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Statutory bonus 2025-26
My bonus under the Code on Wages, 2019, and a letter asking HR for the computation
Employee: [YOUR NAME]
Employer: [EMPLOYER NAME]
Accounting year: 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026
1. My numbers
What Value
Monthly wages (basic + DA) ₹ [AMOUNT]
Months worked in the year [N]
Minimum wage for my job (per month) ₹ [AMOUNT]
Wage limit / calculation ceiling ₹ [AMOUNT] / ₹ [AMOUNT]
Rate declared by the employer [RATE] %
2. The calculation
Step Amount
Covered by statutory bonus (wages up to the limit) [YES / NO]
Wage used = lower of my wage and the higher of ceiling or minimum wage ₹ [AMOUNT]
Wages earned for bonus = wage used × months ₹ [AMOUNT]
Minimum bonus, 8⅓% (s. 26(1), s. 27) ₹ [AMOUNT]
Bonus at the declared rate (up to 20%) ₹ [AMOUNT]
Bonus to expect ₹ [AMOUNT]
The rules (Code on Wages, 2019, Chapter IV) • Who gets it (s. 26(1)): every employee drawing wages up to the limit notified by the appropriate Government — ₹21,000 a month set by the Central Government (S.O. 4711(E), 25.08.2026, from 21.11.2025) — who has worked at least 30 days in the accounting year. • Minimum (s. 26(1)): 8⅓% of the wages earned in the year or ₹100, whichever is higher — payable even if the employer has no allocable surplus. • Calculation ceiling (s. 26(2)): if your wages are above ₹7,000 a month, bonus is calculated as if your wage were ₹7,000 or the minimum wage fixed by the Central Government, whichever is higher (S.O. 4710(E), 25.08.2026, from 21.11.2025). • Maximum (s. 26(3), (5)): with allocable surplus, bonus in proportion to wages, up to 20% of the wages earned, including any productivity bonus. • Part of the year (s. 27): if you did not work all the working days, the minimum bonus is reduced in proportion; leave with wages, lay-off and maternity leave count as days worked (s. 28). • When (s. 39): credited to your bank account within eight months from the close of the accounting year (1 April – 31 March), so for 2025-26 by 30 November 2026, unless the Government extends it. • Wages (s. 2(y)): basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance. HRA, conveyance, overtime and commission are excluded; if the excluded parts exceed 50% of all remuneration, the excess is added back. • Check at the start of the year: ₹21,000 and ₹7,000 are the Central Government's figures; where a State Government is the appropriate Government, check its notification.
3. Letter to HR
[DATE]
To
The HR Manager
[COMPANY NAME]
[CITY]
Subject: Statutory bonus for the accounting year 2025-26
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am working as [DESIGNATION] (employee code [CODE]) since [DATE OF JOINING]. I request you to kindly share the computation of my bonus for the accounting year 2025-26 under Chapter IV of the Code on Wages, 2019, including the wages taken for the calculation, the number of months counted and the rate declared.
By my own calculation, the bonus works out to ₹ [AMOUNT]. Section 39 of the Code provides that bonus is credited to the employee's bank account within eight months from the close of the accounting year, that is, by 30 November 2026. Kindly let me know the date on which it will be credited.
Thank you for your support.
Yours faithfully,
[YOUR NAME]
[DESIGNATION], [DEPARTMENT]
[PHONE]
A worksheet, not legal advice. The wage limit (₹21,000) and the calculation ceiling (₹7,000) are the Central Government's, S.O. 4711(E) and 4710(E) of 25.08.2026; check at the start of the year.