How to Read a Nepali Payslip: Every Line Item Explained

Short answer: A Nepali payslip breaks pay into gross earnings (basic salary plus allowances), then subtracts statutory deductions (SSF and TDS) plus any other deductions, to arrive at net pay — every legitimate payslip should show each of these separately, not just a final number.

Earnings side

• Basic salary — the base figure SSF and several allowances are calculated from
• Allowances — commonly dearness, transport, or communication allowances, added on top of basic
• Overtime — extra hours paid at the applicable rate, if worked that cycle
• Gross pay — the total of the above, before any deductions

Deductions side

• SSF deduction — the employee's 11% share of the Social Security Fund contribution, calculated on basic salary
• TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) — income tax withheld per the employee's applicable slab
• Other deductions — loan repayments, advances, or other agreed deductions specific to that employee

Net pay

Net pay is gross pay minus all deductions — the amount actually deposited to the employee's account. If a payslip only shows this one number with no breakdown above it, that's not really a payslip, it's just a receipt — and it makes it impossible for an employee (or an auditor) to verify anything.

Why the breakdown matters

A properly itemized payslip does two jobs at once: it lets employees trust that SSF and tax are actually being handled correctly on their behalf, and it gives HR a document that holds up if a labor office or auditor asks for records. Payslips generated automatically from the same payroll run that calculated SSF and TDS stay consistent by construction — payslips built manually after the fact are where mismatches usually creep in.