Take a gross salary of Rs 250,000 a month, which is Rs 3,000,000 a year. Under the FY 2025-26
salaried slabs the annual income tax is about Rs 300,000, so the after-tax pay is Rs 2,700,000 a
year, or Rs 225,000 a month. Subtract the Rs 370 monthly EOBI employee contribution and the take-home
is about Rs 224,630. Applying the 50/30/20 guide, that suggests roughly Rs 112,315 for needs,
Rs 67,389 for wants and Rs 44,926 for savings. If your stated spending is Rs 100,000 on needs and
Rs 50,000 on wants, that is Rs 150,000 against Rs 224,630 take-home, leaving a surplus of about
Rs 74,630 a month to save or invest. Coming in under the needs and wants guides leaves more room for
the savings bucket.
Item
Amount (PKR)
Monthly take-home
Rs 224,630
Needs guide (50%)
Rs 112,315
Wants guide (30%)
Rs 67,389
Savings guide (20%)
Rs 44,926
Surplus after stated expenses
Rs 74,630
How it is calculated
The tool starts from your monthly gross and turns it into take-home pay. It annualizes the gross,
applies the FY 2025-26 salaried income tax including any surcharge, divides the after-tax amount back
to a monthly figure, and then subtracts the flat EOBI employee contribution, which is computed on the
prescribed wage base rather than your actual salary. It then applies the 50/30/20 guide to that
take-home, allocating half to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings, and compares your stated needs
and wants against it. The surplus is take-home minus your stated needs and wants, showing what is left
to save or invest. The 50/30/20 split is a starting framework, not a rule, so adjust the buckets to
your own circumstances, especially if rent in your city pushes needs above half your pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?
It splits take-home pay into roughly 50% for needs like rent and groceries, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment. It is a starting guide, not a strict rule. This tool starts from your take-home pay after salaried income tax and the EOBI employee contribution, then compares your stated expenses against the guide.
How is the EOBI contribution calculated for Pakistani employees?
Under the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution rules, the employee contribution is a flat monthly amount computed on the prescribed minimum wage base, not on your actual salary. For FY 2025-26 this works out to roughly Rs 370 per month regardless of how much you earn above the threshold. The employer pays a separate share on top of that.
Which income tax slabs does this calculator use?
The calculator applies the FY 2025-26 salaried income tax slabs announced in the Federal Budget and notified by the Federal Board of Revenue. It annualizes your monthly gross, computes the full-year liability including any applicable surcharge, then divides back to a monthly figure. The slabs are updated each fiscal year so results may differ if you are using a prior year salary slip.
What counts as a need versus a want in the Pakistani context?
Needs are expenses you cannot reasonably cut: rent or mortgage installment, utility bills, groceries, school fees, transport to work and basic health costs. Wants are discretionary: dining out, streaming subscriptions, clothing beyond basics, travel and entertainment. The boundary is personal. In cities like Karachi and Lahore where rent can consume 40 to 50 percent of take-home pay, many households find the needs bucket runs over 50 percent, which simply means the wants and savings buckets need to shrink accordingly.