and years of expected ESI contribution. The calculator estimates the total value of ESI benefits you receive — medical care, sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement cover, dependant's benefit, and funeral expenses — compared to your contribution cost.
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The Formula
ESI contribution is calculated as a fixed percentage of gross monthly wages:
Employee ESI = Monthly Gross Wages × 0.75%
Employer Contribution:
Employer ESI = Monthly Gross Wages × 3.25%
Total ESI:
Total = Monthly Gross Wages × 4%
Wages include:
Basic Pay + Dearness Allowance + HRA + City Compensatory Allowance
Wages exclude:
Overtime wages, conveyance allowance (for duty), annual bonus, gratuity
The employer deducts the employee's 0.75% share from wages and adds their 3.25% share, depositing the combined 4% to ESIC by the 15th of the following month. ESI is calculated on the actual wages earned in a month, not on the wage ceiling.
Example
Priya — 26-year-old accounts executive, โน18,000 monthly wages
Priya works at a manufacturing firm in Bangalore with 50 employees. Her monthly gross wages (basic + DA + HRA) total โน18,000. She wants to know her ESI deduction and what benefits she gets.
Step 1: Monthly ESI contribution
Step 2: Annual contribution
Step 3: Benefits value
Priya pays just โน135/month (less than a cup of coffee a day) and gets comprehensive medical coverage for herself and her family, plus income protection during sickness and maternity. The employer bears the larger share at โน585/month.