A Reddit post has reignited debate about India’s economic class divide after one user shared that their domestic worker’s household now earns more than their own salaried family-entirely tax-free.
The reflection, based on real numbers, raises a deeper question: in today’s India, who truly qualifies as “middle class”?
The Redditor, living in a tier-3 city, explained that their maid-employed in their home for years-earns ₹30,000 per month working full days across three households. Her husband, a daily wage laborer, adds another ₹35,000. Their eldest son earns ₹30,000 working at a saree shop, while the younger daughter, still learning tailoring, brings in ₹3,000 and is expected to soon earn ₹15,000-₹20,000. The youngest son, training as a plumber, is also projected to make ₹15,000-₹25,000 monthly.
That adds up to a current family income of ₹98,000, expected to rise to ₹1.3-1.35 lakh in a few months. All of it remains untaxed. The family also receives free rations under government schemes, pays just ₹6,000 in rent, owns a rural home under a central housing scheme, and plans to earn another ₹30,000-₹40,000 per quarter by leasing inherited land.
“I’m genuinely happy for her,” the Redditor wrote. “She’s worked hard all her life. But it does make you wonder-who really belongs to the middle class now?”
The post quickly drew responses from across the spectrum. Some commenters echoed the sentiment, pointing out how informal sector incomes can now rival or exceed those of taxed, salaried workers. Others argued that such comparisons miss critical context, such as job security, benefits, and the vulnerability of informal labor. Still, the core question lingered.
As housing costs, inflation, and tax burdens rise for salaried professionals, the line between “working class” and “middle class” is becoming less about what you do-and more about how, and whether, your income is taxed.