What is APIT (PAYE) in Sri Lanka?

APIT — Advance Personal Income Tax — is income tax an employer deducts from an employee's monthly pay and remits to the Inland Revenue Department. It replaced the old PAYE scheme in 2020 and is worked out on taxable employment income using the IRD's current personal income tax rates.

How much are EPF and ETF in Sri Lanka?

For EPF, the employee contributes 8% and the employer 12% of total monthly earnings — 20% in total. For ETF, the employer contributes a further 3%, with no employee contribution. ETF is entirely employer-funded.

How many perches are in an acre?

There are 160 perches in one acre. One perch is 25.2929 square metres, one rood is 40 perches, and one acre is 160 perches (4 roods), or about 4,046.86 square metres.

What does a Sri Lankan NIC number mean?

A Sri Lankan NIC number encodes the holder's birth year and day-of-year. The old format is 9 digits plus a letter; the new format is 12 digits. From these digits the date of birth and gender can be derived.

Sri Lanka Finance, Tax & Money Terms

A plain-English glossary of the tax, salary, banking, property and identity terms Sri Lankans deal with most — APIT (PAYE), EPF, ETF, gratuity, VAT, the perch, the NIC number and more. Each term is defined in one place, cites its official statutory source, and links to a free calculator so you can run the numbers yourself.

26 terms · Last reviewed 2026-06-18 · Maintained by Induwara Ashinsana

Tax

APIT (Advance Personal Income Tax)(PAYE, Pay As You Earn): APIT is income tax an employer deducts from an employee's monthly remuneration and remits to the Inland Revenue Department. It replaced the old PAYE scheme in 2020 and is calculated on the employee's taxable employment income using the IRD's current personal income tax rates.; Income Tax (APIT) Calculator Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Personal Income Tax(income tax, PAYE tax): A direct tax charged on a resident individual's annual assessable income above the tax-free allowance, applied through progressive rate bands. For employees it is usually collected monthly via APIT.; Income Tax Calculator Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Withholding Tax (WHT)(AIT, Advance Income Tax): Tax deducted at source from certain payments — such as interest, dividends, rent, and specified service fees — by the payer, who remits it to the Inland Revenue Department on the recipient's behalf.; Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Value Added Tax (VAT): An indirect consumption tax charged on the value added at each stage of supplying most goods and services. Registered businesses charge VAT on sales and offset VAT paid on purchases; the current rate is set by the Inland Revenue Department.; VAT Calculator Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL): A levy charged on the liable turnover of businesses whose turnover exceeds the registration threshold, introduced in 2022 to fund social security. It is applied in addition to VAT where relevant.; Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Capital Gains Tax (CGT): A tax on the gain realised when an investment asset — such as land or shares not exempted — is sold or otherwise disposed of. In Sri Lanka the gain is the difference between the disposal proceeds and the cost of the asset.; Capital Gains Tax Calculator Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Stamp Duty: A tax payable on the execution of certain legal instruments and transactions, such as property transfer deeds, leases, and share transfers. The rate depends on the instrument and value.; Stamp Duty Calculator Source: Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka

Salary & Employment

EPF (Employees' Provident Fund): Sri Lanka's mandatory retirement savings scheme for private-sector and certain other employees. The employee contributes 8% and the employer 12% of the employee's total monthly earnings — a combined 20% paid into the member's fund.; EPF Calculator Source: Department of Labour (EPF/ETF), Sri Lanka
ETF (Employees' Trust Fund): A separate statutory benefit fund to which the employer contributes 3% of an employee's total earnings. Unlike EPF, the ETF has no employee contribution; it is funded entirely by the employer.; ETF Calculator Source: Department of Labour (EPF/ETF), Sri Lanka
Gratuity: A lump-sum payment an employer owes an employee who leaves after at least five years of continuous service. Under the Payment of Gratuity Act No. 12 of 1983 it is calculated as half a month's salary for each completed year of service.; Gratuity Calculator Source: Department of Labour (EPF/ETF), Sri Lanka
Take-home (Net) Salary(net pay): The amount an employee actually receives after subtracting statutory and other deductions — typically the employee's EPF contribution and APIT — from gross salary. The employer's EPF/ETF contributions are paid on top of gross and do not reduce take-home pay.; Net Salary Calculator Source: Department of Labour (EPF/ETF), Sri Lanka
No-Pay Leave(unpaid leave, LWOP): Leave taken without pay once an employee has exhausted entitled paid leave. The salary deduction is usually the daily rate (monthly salary divided by the number of days in the month or working days) multiplied by the no-pay days.; No-Pay Leave Calculator Source: Department of Labour (EPF/ETF), Sri Lanka

