IRS Salary 2026: Salary per Month of IRS (Income Tax) and IRS (Customs)

An IRS officer's basic pay runs from ₹56,100 a month on joining, at Level 10 of the pay matrix, to a fixed ₹2,25,000 for a Principal Chief Commissioner, at Level 17. IRS stands for Indian Revenue Service, which has two branches, both Group A services filled through the Civil Services Examination: the IRS (Income Tax), under the Central Board of Direct Taxes, and the IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes), under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Both start at Level 10, the same as the IAS and the IPS. With dearness allowance at 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026, a new IRS officer's basic pay plus DA is ₹89,760 a month.

The tables below give every grade of both branches with its pay level and basic pay range, as the Civil Services Examination Rules, 2026 print them in Appendix II, and basic pay plus DA at the first cell of each level, the lowest an officer in that grade is paid. Increments, and pay fixed on promotion, usually put an officer higher.

IRS (Income Tax) salary per month

An officer joins as Assistant Commissioner (or Assistant Director) of Income-tax at Level 10. The top grade is Principal Chief Commissioner (or Principal Director General) of Income-tax, at Level 17.

IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes) salary per month

An officer joins as Assistant Commissioner at Level 10. The top grade is Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General, at Level 17.

IRS pay scale and the old grade pay

The CSE Rules print IRS pay as a level of the pay matrix, not a grade pay. When the Union Cabinet approved the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations on 29 June 2016, with effect from 1 January 2016, it dispensed with pay bands and grade pay; an employee's status is now set by the level. The CSE Rules still record the link for the IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes): a probationer starts in what was Pay Band-3, ₹15,600 to ₹39,100, plus a grade pay of ₹5,400, which corresponds to Level 10.

For that branch the rules also set how pay rises during probation. The first increment comes on passing one of the two parts of the departmental examination or after one year's service, whichever is earlier; the second on passing the other part or after two years; and the third only after three years' service and satisfactory completion of probation.

How IRS pay compares with the IAS

• The same start. IRS, IAS and IPS officers all begin at Level 10, ₹56,100 a month in basic pay.
• Two extra increments in the IAS. On promotion to the Senior Time Scale, the Junior Administrative Grade and the Selection Grade, the IAS (Pay) Rules grant two additional increments. The 7th Pay Commission's report (2015) describes this as a pay advantage, an "edge", that the IAS and the Indian Foreign Service have at those three grades over other All India and Central Services.
• A grade at Level 16. Both IRS branches have one: Chief Commissioner (or Director General). The IAS (Pay) Rules have none: after the HAG Scale at Level 15 comes the Apex Scale at Level 17.
• The top. Both IRS branches end at Level 17, a fixed ₹2,25,000 a month in basic pay. The IAS has one post above that, the Cabinet Secretary, at Level 18.

The CSE Rules print each grade and its pay level, but not how long officers take to reach it. For the work and training of each branch, see IRS (Income Tax) and IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes); for a side-by-side comparison with the police service, see IPS vs IRS.

Be wary of any single "IRS in-hand salary" figure. In-hand pay also depends on house rent allowance or government housing, other allowances, and income tax and other deductions, and no official document publishes one. Basic pay plus DA, in the tables above, is the part fixed by the rules and the Government's DA orders.

IRS salary and the 8th Pay Commission

The Government announced the 8th Central Pay Commission in January 2025. The Union Cabinet approved its terms of reference on 28 October 2025, and the Commission was constituted by a notification of 3 November 2025, with 18 months to submit its report.

Until the Commission reports and the Government decides on its recommendations, IRS pay stays on the pay matrix shown above, with dearness allowance revised by Government orders. No official figure for pay under the 8th Pay Commission exists yet, so treat any such number you see as a guess.

For every service through the exam on one page, see UPSC salary.