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DA arrears calculator

Work out your dearness allowance arrears: basic pay times the DA rise times the number of arrear months. Prefilled for the 58 to 60 per cent revision.

Updated 3 July 2026 · Reviewed by Salary-Calculator.in

This calculator works out your dearness allowance arrears: the extra DA you are owed for the months between the effective date of a DA revision and the month the new rate is first paid. The arrears are your basic pay times the rise in the DA rate times the number of arrear months. It is prefilled for the latest revision, 58 to 60 per cent with effect from 1 January 2026. Enter your figures below; the method, a recent-rates table, and a worked example follow.

Calculator

Basic pay in your pay-matrix level.
The rate before the revision.
The revised rate, 60% from 1 January 2026.
Months from the effective date to the first payment.

DA arrears breakdown

Your DA arrears at a glance

How your arrears build up: the extra DA each month adds up over the arrears period to the lump sum. Hover any bar for the running total.

What the calculator computes

The calculator takes your basic pay, the old and new DA rates, and the number of months of arrears, and returns the extra DA each month and the total arrears payable as a lump sum.

Dearness allowance is a percentage of your basic pay that offsets inflation. It is revised twice a year, but the revised rate is usually announced and paid a few months after it takes effect. For the intervening months you have been paid at the old rate, so the difference is owed to you and is released together as arrears.

The formula

DA arrears follow directly from the rise in the rate.

DA arrears = basic pay x (new DA rate - old DA rate) x number of arrear months

Your dearness allowance is a percentage of the basic pay in your pay matrix level, so a rise of two percentage points on a basic pay of Rs. 50,000 is an extra Rs. 1,000 a month. If the new rate applied for four months before it was first paid, the arrears are Rs. 4,000. Dearness allowance is not paid on house-rent allowance, so it does not enter this calculation.

A worked example

Take an employee at Level 7 with a basic pay of Rs. 44,900, when DA rises from 58 to 60 per cent with three months of arrears. The old DA was 58 per cent of Rs. 44,900, which is Rs. 26,042. The new DA is 60 per cent, which is Rs. 26,940. The extra DA each month is Rs. 898. Over three months of arrears, the total is Rs. 2,694, paid as a lump sum, on top of the higher DA now added to the monthly pay.

Recent dearness allowance rates

Dearness allowance has risen steadily as inflation has been reflected in the index. The recent rates for central government employees are below.

Effective dateDA rate
1 July 202346 per cent
1 January 202450 per cent
1 July 202453 per cent
1 January 202555 per cent
1 July 202558 per cent
1 January 202660 per cent

Each revision is based on the twelve-month average of the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers under the 7th Central Pay Commission formula. Pensioners receive the same rate as dearness relief .

Tax on DA arrears

Dearness allowance and its arrears are fully taxable as salary in the year you receive them, and tax is deducted at source. Because the arrears relate to earlier months, receiving them as a lump sum can push you into a higher slab for that year. You may claim relief under Section 89(1) of the Income-tax Act by filing Form 10E, which recomputes the tax as if the arrears had been taxed in the years they related to, and allows the difference as relief. See income tax for government employees for how the regimes and slabs work, and the 7th CPC salary calculator for your full monthly pay.

How to use the result

The arrears figure is the one-time lump sum for the past months; the higher DA also continues in your monthly pay from now on, which the 7th CPC salary calculator shows in full. This calculator covers DA on basic pay, which is the main component; a complete arrears claim also carries the DA on transport allowance, a smaller amount. The 8th Central Pay Commission , constituted in November 2025, is expected to subsume the existing DA into a revised pay structure on implementation, after which the DA count restarts; until then the rate is 60 per cent from 1 January 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How are DA arrears calculated?
DA arrears are your basic pay multiplied by the rise in the dearness allowance rate, multiplied by the number of months of arrears. For example, a Rs. 50,000 basic pay with DA rising from 58 to 60 per cent gives an extra Rs. 1,000 a month, so four months of arrears are Rs. 4,000. Dearness allowance is computed on the basic pay in the pay matrix.
Why do DA arrears arise?
Dearness allowance is revised from 1 January and 1 July each year, but the government usually announces and pays the new rate a few months later. For the months between the effective date and the first payment of the new rate, the extra DA is paid together as arrears.
Are DA arrears taxable?
Yes. DA and DA arrears are fully taxable as salary in the year you receive them. Because arrears relate to earlier months, you may claim relief under Section 89(1) of the Income-tax Act by filing Form 10E, which can reduce the tax on the lump sum.
On what is dearness allowance calculated?
Dearness allowance is a percentage of the basic pay in your pay-matrix level. It is not paid on house-rent allowance. Transport allowance does carry DA on it, so a full arrears claim also includes the DA on transport allowance, which this calculator does not add.
How often is dearness allowance revised?
Twice a year, with effect from 1 January and 1 July, based on the twelve-month average of the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers, under the 7th Central Pay Commission formula.
What is the current DA rate?
60 per cent of basic pay with effect from 1 January 2026, revised from 58 per cent. Pensioners receive the same rate as dearness relief.

See also

External references

References

  1. Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Office Memoranda revising the dearness allowance rate for central government employees, most recently to 60 per cent with effect from 1 January 2026.
  2. 7th Central Pay Commission dearness allowance formula, based on the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) published by the Labour Bureau.
  3. Income-tax Act, 1961, Section 89(1) read with Form 10E, on relief for salary received in arrears.

References

  1. Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Office Memoranda revising the dearness allowance rate for central government employees (60 per cent with effect from 1 January 2026).
  2. 7th Central Pay Commission dearness allowance formula, based on the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW).
  3. Income-tax Act, 1961, Section 89(1) and Form 10E, on relief for salary arrears.