PAYROLL BASICS
Gross salary, net salary and employer cost are not the same
A payroll result can contain several correct totals. The difference depends on whether the number describes contractual salary, employee take-home pay, cash benefits or the employer’s full payroll cost.
Rules version LB-2026.2 · Reviewed 3 September 2026
The four totals to keep separate
Gross salary
Salary before employee NSSF and income-tax deductions.
Net salary
Gross salary minus employee deductions, before separately displayed statutory benefits.
Total cash received
Net salary plus selected transportation and NSSF family benefits.
Employer cost
Gross salary plus employer NSSF contributions and transportation. It excludes family benefits paid through NSSF.
Worked example
Assume a single employee earns 100,000,000 LBP monthly, has no eligible children and receives transportation for 22 days.
Employer side of the same example
The employer pays the 100,000,000 LBP gross salary, 18,180,000 LBP of estimated employer NSSF contributions, and 9,900,000 LBP of transportation. Estimated total employer cost is therefore 128,080,000 LBP.
Why net-to-gross needs a defined target
Salary Ledger’s reverse calculation targets net salary before statutory benefits. Otherwise, changing transportation days or family eligibility would change the gross salary needed to reach the same target. Benefits are calculated afterward and shown as additional cash.
What employer cost does not include
The estimate excludes private insurance, work-injury premiums, discretionary allowances, bonuses, leave accruals, recruitment costs and other company-specific expenses. Employers should not treat it as a complete accounting provision.