Akshat ShrivastavaHow to invest your salary, income wise, in 2026
Corpus at 37 -See result
Corpus at age 37-
Drag to any ageAge 37, year 2036
Investable per month now-
Salary per month at 37-
Total you put in-by that age
Growth earned-
How it works
The Math Behind the Projection
The calculator is the spreadsheet I have used since my first job, turned into a page. Six rules drive every number on the screen.
01Salary compounds by your increment
Year one is your in hand salary times 12. Every year after that multiplies the previous year by one plus your increment.
02Needs and wants grow separately
Rent grows at its own rate, EMIs stay flat, the rest follows inflation. Each line item compounds on its own, so lifestyle creep shows up in the numbers.
03What is left gets invested
Income minus needs minus wants is your yearly surplus. If spends ever cross income the surplus is zero for that year, never negative.
04PPF share equals your age
At 27, 27% of the surplus goes to PPF and 73% to equity. The split moves one point a year toward safety. Switch to a fixed split if you prefer.
05Every year's money compounds on its own
Each year's PPF and equity contribution grows from that year to the age you check. Equity gains are taxed at the LTCG rate, PPF is tax free.
06Then we remove inflation
The corpus is divided by inflation compounded over the same years, which gives the value in today's prices, the number worth planning around.
Income(y) = Salary × 12 × (1 + increment)^y
Surplus(y) = max(0, Income(y) − Needs(y) − Wants(y))
PPF(y) = Surplus(y) × share(y) Equity(y) = Surplus(y) − PPF(y)
Corpus(T) = Σ PPF(y)(1+r_ppf)^(T−y) + Σ [ Equity(y)(1+r_eq)^(T−y) − tax × gains ]
Real(T) = Corpus(T) ÷ (1 + inflation)^T
Read this first
What the Numbers Can and Cannot Tell You
A 10% increment is not a law of nature. Indian salaried professionals saw average hikes between 9% and 10% through 2024 and 2025, but the number falls in a slow year and jumps when you switch jobs. Run the calculator at 6% and at 14% and plan for the lower line.
Lifestyle creep is the silent variable. The calculator grows your wants at 5% a year. In real life a bigger salary tends to pull wants up with it. If the surplus percentage in the result keeps dropping as the years pass, that is the warning sign.
PPF has a ceiling. The scheme caps deposits at 1.5 lakh a year per account. Once your PPF share crosses that, the extra belongs in debt funds, EPF voluntary contributions or NPS. The projection treats it as one debt bucket at 8%.
Equity returns arrive in lumps. 15% is close to the long run Nifty total return, but no year delivers exactly 15%. The order of good and bad years matters less while you are still investing every month, which is the whole point of a SIP.
Today's money is the honest number. Celebrate the nominal crore when it comes, but plan rent, school fees and retirement with the inflation adjusted line. For a full retirement plan, including how long the money must last, use the FIRE calculator. To see what real funds returned over 5 to 20 years, open the mutual fund returns tracker.
Earning more is the biggest lever. Expenses have a floor, salary does not have a ceiling. If you work in product marketing, check the India PMM salary benchmarks for 2026 and the growth and PMM job board.
Common questions
Salary Growth Calculator FAQ
How does the salary growth calculator work?
It takes your current monthly in hand salary and grows it every year by your expected increment. Each year it subtracts your needs and wants, which grow at their own rates, and invests what is left. The investable amount is split between PPF and equity, compounded to the age you pick and then discounted by inflation so you also see the value in today's money.
Why is the PPF share equal to my age?
It follows the common thumb rule that the share of debt in a portfolio should roughly match your age. At 27 you put 27% of your monthly surplus in PPF and 73% in equity. The share rises by one point every year, so the plan gets safer as you get older. You can switch to a fixed split in the assumptions.
What returns and tax does the calculator assume?
By default PPF compounds at 8% a year with no tax, equity at 15% a year with 10% long term capital gains tax applied on the gains when you sell, and inflation runs at 5%. Every number is editable and none of them is a promise. Try lower returns to stress test the plan.
What does the value in today's money mean?
A corpus of 2 crore in 2040 does not buy what 2 crore buys today. The calculator divides the projected corpus by inflation compounded over the same years, so you can compare the future number with prices you understand now.
Does the calculator store my salary?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing leaves the page unless you choose to email yourself the PDF, in which case the report and your email address are sent through the mail service once and are not stored in a database.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a planning tool built from a spreadsheet that I use myself. Returns can be lower, increments can stop and life happens. Use it to see the shape of your plan, then speak to a SEBI registered adviser before you commit money.
This calculator is for education and planning only and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Returns are assumptions you control, not predictions. PPF rates are set by the Government of India each quarter and equity returns are not guaranteed. Speak with a SEBI registered investment adviser before acting on any projection. Built by Syed Hadi in Bengaluru.
