Chennai, Tamil Nadu
HR and payroll software for Chennai companies
500+ Chennai companies run offer letters, payroll and attendance on Offrd. Professional tax in Chennai is collected by the Greater Chennai Corporation, not the state, in half yearly slabs from nil to ₹1,250, and Offrd puts the Chennai slab on every payslip. Credit packs start at ₹99 for 10 credits, or ₹50 per active employee a month, for companies with up to 250 employees.
This page covers what a Chennai employer has to run: Corporation professional tax and its two filing dates, Shops and Establishments registration under the 2023 amendment, the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund, EPF and ESI, and which EPFO offices serve Chennai and the Sriperumbudur belt.
No card. Setup under 2 minutes. Credit packs from ₹99 for 10 credits, or ₹50 per active employee a month.
Last updated 12 October 2026. Statutory figures checked against the government pages listed at the foot of this page on 12 October 2026.
How much is professional tax in Chennai?
Chennai handles professional tax differently from the rest of Tamil Nadu. It is levied by the Greater Chennai Corporation under section 117-B(2) of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, assessed on half yearly income, and the Corporation runs its own portal with a PTNAN number. It is not on the state tnurbanepay system that the rest of Tamil Nadu uses. The slabs in force since the second half of 2024-25:
| Half yearly salary | Professional tax for the half year |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹21,000 | Nil |
| ₹21,001 to ₹30,000 | ₹180 |
| ₹30,001 to ₹45,000 | ₹425 |
| ₹45,001 to ₹60,000 | ₹930 |
| ₹60,001 to ₹75,000 | ₹1,025 |
| ₹75,001 and above | ₹1,250 |
The employer files Form 1 twice a year, before 15 September for April to September and before 15 February for October to March. Registration on the Corporation's e-Sevai service is free. A payroll tool that applies one Tamil Nadu slab table to every employee gets Chennai wrong, because in Tamil Nadu each urban local body fixes its own amounts. Offrd applies the Corporation slab when the company address is in Chennai.
What else does a Chennai employer have to run?
| Item | Tamil Nadu rule | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shops and Establishments registration | Under the 2023 amendment to the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, an establishment with 10 or more workers applies to the Inspector within six months of starting, gets a certificate within 24 hours, and is deemed registered after that. Under 10 workers file an intimation instead. The amendment commences on a date the state notifies, so confirm the current position with the Labour Department. | Within six months of starting. | Labour Department, Tamil Nadu. |
| Labour Welfare Fund | Employee ₹20 and employer ₹40 per employee per year, with the government adding ₹20, since 2022. | By 31 January for the previous calendar year. | Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Board. |
| EPF and ESI | Central rules. EPF 12 percent each side on wages up to ₹25,000. ESI 0.75 percent employee and 3.25 percent employer up to ₹21,000. | Monthly. | EPFO office for your PIN code (below). ESIC Regional Office Chennai. |
| Written appointment letter | Required for most workers under the OSH Code 2020, in force from 21 November 2025. | On joining. | Generated in Offrd, 10 credits. |
Where are Chennai's industrial estates, and which EPFO offices serve them?
The EPFO zonal office for Chennai and Puducherry is at No. 37 Royapettah High Road, Chennai 600014. EPFO's rationalisation of the Chennai offices spreads establishments by PIN code across the Royapettah, Ambattur, Tambaram and ECR offices, with new offices for Thiruvallur and for Sriperumbudur, which takes Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram district establishments. The PIN code list, not the office name, decides which one holds your establishment code. Offrd gives your CA EPF export ready files for upload there.
Ambattur
The SIDCO estate covers 1,167 acres. The state is adding a 112 module plug and play factory and an 800 bed workers' hostel there. EPFO has an Ambattur office.
TN MSME Policy Note 2024-25
Guindy
TANSI is building 200 industrial units on a 3.08 acre plot and SIDCO a 152 module plug and play factory.
TN MSME Policy Note 2024-25
Sriperumbudur, Oragadam, Irungattukottai
The SIPCOT estates hold 90, 126 and 206 firms. Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram district establishments go to the new EPFO office at Sriperumbudur.
Deccan Herald, December 2023; EPFO
Siruseri and Gummidipoondi
SIPCOT IT Park Siruseri holds 56 firms. SIPCOT Gummidipoondi, in Tiruvallur district, has 250 units. EPFO is opening a new office at Thiruvallur.
Deccan Herald, December 2023; EPFO
Chennai district has 2.91 lakh registered MSMEs, per the Tamil Nadu MSME Department's 2024-25 policy note. EPF registration applies from 20 employees.
What does Offrd do for a Chennai company?
Offrd is HR document and payroll software for Indian companies with up to 250 employees. You set up the company once, with its state, and the statutory lines follow from that. For a Chennai company that means the Greater Chennai Corporation half yearly professional tax slab on the payslip, the OSH Code appointment letter, and EPF files your CA uploads to the Chennai office that holds your establishment code.
- Offer and appointment letters. CTC, role and joining date go in, and the letter comes out with PF, ESI and, where the state levies it, professional tax worked out. The OSH Code 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, requires a written appointment letter, and the generator produces one. 10 credits a letter.
- Onboarding. The new hire fills a self serve form. Aadhaar and PAN are verified in real time. 15 credits.
