Payroll Cycle in India
Last updated: 13 July 2026. General explainer, not legal or tax advice.
At a glance
The stages of a payroll cycle
A monthly cycle runs in a set order. Attendance and leave are collected up to a cutoff date. New joiners, exits and changes are added. Gross pay is computed, then provident fund, professional tax, TDS and any loss of pay are applied to reach net pay. Payslips go out, salaries are disbursed, and the statutory dues are deposited.
The deadlines that bound the cycle
Payday is not the end of the cycle. TDS is usually deposited by the seventh of the next month, and the provident fund is generally due by the fifteenth. Professional tax and employee state insurance follow their own schedules. A cycle is only truly closed once these deposits are made.
Why clean inputs decide the run
Most payroll errors trace back to messy inputs, a missed leave entry, a late joiner, a last minute salary change. A firm cutoff date, after which the month is locked, is the single most useful control, because it stops the base data from shifting while pay is being computed.
Why the cycle is monthly in India
Indian payroll almost always runs on a calendar month. Companies set a cutoff a few days before month end so there is time to process, share payslips and pay on or near the last working day, then handle the statutory deposits in the days that follow.
A simple payroll checklist
A repeatable checklist is what keeps a monthly run boring, which is the goal. Before the cutoff, confirm joiners, exits and salary changes. At the cutoff, lock attendance and leave. Then compute gross, apply the deductions, and reconcile the totals against the last month to catch anything odd before payslips go out.
After payday the list is not done. The statutory deposits, TDS and provident fund on their dates, close the cycle. Writing the steps down, rather than carrying them in one person's head, is also what lets someone else run payroll when that person is away.
Worked example
A company sets its cutoff on the 25th. From the 26th it processes attendance, changes and deductions, and pays salaries on the last working day. It then deposits TDS by the seventh of the next month and the provident fund by the fifteenth.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is a payroll cycle?
The repeating process of calculating and paying salaries for a period, usually a month, from the attendance cutoff through to payday and the statutory deposits.
How long is a payroll cycle in India?
Almost always one calendar month, with a cutoff a few days before month end after which attendance and changes are locked.
What causes payroll delays?
Late or incomplete inputs, such as missing attendance, unrecorded leave, or last minute salary changes. A firm cutoff and clean data prevent most of them.
Is payday the end of the cycle?
No. The cycle closes only after the statutory dues are deposited, typically TDS by the seventh and provident fund by the fifteenth of the next month.
Why set a payroll cutoff?
So the base data stops shifting while pay is computed. Locking the month at a cutoff is the main control against errors.
What should a payroll checklist include?
Confirming joiners, exits and changes, locking attendance at the cutoff, computing and reconciling pay, issuing payslips, and making the statutory deposits.
How do I catch payroll errors before payday?
Reconcile the month's totals against the previous month before releasing payslips. A large unexplained swing usually points to a bad input.
Sources and official references
The rules and figures on this page trace to the official sources below. Statutory amounts and dates change, so confirm the current number on the source before you act on it.
How Offrd helps
Offrd pulls attendance, leave and salary structure into one place, so the monthly run starts from clean data.