Professional Tax in Odisha

What actually happened

The Governor of Odisha promulgated the Odisha State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments (Repeal) Ordinance, 2026 — Odisha Ordinance 02 of 2026 — under Article 213 of the Constitution, published in the Odisha Gazette (Extraordinary), No. 1496, dated 21 April 2026. It repeals the Odisha State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 2000 (Odisha Act 7 of 2000) in full, with effect from 1 April 2026 — the Ordinance's repeal is retrospective to that date, not merely from the date it was signed.

What this replaced

Before the repeal, Odisha ran a four-tier monthly slab: nil up to ₹13,304/month, ₹125 from ₹13,305–₹25,000, ₹167 from ₹25,001–₹41,666, and ₹208 above that. If you're seeing this table cited as current anywhere — including on tax-compliance sites that haven't caught up to the repeal — treat it as historical, not applicable to any pay period from April 2026 onward.

Does this affect professional tax already deducted before April 2026?

No. The Ordinance includes a savings clause: assessments, tax payments, notices, and liabilities under the old Act remain valid and enforceable for periods before the repeal took effect. If you had professional tax deducted from your salary in Odisha before 1 April 2026, that deduction stands — the repeal only stops future liability, it doesn't undo the past.

One thing that also changes: the income-tax deduction

Professional tax paid was itself deductible from your taxable income under the old (and new) tax regimes. With no professional tax to pay in Odisha from FY 2026-27 onward, that specific deduction line simply won't apply to Odisha salaries going forward — not a loss, since you're no longer paying the tax it used to offset either way.

Odisha joins the no-professional-tax list

With this repeal, Odisha becomes the 16th state or union territory with zero professional tax — see states with no professional tax for the full list. Odisha's route there is closer to Chhattisgarh's than the others: an Act that existed and was actively removed, not one that was never enacted in the first place — though unlike Chhattisgarh (which exempted salaried employees via notification while leaving the Act technically on the books), Odisha's Act has been repealed outright.

Related reading

• States with no professional tax — the full list Odisha now belongs to.
• Professional tax in West Bengal — a neighbouring state that still levies it, for contrast.
• Professional tax in Jharkhand — another neighbouring state, still active.

If you've relocated for work, see the Take-Home Salary Calculator to model your full monthly breakdown with the correct professional tax figure for your state.