- Payroll and payslips. An Excel style grid, with EPF at 12 percent each side on wages up to the ₹25,000 ceiling, ESI at 0.75 and 3.25 percent up to ₹21,000, and Greater Chennai Corporation professional tax in the half yearly slabs from ₹180 to ₹1,250. 2 credits per payslip, and the first payslip for each employee is free. Your CA gets EPF export ready files. Offrd does not file returns.
- Attendance. The Atndnz app is free with Offrd: office QR check in, GPS check in within 500 metres for field staff, biometric sync, named shifts with grace periods.
- Exits. Relieving and experience letters, and a full and final settlement with 19 deduction heads and 13 payouts, built for the two working day final wage rule under the Code on Wages.
- Form 16. Offrd builds Part B from payroll and declarations, you upload Part A from TRACES, and Offrd combines and sends it. Needs the company TAN and PAN.
Pricing is the same in every city. Credit packs start at ₹99 for 10 credits and credits do not expire, or pay ₹50 per active employee a month with everything included. New accounts get 50 free credits, no card, enough for five offer letters. See the pricing page.
Questions Chennai employers ask
How much is professional tax in Chennai?
The Greater Chennai Corporation levies it half yearly: nil up to ₹21,000 of half yearly salary, ₹180 up to ₹30,000, ₹425 up to ₹45,000, ₹930 up to ₹60,000, ₹1,025 up to ₹75,000 and ₹1,250 above that. These slabs apply from the second half of 2024-25. The employer files Form 1 before 15 September and before 15 February. Offrd applies the Corporation slab for Chennai addresses.
Is Chennai professional tax paid on tnurbanepay?
No. Chennai is not on the state tnurbanepay system. The Greater Chennai Corporation runs its own revenue portal, assigns a PTNAN to each employer, and registration through its e-Sevai service is free. Employers in other Tamil Nadu municipalities use tnurbanepay and their own council's rates.
Does a 15 person Chennai office need Shops and Establishments registration?
Yes. Under the 2023 amendment to the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, an establishment with 10 or more workers applies to the Inspector within six months of starting and receives a certificate within 24 hours, with deemed registration after that. Under 10 workers file an intimation instead. The amendment takes effect on a date the state notifies, so confirm the current position with the Labour Department.
How much is the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund contribution?
Since 2022, ₹20 from the employee and ₹40 from the employer per employee per year, with the state adding ₹20, paid to the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Board by 31 January for the previous calendar year.
Which EPFO office covers a Chennai company?
EPFO Chennai is split by PIN code across the Royapettah, Ambattur, Tambaram and ECR offices, plus new offices at Thiruvallur and Sriperumbudur, under the zonal office at No. 37 Royapettah High Road. The PIN code list on the EPFO circular, not the office name, decides which one holds your establishment code. Offrd gives your CA EPF export ready files; Offrd does not file with EPFO.
What does Offrd cost for a 25 person Chennai company?
On the subscription, ₹50 per active employee a month, so ₹1,250 a month with documents, payroll and attendance included. On pay as you go, credit packs start at ₹99 for 10 credits. An offer letter uses 10 credits, a payslip 2 per employee with the first payslip for each employee free. Credits do not expire. You start with 50 free credits, no card.
Sources and official references
Figures on this page were read from these government pages, and newspaper pages where marked, on 12 October 2026. Where a figure could not be found on an official page it is not printed.
- Greater Chennai Corporation Revenue Department, half yearly professional tax slabs from II/2024-25: https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/department/revenue/
- Greater Chennai Corporation, professional tax registration procedure on e-Sevai, no fee: https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/rules-procedures/ProfessionTaxprocedureEsevai.pdf
- Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Board, contribution rates from 2022: https://www.lwb.tn.gov.in/about.php
- Tamil Nadu DIPR press release, LWF contributions due by 31 January: https://kygcms.tn.gov.in/cms_migrated/document/press_release/pr070122_e_039.pdf
- EPFO zonal office Chennai address (EPFO contact page): https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/Contact_us.php
- EPFO rationalisation of Chennai offices, 2024-25 (EPFO circular): https://epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Circulars/Y2024-2025/Rationalisation_of_chennai_offices_1083_compressed.pdf
- Tamil Nadu MSME Department Policy Note 2024-25: Chennai 2.91 lakh MSMEs, Ambattur and Guindy projects: https://tn.gov.in/rti/msme/msme_e_pn_2024_25.pdf
- SIPCOT estate unit counts, Deccan Herald, 7 December 2023: https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/india%2Ftamil-nadu%2Findustrial-parks-in-chennai-resume-operations-after-cyclone-michaung-says-tamil-nadu-government-2801571
- Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act 1947 as amended by Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 2023 (India Code, read in September 2026): https://indiacode.gov.in/
- ESIC contribution rates, 0.75 and 3.25 percent: https://www.esic.gov.in/contribution
- ESIC coverage limit, ₹21,000 a month: https://www.esic.gov.in/coverage
- Labour Codes in force from 21 November 2025, appointment letters, two working day final wages (PIB): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2192463
- Gratuity ceiling ₹20 lakh (PIB): https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=178218
Offrd publishes this page and sells the product described on it.
Run your first Chennai offer letter today
Sign up, add your company details, and generate an offer letter with the PF, ESI and professional tax lines already worked out for Chennai. 50 free credits, no card. Setup takes under 2 minutes.
Credit packs from ₹99 for 10 credits (an offer letter uses 10), or ₹50 per active employee a month with documents, payroll and attendance included.