SSC CGL salary

SSC CGL salary is the pay of the 40 Group B and Group C central government posts that the Staff Selection Commission fills through its Combined Graduate Level Examination, set at Level 4 to Level 8 of the 7th Central Pay Commission pay matrix with an entry basic pay of Rs. 25,500 to Rs. 47,600. The post list and the level of each post are fixed by paragraph 2 of the CGL 2026 notice, F. No. HQ-C11018/1/2026-C-1, uploaded on 21 May 2026.

On the entry basic pay come dearness allowance at 60% from 1 January 2026, house rent allowance by city class and transport allowance by station. At the entry cell the monthly in-hand runs from Rs. 41,870 for a Level 4 post in a Z-class city to Rs. 87,874 for a Level 8 post in an X-class city, after the 10% pension contribution, CGHS and group insurance. No income tax is payable at the entry cell of any CGL post under the default regime of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

The pay depends on the post and nothing else: the merit rank decides which post a candidate is allotted, and the post decides the level. The same examination sends one candidate to a Level 4 Tax Assistant post and another to a Level 8 Assistant Audit Officer post, a gap of Rs. 22,100 in entry basic pay and Rs. 38,024 in monthly in-hand in an X-class city. The sections below give the level of every post in the 2026 notice, the in-hand by level and city, the tax position, and how the pay moves after joining through increments, dearness allowance, promotion and MACP.

SSC CGL posts by pay level

The CGL 2026 notice lists 40 posts across five pay levels: 3 at Level 8, 15 at Level 7, 10 at Level 6, 6 at Level 5 and 6 at Level 4. Each paragraph of the notice states the pay range of its level, which is the first and last cell of that level in the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016 matrix (G.S.R. 721(E), 25 July 2016).

Source: paragraphs 2.1 to 2.5 and 5.1 of the CGL 2026 notice. Ages are counted as on 1 August 2026.

Three titles in the list carry more than one level. The Assistant or ASO post in other ministries appears at Level 7 (paragraph 2.2, serial 7) and again at Level 6 (paragraph 2.3, serial 1), so the cadre named on the allotment decides the pay. “Sub Inspector” is Level 7 in the CBI, Level 6 in the NIA and the NCB, and Level 4 in the Central Bureau of Narcotics. An Inspector of the Central Bureau of Narcotics is Level 7, but its Sub-Inspector is a Group C post three levels lower. The site’s sub-inspector salary article covers the police-side posts.

The group follows the level. DoPT notification S.O. 3964(E) dated 9 August 2018 classifies central civil posts at Levels 6 to 9 as Group B and Levels 1 to 5 as Group C, and every entry in the 2026 notice matches that line. Only the three Level 8 posts are marked gazetted, non-ministerial in the notice; the Level 6 and Level 7 posts are Group B non-gazetted. The distinction is explained in gazetted and non-gazetted posts.

Entry in-hand salary by level and city

At the 60% dearness allowance in force from 1 January 2026 (Department of Expenditure OM No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B) dated 22 April 2026), the monthly in-hand at the entry cell of each CGL level is:

The X column assumes a station named in the transport allowance annexure, which every X-class city is; the Y and Z columns assume a station outside it. Income tax is nil in every cell. The table is a salary-calculator.in computation from the pay matrix and the allowance and deduction rates set out in the next two sections, and each level link opens the salary by pay level calculator at that level for a different city, pension scheme or tax regime.

A Y-class station inside the annexure, such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Patna or Kochi, adds Rs. 2,880 to the Y column, because the transport allowance there is the higher Rs. 3,600 plus dearness allowance. A Level 7 officer in Jaipur therefore takes home Rs. 78,686, not Rs. 75,806.

How the in-hand is built

The in-hand is gross pay less four deductions, and for an Inspector of Income Tax at the Level 7 entry cell in an X-class city at 60% dearness allowance it works out as follows:

House rent allowance is 30%, 20% or 10% of basic pay in an X, Y or Z-class city, with floors of Rs. 5,400, Rs. 3,600 and Rs. 1,800, under OM No. 2/5/2017-E.II(B) dated 7 July 2017. The rates stepped up from 24%, 16% and 8% to 27%, 18% and 9% when dearness allowance crossed 25% on 1 July 2021, and to the present rates when it crossed 50% on 1 January 2024. No CGL entry cell is low enough for a floor to bite, because 10% of the Level 4 basic is Rs. 2,550.

