Salary Arrears
Salary arrears refer to unpaid or pending salary amounts owed to an employee for a previous period, paid out later due to reasons such as delayed salary revisions, promotions, retrospective increments, or pay commission implementations. Arrears are added to the employee's income in the year they are actually received, not the year they relate to.
Because arrears can push an employee into a higher tax slab in the year of receipt, the Income Tax Act provides relief under Section 89(1), which allows the tax to be recalculated as if the arrears had been received in the respective earlier years, using Form 10E filed on the income tax portal.
Key points
- ✓ Arrears are taxed in the year of receipt, not the year they were earned
- ✓ Common causes: delayed increments, retrospective promotions, wage revisions
- ✓ Section 89(1) provides relief from the higher tax impact of bunched arrears income
- ✓ Form 10E must be filed online before claiming Section 89(1) relief in the ITR
- ✓ Employers report arrears separately in the salary breakup within Form 16
Example
An employee who receives ₹3,00,000 in arrears in FY 2026-27 for a pay revision effective from FY 2024-25 can file Form 10E to claim Section 89(1) relief, recalculating tax as if that amount had been received in the earlier year, reducing the effective tax burden.
Frequently asked questions
Are salary arrears taxed differently from regular salary?
Is Form 10E mandatory for claiming arrears relief?
Does the employer deduct TDS on arrears?
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