Writing

Salary in a marriage biodata: how to write income for every situation

Income is the line families read twice and the one people worry about most. Write it too exactly and it invites comparison; leave it vague and it looks like something is being hidden. Here is how to write salary in marriage biodata for a salaried job, a business, farming, government service, work abroad and the situations in between.

Should you mention income at all?

In most families, a man’s biodata is expected to show income, and a missing row will simply prompt the question on the first call. For women it is a personal choice: many working women include a range, and many leave it out and mention only the job. Both are normal.

Leave the row out if you are still studying, between jobs and not ready to explain, or if your family prefers to discuss money only after both sides are interested. Do not fill it with “Good”, “Handsome” or “Well settled” — those words tell a family nothing and read as evasive.

The standard format: a range per annum

Write annual income as a range. A range covers increments and bonuses, does not go out of date every April, and avoids the exact-figure comparisons that start when a biodata is forwarded around a group. Keep the range to roughly 20 – 25% of the lower figure.

“12 – 15 LPA” is fine too; LPA means lakh per annum and most families read it easily. Pick one style and do not mix a monthly figure for yourself with annual figures elsewhere.

CTC or in-hand?

CTC (cost to company) is the total on your offer letter: basic pay, allowances, the employer’s PF contribution, gratuity, insurance and any variable pay. In-hand is what reaches your bank account each month after tax and deductions, and it is noticeably lower. Families usually compare annual CTC-style figures, because that is what job offers and most biodatas show.

Do not add a joining bonus or the paper value of unvested stock to the figure. If a family later sees your salary slip or ITR during serious talks, the numbers should match what you wrote.

Business owners and self-employed

Write what you earn from the business, not its turnover. “Turnover ₹5 Crore” says nothing about income and reads as a status claim. Describe the business in a few words, then give an income range — if it varies, use the average of the last two or three years.

Farmers and agricultural income

Farm income rarely comes with a salary slip, and it moves with the season. Describe what you grow and whether there is a side business, then give an honest yearly range. The size of the land is property — leave it for a conversation between the families, as you would a house or a flat.

Government employees

Families who know government service read the post and pay level at a glance; others want a rupee figure. Give both: post, department, pay level, and a gross annual range. State government employees can write their state’s pay level or scale in the same way.

There is no need to list allowances, quarters or pension benefits. For how to write the post, department and transfers, see the guide for government employees.

Working abroad

Write income in the local currency and say whether it is per year or per month, the way salaries are quoted in that country. Avoid converting it into rupees: at today’s exchange rate the number looks enormous and ignores rent, tax and the cost of living there. If an elder in the family insists on a rupee figure, mark it as approximate.

More on visas, residency and relocation lines is in the guide to biodata for NRI marriage.

Students, trainees and people between jobs

What to leave out

• Family income, parents’ pensions or rental income
• Property: flats, plots, farmland, cars, gold
• Tax details, salary slips or bank balances
• Words like “lavish”, “high-status” or “crorepati family”
• Any figure you would not be comfortable proving later

Income is one line. A biodata that spends three lines on money makes families wonder why. For the rest of the page, see what to write in a marriage biodata.

Last updated 23 September 2026 · Biodata for Marriage team