Transport allowance follows the level band and the station, not the city class, under OM No. 21/5/2017-E.II(B) dated 7 July 2017. Every CGL post is in the Levels 3 to 8 band, which draws Rs. 3,600 a month in the 19 urban agglomerations named in the annexure to that OM and Rs. 1,800 everywhere else, each plus dearness allowance. Rs. 7,200 begins only at Level 9, which no CGL post reaches on entry, so a Level 4 Tax Assistant and a Level 8 Assistant Audit Officer posted to the same city draw the same Rs. 5,760.

The deductions are the 10% employee contribution to the National Pension System on basic pay plus dearness allowance; the CGHS contribution of Rs. 250 at Levels 1 to 5, Rs. 450 at Level 6 and Rs. 650 at Levels 7 to 11, fixed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare OM No. S.11011/11/2016-CGHS(P)/EHS dated 9 January 2017; and the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme subscription of Rs. 60 for Group B and Rs. 30 for Group C, at the rates in force from 1 January 1990 under Department of Expenditure OM F.7(5)-EV/89. A Level 5 Auditor in an X-class city therefore loses Rs. 4,672, Rs. 250 and Rs. 30 from a gross of Rs. 61,240. The take-home salary article runs the same build for every level of the matrix.

Income tax on SSC CGL salary

No CGL post pays income tax at its entry cell under the default regime. Section 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 sets the default slabs, the Rs. 75,000 standard deduction sits in Section 19(1) Table serial 2, and the Section 156 rebate of up to Rs. 60,000 under Section 156(2)(a) wipes out the tax on a total income up to Rs. 12,00,000. For a salaried employee with no other income that is Rs. 12,75,000 of salary a year, or Rs. 1,06,250 a month.

The highest CGL entry figure is Level 8 in an X-class city, Rs. 96,200 a month or Rs. 11,54,400 a year, leaving a total income of Rs. 10,79,400 after the standard deduction. The government’s 14% NPS contribution does not change this: it is added to salary under Section 16(k) and deducted again in full under Section 124(1)(a), so it nets to nil.

The rebate stops covering the whole tax once the annual salary passes Rs. 12,75,000, and at 60% dearness allowance with no other income that happens at these cells:

At a Y-class station inside the transport allowance annexure, such as Jaipur, the line falls one cell earlier: Level 8 cell 7, Level 7 cell 9 and Level 6 cell 17, each at basic Rs. 56,900. Every dearness allowance revision pulls those cells earlier, because the allowance raises the gross without moving the cell. Just past the line, marginal relief under Section 156(2)(b) holds the tax to the excess of income over Rs. 12,00,000, so the first year of tax is small. The full slab arithmetic is in new tax regime, and old vs new tax regime covers the regime where the rebate is only Rs. 12,500 and stops at a total income of Rs. 5,00,000. Under that old regime a Level 7 officer in an X-class city still has a total income of Rs. 7,94,992 after the Rs. 50,000 standard deduction, both NPS contributions and the largest possible house rent allowance exemption of Rs. 1,61,640, before any other deduction. Filling the rest of the Rs. 1,50,000 limit and claiming a health insurance deduction still leaves it above Rs. 5,00,000, so tax is payable from the first year.

Pay growth after joining

In the ordinary course pay only rises from the entry cell, and four separate things raise it.

Annual increment. One cell down the same level, about 3%, under Rule 9 of the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016. Rule 10 fixes one date a year: an employee appointed between 2 January and 1 July gets the increment on 1 January, and one appointed between 2 July and 1 January gets it on 1 July, subject to six months’ qualifying service. The annual increment article covers the dating rule.

Source: 7th CPC pay matrix, CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016.

Dearness allowance. Revised for 1 January and 1 July each year against the AICPI-IW index, and paid on whatever cell the officer stands on. Each rise of 2 percentage points adds Rs. 898 a month at the Level 7 entry basic. The expected DA page tracks the next revision.

Promotion. A move to the promotional post’s level, with pay fixed under FR 22 by the pay fixation on promotion method.

MACP. Under DoPT OM No. 35034/3/2015-Estt.(D) dated 22 October 2019, an employee not promoted is placed in the next level at 10, 20 and 30 years of regular service, or after 10 years in the same level, whichever is earlier, up to three upgradations in a career. A Level 4 Tax Assistant who is never promoted reaches Level 5 at 10 years.

Promotion ladders of the main posts

Promotion is where the CGL posts separate, because two Level 7 posts can sit on very different ladders.