Banking & Investment

Fixed Deposit (FD): A savings product where money is locked with a bank or finance company for a fixed term at a fixed interest rate. Interest may be paid monthly, at maturity, or compounded, and is generally subject to withholding tax.; Fixed Deposit Calculator Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Treasury Bill (T-Bill): A short-term debt instrument issued by the Government of Sri Lanka through the Central Bank, with maturities of 91, 182, or 364 days. T-bills are sold at a discount and redeemed at face value; the difference is the investor's return.; Treasury Bill Calculator Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
AWPLR (Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate): A benchmark interest rate published weekly by the Central Bank, reflecting the average rate at which commercial banks lend to their prime (most creditworthy) customers. Many loan rates are pegged to the AWPLR.; Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Policy Rates (SDFR & SLFR)(repo rate, reverse repo rate, OPR): The Central Bank's main interest rates — the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) — used to steer money-market rates and inflation. The Bank now also signals policy through an Overnight Policy Rate (OPR).; Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Loan EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment): The fixed monthly payment that repays a loan's principal and interest over its term. Early instalments are mostly interest; later ones are mostly principal. It depends on the loan amount, interest rate, and tenure.; Loan EMI Calculator Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Property & Land

Perch: The most common small land-area unit in Sri Lanka. One perch equals exactly 25.2929 square metres (about 272.25 square feet), and 160 perches make one acre.; Land Area Converter Source: Survey Department of Sri Lanka
Rood: A land-area unit equal to 40 perches, or one quarter of an acre (about 1,011.7 square metres). Sri Lankan deeds often state extent in acres, roods, and perches (A-R-P).; Land Area Converter Source: Survey Department of Sri Lanka
Acre: A land-area unit equal to 160 perches or 4 roods — about 4,046.86 square metres (0.4047 hectares). It is the standard larger unit on Sri Lankan land deeds.; Land Area Converter Source: Survey Department of Sri Lanka
A-R-P (Acres-Roods-Perches): The traditional notation for land extent on Sri Lankan deeds, written as acres, roods, and perches in sequence — for example 1A-2R-20P means 1 acre, 2 roods, and 20 perches.; Land Area Converter Source: Survey Department of Sri Lanka

Identity & Documents

NIC (National Identity Card) Number: The unique identity number issued to Sri Lankan citizens. The old format is 9 digits plus a letter (e.g. 871234567V); the new format is 12 digits. Both encode the holder's birth year and day-of-year, from which date of birth and gender can be derived.; NIC Decoder Source: Department for Registration of Persons, Sri Lanka
Old NIC to New NIC: Conversion between the 9-digit-plus-letter old NIC and the 12-digit new NIC. The new number embeds the same birth year and serial: the first four digits are the full birth year, followed by the three day-of-year digits and the serial, with the trailing letter dropped.; Old-to-New NIC Converter Source: Department for Registration of Persons, Sri Lanka

Economy

CCPI (Colombo Consumer Price Index): The headline price index used to measure inflation in the Colombo urban area, compiled monthly by the Department of Census and Statistics. The year-on-year change in the CCPI is the most quoted measure of Sri Lankan inflation.; Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka
NCPI (National Consumer Price Index): A broader inflation index covering all provinces of Sri Lanka, compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics. It complements the Colombo-focused CCPI with a nationwide view of consumer prices.; Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka
A/L Z-Score: A standardised score used to rank G.C.E. Advanced Level candidates for state university admission. It expresses how far a student's marks are from the mean for each subject, allowing fair comparison across subjects and exam sittings.; A/L Z-Score Calculator Source: University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka

Frequently asked questions

What is APIT (PAYE) in Sri Lanka?: APIT — Advance Personal Income Tax — is income tax an employer deducts from an employee's monthly pay and remits to the Inland Revenue Department. It replaced the old PAYE scheme in 2020 and is worked out on taxable employment income using the IRD's current personal income tax rates.
How much are EPF and ETF in Sri Lanka?: For EPF, the employee contributes 8% and the employer 12% of total monthly earnings — 20% in total. For ETF, the employer contributes a further 3%, with no employee contribution. ETF is entirely employer-funded.
How many perches are in an acre?: There are 160 perches in one acre. One perch is 25.2929 square metres, one rood is 40 perches, and one acre is 160 perches (4 roods), or about 4,046.86 square metres.
What does a Sri Lankan NIC number mean?: A Sri Lankan NIC number encodes the holder's birth year and day-of-year. The old format is 9 digits plus a letter; the new format is 12 digits. From these digits the date of birth and gender can be derived.

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