The end of the fiscal year is the busiest time for every HR and finance team in Nepal - and it is also the single best moment to move onto better HR and payroll software. Nepal's new fiscal year, FY 2083/84, begins on Shrawan 1, 2083 (around 17 July 2026), the day after the current FY 2082/83 closes at the end of Ashad. Start your first payroll of the new year on a clean system and you avoid migrating half a year of messy data later.
This year the timing matters even more. The FY 2083/84 budget, tabled on 15 Jestha 2083 (29 May 2026), announced a significant change to personal income tax. If you are still running payroll on spreadsheets - or on software that does not update Nepali tax rules for you - the new fiscal year is the moment to switch.
This guide is a practical, step-by-step checklist for moving your company's HR and payroll onto a new platform at the fiscal-year boundary, without breaking a single statutory balance.
Why the fiscal-year boundary is the best time to switch#
Switching mid-year means carrying forward partial-year payroll: year-to-date tax already deducted, PF and CIT balances, SSF contributions, and accrued leave - all mid-cycle. That is where migrations go wrong.
Switching at Shrawan 1 removes most of that risk:
- Tax restarts from zero. Annual income tax in Nepal is calculated per fiscal year. Going live on day one of the new year means there is no year-to-date tax to reconcile across two systems.
- A natural cut-off for balances. You close PF, CIT, SSF, gratuity, and leave on the old system at Ashad-end, then open clean balances in the new one.
- One source of truth from the first payslip. Every report for FY 2083/84 - payslips, tax statements, eTDS - comes from a single system.
- New tax rules apply going forward. Any rate change for the new year takes effect from Shrawan 1, so you are not retrofitting it into a half-finished year.
What is changing in FY 2083/84#
The FY 2083/84 budget announced a major revision to personal income tax for resident individuals. As reported from the budget, the schedule is:
| Annual income (NPR) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,000,000 | 1% |
| 1,000,001 - 1,500,000 | 10% |
| 1,500,001 - 2,500,000 | 20% |
| 2,500,001 - 4,000,000 | 27% |
| Above 4,000,000 | 29% |
The headline changes are large: the effective tax-free threshold roughly doubles to NPR 1 million, the structure becomes unified for all resident individuals (removing the separate single/couple slabs), and the top marginal rate drops from 39% to 29%.
The practical takeaway: tax rules change with the new year. Software that does not track Nepali rates forces you to re-do slabs by hand - exactly the work the switch is meant to eliminate.
The new-fiscal-year switch checklist#
Step 1 - Close out the old fiscal year (before Ashad-end)#
- Run and finalise the Ashad / final payroll of FY 2082/83.
- Generate and file the year's eTDS and tax statements.
- Reconcile PF, CIT, SSF, and gratuity balances with your fund statements.
- Settle pending advances, loans, and reimbursements.
- Export each employee's year-to-date earnings, deductions, and tax.
- Lock the old period so no one edits a closed year.
Step 2 - Prepare your clean opening data#
- Build a current employee master: name, designation, PAN, bank account, SSF/PF IDs, join date.
- Confirm each salary structure (basic, allowances, benefits) for the new year.
- Capture opening balances as of Shrawan 1: leave balances, loan balances, PF/CIT/gratuity carried forward.
- List your statutory setup: tax slabs for FY 2083/84, PF/SSF/CIT rates, festival/leave policy, Bikram Sambat fiscal calendar.
Step 3 - Configure the new system#
- Load the employee master and salary structures.
- Enter opening balances (not full history - you closed the old year already).
- Apply the FY 2083/84 tax slabs and statutory rates (in NepalHRM these seed automatically - see below).
- Connect biometric / attendance devices and set shift and leave rules.
- Set up approval workflows and give employees mobile self-service access.
Step 4 - Run a parallel test#
- Run the first new-year payroll in the new system and, for one cycle, alongside your old method.
- Compare gross, tax, PF/CIT/SSF, and net pay line by line.
- Resolve any difference before you pay - usually a rate, a rounding rule, or an opening balance.
Step 5 - Go live on Shrawan 1#
- Process the first official FY 2083/84 payroll on the new system.
- Issue payslips (NepalHRM supports bilingual Nepali + English payslips).
- File eTDS for the period from the new system.
- Archive the old system as read-only for audit and reference.
How NepalHRM makes the switch clean#
NepalHRM is built for exactly this moment. The platform handles Nepali payroll end to end - PF, CIT, SSF, eTDS, and the income-tax slabs - and updates them as the rules change, so you are not re-entering rates by hand each fiscal year. A one-click "Reinstall Nepal Defaults" seeds the current tax slabs and statutory rates, and the whole system runs in both AD and Bikram Sambat calendars so your Shrawan-to-Ashad reporting lines up without a parallel spreadsheet.
Practical things that de-risk a fiscal-year switch:
- Free for teams up to 10 employees, so smaller companies can start with no budget approval - see pricing.
- Onboarding support for employee imports, salary structures, and opening balances.
- Biometric attendance that flows straight into payroll - no Excel matching.
- A mobile app so employees see payslips, leave, and attendance from day one.
If you want to see your own payroll run inside the system before you commit, book a demo - the team will walk through your salary structure and the FY 2083/84 setup with you.
Frequently Asked Questions#
When does Nepal's new fiscal year 2083/84 start?#
FY 2083/84 begins on Shrawan 1, 2083 - approximately 17 July 2026 - the day after the current fiscal year 2082/83 closes at the end of Ashad. Nepal's fiscal year always runs from Shrawan to the end of Ashad.
Why is the new fiscal year the best time to change payroll software?#
Annual income tax in Nepal is calculated per fiscal year, so going live on Shrawan 1 means there is no year-to-date tax to reconcile across two systems. You close PF, CIT, SSF, and leave balances on the old system at Ashad-end and open clean balances on the new one, and every FY 2083/84 report then comes from a single source.
What income tax changes apply in FY 2083/84?#
As announced in the FY 2083/84 budget, the effective tax-free threshold roughly doubles to NPR 1,000,000, the slabs become unified for all resident individuals, and the top marginal rate falls from 39% to 29%. Confirm the final rates and commencement against the enacted Finance Act and IRD guidance before running payroll.
Do I have to migrate my full payroll history to the new system?#
No. Migrate opening balances as of Shrawan 1 - leave, loans, and PF/CIT/gratuity carried forward - not the full year's transactions. You finalise and archive the old fiscal year on the old system, which keeps the migration small and low-risk.
Can a small business switch without a dedicated HR person?#
Yes. NepalHRM is free for teams up to 10 employees and includes onboarding help for employee imports, salary structures, and opening balances, so a small finance or founding team can complete the switch without specialist HR staff.
Should I run the old and new payroll in parallel?#
For the first cycle, yes. Run the new-year payroll in the new system and compare gross, tax, PF/CIT/SSF, and net pay against your previous method line by line. Resolve any difference - usually a rate, rounding rule, or opening balance - before you pay employees.