• Inspector of Income Tax (Level 7): Income Tax Officer at Level 8, entry basic Rs. 47,600, the first gazetted rank in the cadre and an Assessing Officer; then Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax at Level 10, Rs. 56,100, the entry grade of the Indian Revenue Service.
• Assistant Section Officer, CSS (Level 7): Section Officer at Level 8 from the Select List under Rule 12(1)(a) of the Central Secretariat Service Rules, 2009, as substituted by G.S.R. 753(E) dated 2 August 2016, then Under Secretary at Level 11, entry basic Rs. 67,700, after eight years’ approved service as Section Officer under Rule 11(3). The Section Officer salary and Assistant Section Officer salary articles carry both rungs.
• Tax Assistant (Level 4): Senior Tax Assistant at Level 5, entry basic Rs. 29,200, and then Inspector at Level 7 on the direct-tax or indirect-tax side.
• Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer (Level 8): confirmation in the post itself depends on passing the Subordinate Audit or Accounts Service Examination during probation, under paragraphs 8.1.1.3, 8.1.2.3 and 8.1.3.3 of the notice. Failing it blocks confirmation, which is a condition the Level 7 posts do not carry.

Speed differs by cadre and by zone, because each depends on vacancies in its own cadre, so the level of the first promotional post is the comparable number.

Pension and retirement benefits

Every CGL recruit joins after 1 January 2004 and is covered by the National Pension System under Ministry of Finance notification No. 5/7/2003-ECB-PR dated 22 December 2003, not the Old Pension Scheme. The employee pays 10% of basic pay plus dearness allowance, Rs. 7,184 a month at the Level 7 entry cell, and the government adds 14%, Rs. 10,058.

From 1 April 2025 an NPS-covered central government employee may opt for the Unified Pension Scheme under Department of Financial Services notification F. No. FX-1/3/2024-PR dated 24 January 2025. The employee contribution stays at 10%, so the in-hand table does not change. The government contribution rises to 18.5%, of which 10% goes to the individual corpus and 8.5% to a pool, and the scheme assures 50% of the last 12 months’ average basic pay after 25 years of qualifying service, with a minimum of Rs. 10,000 a month after 10 years. The trade-offs are set out in NPS vs OPS vs UPS.

On retirement or death the post also carries gratuity and leave encashment of up to 300 days of earned leave, and the group insurance savings fund built from the Rs. 30 or Rs. 60 monthly subscription.

Allowances outside the in-hand table

The in-hand table carries only the three allowances every CGL employee draws. Others depend on the officer’s circumstances:

• Children education allowance of Rs. 2,812.50 a month per child for two children from 1 January 2024, under DoPT OM No. A-27012/02/2017-Estt.(AL) dated 17 July 2018 and the 25% step that followed dearness allowance crossing 50%.
• Daily allowance and travelling allowance on tour, which field posts such as Inspector of Income Tax and Inspector Posts draw more often than secretariat posts.

None of these appears in a monthly in-hand figure because none is paid every month to every officer.

Selection rules that fix the post and therefore the pay

Five rules in the CGL 2026 notice decide which post a candidate ends up in, and so which row of the in-hand table applies.

Qualification. A bachelor’s degree from a recognised university is the essential qualification for every post, and paragraph 8.4.1 applies it alone to every post not named in paragraphs 8.1 to 8.3. Four posts carry more. Assistant Audit Officer (State Cadre) and Assistant Accounts Officer (State Cadre) also need proficiency in the regional or official language of the State, proved by a certificate at Secondary School level (paragraphs 8.1.2.1(ii) and 8.1.3.1(ii)). Junior Statistical Officer needs at least 60% in mathematics at the 12th standard or statistics as a degree subject (paragraph 8.2.1). Statistical Investigator Grade-II needs a degree in statistics, mathematics, economics, demography, population studies, operations research, a computing subject, data science or artificial intelligence (paragraph 8.3.1). Final-year students may apply if they hold the degree by 1 August 2026 (paragraph 8.5).

Tier-II paper. Paper-I is compulsory for all posts (paragraph 13.9.2). Paper-II is set only for the JSO and Statistical Investigator Grade-II candidates, and Paper-III only for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer candidates shortlisted in Tier-I (paragraph 13.9.3). A candidate who does not sit Paper-III cannot reach Level 8.

