At comparable salaries the UK keeps more until about £100,000, where the two draw level at 68.2% of gross. Above that India is ahead, by 4.1 points at £120,000.
But that framing flatters India's tax bill and understates it at the same time. At genuinely Indian salary levels the effective rate starts near 6.5%, the lowest entry point of any market we model, and climbs steeply from there.
They are level at
£101,046
both keep 68.2% of gross
India at a mid-career package
~6.5%
effective rate, lowest we model
India at the top of its market
~20%
still low by UK standards
Run an Indian package through both regimes.
Open the India salary calculatorWhere the two systems cross
The share of gross kept in each country, which does not depend on the exchange rate. India here is the new regime with no additional deductions claimed.
| Equivalent salary | UK keeps | India keeps | Who is ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | 79.0% | 73.6% | UK ahead by 5.4 pts |
| £80,000 | 71.2% | 69.3% | UK ahead by 1.9 pts |
| £101,046 | 68.2% | 68.2% | Level |
| £120,000 | 63.5% | 67.6% | India ahead by 4.1 pts |
What pulls the two together at the top is not Indian generosity, it is the UK's personal allowance taper. Between £100,000 and £125,140 a UK earner faces an effective 60% marginal rate, and the crossover sits right inside that band.
CTC is not a salary
Indian offers are quoted as cost to company, which bundles the employer's provident fund contribution, the gratuity provision and often insurance in with your actual pay. Comparing a CTC figure against a UK gross salary overstates the Indian side, sometimes substantially. Ask for the in-hand figure or the full breakdown before putting the two numbers side by side.
What the rate actually looks like on Indian salaries
The table above converts UK salaries into rupees, which produces figures far above the Indian market. Read at genuinely Indian levels the picture is different: an effective rate around 6.5% on a strong mid-career package, about 13% at senior level and roughly 20% at the top of the local market.
That is the lowest entry point of any market on this site, and it is why the tax question rarely decides a move to India. What decides it is the size of the gross offer and the cost of living, not the share the government takes.
The same three salaries in cash
Converted at £1 = ₹127.11, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026, and shown in lakh and crore as Indian payroll does. Check the live rate; the percentages above do not move with it.
| UK gross | Indian gross | UK net | Indian net |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | ₹63.55 lakh | £39,520 (£3,293/mo) | ₹46.80 lakh (₹3.90 lakh/mo) |
| £80,000 | ₹1.02 crore | £56,957 (£4,746/mo) | ₹70.49 lakh (₹5.87 lakh/mo) |
| £120,000 | ₹1.53 crore | £76,157 (£6,346/mo) | ₹1.03 crore (₹8.59 lakh/mo) |
How these figures were produced
PayMetric Labs' own calculations with our UK and Indian tax engines at 2026 rates. India is the new regime with no additional deductions claimed and no provident fund modelled; the UK is a single taxpayer with no pension contributions, salary sacrifice or student loan. The crossover salary was found by solving for the point where both keep the same share of gross.
Old regime or new regime
This page uses the new regime, which is the default and the simpler comparison. The old regime is still available and allows deductions for housing loan interest, insurance premiums, specified investments and house rent allowance, among others. For someone with a substantial home loan or large qualifying investments it can still win.
The choice is worth running properly rather than assuming, because Indian packages are often structured around allowances that only pay off under the old regime. If your offer has a large HRA component, that is a strong signal to check both.
Compare your own two offers
Use the in-hand Indian figure rather than the CTC, and run both regimes before deciding.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the UK or India leave you with more of your salary?
The UK, until about £100,000. At the equivalent of £50,000 a UK employee keeps 79.0% against 73.6% in India. The two are level at around £101,000, where both keep 68.2%, and above that India is ahead, by 4.1 points at £120,000.
Why does India start out worse and end up better?
Because India's tax curve is unusually steep across this range while the UK's is steeper still at the top. At genuinely Indian salary levels the effective rate starts very low, around 6.5% on a good mid-career package, but it climbs quickly. The UK meanwhile has the personal allowance taper between £100,000 and £125,140, which produces an effective 60% marginal rate and drags its curve down sharply in exactly the band where the two cross.
What is India's effective rate at normal Indian salaries?
Much lower than these converted figures suggest. On a strong mid-career Indian package the effective rate is around 6.5%, rising to roughly 13% at senior level and about 20% at the top of the local market. That is the lowest entry point of any market we model. The high percentages in the table above appear only because a £120,000 equivalent is an extraordinary salary by Indian standards.
Is this the old regime or the new regime?
The new regime, with no additional deductions claimed. That is the default for most people now and the simpler comparison. The old regime allows deductions for things like housing loan interest, insurance premiums and specified investments, which can beat the new regime for someone with substantial qualifying commitments. If you have a large home loan, run both before assuming.
Why does an Indian offer quote CTC rather than salary?
Indian offers are normally stated as cost to company, which bundles the employer's provident fund contribution, gratuity provision and often insurance alongside your actual salary. A CTC figure is therefore not comparable with a UK gross salary. Ask for the in-hand or take-home figure, or at least the breakdown, before comparing anything against a UK number.
What about provident fund contributions?
The employee provident fund contribution comes out of your pay and goes into your own retirement account, so it reduces take-home but is not tax in the way UK National Insurance is. The employer side usually sits inside the CTC figure. It is one of the main reasons an Indian in-hand figure looks smaller than the CTC that was offered.
How reliable is the currency conversion here?
Treat it as illustrative. The percentages are the durable part of this comparison because the share of gross you keep does not depend on the exchange rate. The rupee has also trended in one direction against the pound over long periods, so a conversion used for a multi-year decision carries real risk.
What does this comparison leave out?
UK pension salary sacrifice and student loan repayments. Indian old-regime deductions, HRA and the many allowance structures used to shape Indian packages tax-efficiently. Provident fund and gratuity. And the enormous cost of living difference, which for a return move to India is usually far more decisive than the tax comparison.
Figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculations using our UK and Indian tax engines at 2026 rates, for the Indian new regime with no additional deductions and a single UK taxpayer with no pension contributions or student loan. Provident fund, gratuity and CTC components are excluded. Currency conversions use £1 = ₹127.11, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026 and will drift; the percentages do not depend on the rate. General information only, not personal tax advice.