Most employers, these days, compute salary packages on cost to the company basis, rather than on net to the employee basis. In order to tailor salary packages to meet the tax needs of each employee, they are often willing to offer different types of perquisites within the overall cost. This will increase your basic part of your salary and falls in the maximum tax slab rate.
Which is why, while negotiating your salary package with your employer, you should try to maximize your take-home pay— and minimize your tax outgo. But such a balancing exercise has to take into account the interests of the employer too.
However, you still have to gauge whether the benefits being offered hold value for you. For instance, if you live in your own house, you might not want rent-free accommodation or house rent allowance. Ultimately, the specifics of each case would determine how a package is structured.