Higher computer standards. The Computer Knowledge Test and the Data Entry Speed Test are qualifying for every post, but paragraph 13.9.9 sets higher CKT and DEST standards for the ASO posts in CSS, MEA and AFHQ, the CBIC Inspector posts and Executive Assistant, and Postal Assistant, among others; paragraph 13.9.10.4 sets a higher DEST standard for Tax Assistant in CBIC and CBDT.

Physical and medical standards. Note-II to paragraph 2 names the CBIC Inspector posts, the CBN Inspector and Sub-Inspector, the NCB Sub-Inspector, the CBI and NIA Sub Inspectors and the BRO UDC as carrying physical and medical standards, measured by the user department after nomination.

Allotment is final. Note-I states that posts are allotted on merit-cum-preference and that no change of post is made if the candidate fails a post-specific standard; the candidature is rejected instead. A higher preference for a post with a physical standard is therefore a bet on meeting it.

Probation

A CGL direct recruit serves the probation period set by the recruitment rules of the post, with extension and confirmation governed by DoPT Master Circular No. 28020/3/2018-Estt.(C) dated 11 March 2019; for the CSS Assistant Section Officer it is two years under Rule 13(1) of the CSS Rules, 2009. Probation does not reduce pay: the officer draws the entry cell of the post’s level and every allowance from the date of joining. The extension and confirmation rules are in probation in central government.

SSC CGL salary and the 8th Pay Commission

The figures above are 7th CPC figures and will change when the 8th Central Pay Commission’s recommendations are implemented. The commission was constituted on 3 November 2025 by Resolution F. No. 01-01/2025-E.III(A) under Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, with its report due by 3 May 2027. No fitment factor, revised matrix or effective date has been notified, so no 8th CPC entry pay for any CGL level can be stated. The 8th Central Pay Commission article tracks its status.

Related Articles

• SSC CGL
• Staff Selection Commission
• Income Tax Inspector salary
• Assistant Section Officer (ASO) salary
• Section Officer (SO) salary
• Tax Assistant salary
• Senior Tax Assistant salary
• Sub-inspector salary
• SSC CHSL salary
• Salary by pay level
• Salary by pay level calculator
• 7th CPC salary calculator
• Pay fixation on promotion calculator
• Pay matrix
• 7th Central Pay Commission
• 8th Central Pay Commission
• Take-home salary of central government employees
• Dearness allowance
• Expected DA
• AICPI-IW
• House rent allowance
• Transport allowance
• Children education allowance
• Leave Travel Concession
• Annual increment
• MACP vs promotion
• Probation in central government
• Gazetted and non-gazetted posts
• CGHS contribution and ward entitlement
• Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme
• National Pension System
• Unified Pension Scheme
• NPS vs OPS vs UPS
• Old Pension Scheme
• Gratuity for central government employees
• Leave encashment
• Section 87A rebate
• New tax regime
• Old vs new tax regime
• Income tax for government employees
• Indian Revenue Service
• Central Bureau of Investigation
• Central government jobs
• Central government employees in India
• Minimum pay

External references

• Staff Selection Commission
• Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance
• Department of Personnel and Training
• Income Tax Department
• Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

References

1. Staff Selection Commission, Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 notice, F. No. HQ-C11018/1/2026-C-1 (uploaded 21 May 2026), paragraphs 2, 5.1, 8 and 13.9.
2. Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016, G.S.R. 721(E) (25 July 2016), pay matrix and Rules 9 and 10.
3. Department of Expenditure OM No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B) (22 April 2026), dearness allowance at 60% from 1 January 2026.
4. Department of Expenditure OM No. 2/5/2017-E.II(B) (7 July 2017), house rent allowance.
5. Department of Expenditure OM No. 21/5/2017-E.II(B) (7 July 2017), transport allowance and annexure of cities.
6. Department of Personnel and Training notification S.O. 3964(E) (9 August 2018), classification of posts.
7. Income-tax Act, 2025, Sections 16(k), 19(1), 124(1)(a), 156 and 202.
8. Ministry of Finance notification No. 5/7/2003-ECB-PR (22 December 2003), National Pension System; Department of Financial Services notification F. No. FX-1/3/2024-PR (24 January 2025), Unified Pension Scheme.
9. DoPT OM No. 35034/3/2015-Estt.(D) (22 October 2019), MACP guidelines.
10. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare OM No. S.11011/11/2016-CGHS(P)/EHS (9 January 2017), CGHS contribution; Department of Expenditure OM F.7(5)-EV/89, CGEGIS rates from 1 January 1990.