Professional Tax is a tax levied on professions and trades in India. It is a state-level tax and has to be compulsorily paid by every member of staff employed in private companies. The owner of a business is responsible to deduct professional tax from the salaries of his employees and pay the amount so collected to the appropriate government department.

Professional tax is usually a slab-amount based on the gross income of the professional. It is deducted from his income every month. Some of the state governments that have levied professional tax are Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Orissa, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh. In case of salaried employees and wage earners, Employer is liable to deduct professional tax with the State Government & deposited to the local authority. In case of other class of Individuals, this tax is liable to be paid by the person himself.