For most Indian companies, a sensible Diwali gift budget per employee sits between ₹700 and ₹1,500, with ₹300 to ₹600 for large teams on a tight budget and ₹2,000 or more for senior leaders. The right number for you depends less on what other companies spend and more on three things: your total pool, your headcount, and the hidden costs that quietly eat into each gift.
Below is the simple method we suggest to HR and admin teams, with a worked example, a tier table and the tax points worth knowing before you sign off.
Typical per-employee ranges at a glance
These are not industry statistics. They are practical bands based on what a gift actually looks like at each price once it reaches someone's desk or doorstep.
| Budget per person | Best suited to | What it realistically buys |
|---|---|---|
| ₹300 to ₹600 | Large teams, factory and field staff, interns | A box of sweets or dry fruits, a small snack pack, a diya set, a plant in a ceramic pot |
| ₹700 to ₹1,200 | Most office teams | A proper gift hamper with 3 to 4 items, a good steel bottle or flask, a desk organiser |
| ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 | Team leads, long-serving staff, small teams | A larger hamper with a pantry staple, a quality backpack, a small appliance |
| ₹2,500 and above | Senior leaders, key clients (separate budget) | Premium hampers, personal care sets, curated experiences |
One opinion from us: a well-chosen ₹800 gift lands better than a careless ₹2,000 one. People remember whether the gift felt thought about, not the invoice value.
How to set your Diwali gift budget per employee in four steps
- Start with the total pool, not the gift. Ask finance for one number for Diwali gifting, including delivery. Choosing a hamper first and then multiplying by headcount is how budgets overshoot.
- Count heads properly. Include contract staff, housekeeping, security and drivers who work at your premises every day. Leaving them out is noticed, and it costs very little to include them.
- Subtract hidden costs. Delivery, GST, wrapping and a buffer for new joiners usually take 10 to 20 percent of the pool.
- Divide what's left by headcount. That figure is your real Diwali gift per employee cost. Shop to that number, not the headline one.
A worked example: a 120-person office in Mumbai
Say your company has 110 employees and 10 support staff at a BKC office, with about 25 people working from home in Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi. Finance has approved ₹1,50,000.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total approved pool | ₹1,50,000 |
| Buffer for new joiners and replacements (5%) | − ₹7,500 |
| Shipping to 25 home addresses outside Mumbai (estimate) | − ₹5,000 to ₹7,500 |
| Office distribution, labels, a few extra boxes | − ₹2,500 |
| Left for gifts | about ₹1,32,500 |
| Per person (120 people) | about ₹1,100 |
So the headline "₹1,250 each" is really closer to ₹1,100 once the extras are in. If your vendor's price excludes GST, budget for that too. That gap is why the number on the approval note rarely matches the gift that arrives.
Flat budget or tiered by role?
We usually suggest one flat amount for everyone, with senior leaders and clients handled from a separate line in the corporate gifting budget. A few reasons:
- Identical gifts avoid the awkward desk-to-desk comparison on distribution day.
- One product means one order, one delivery schedule and fewer mistakes.
- Leaders and clients often deserve a different kind of gift anyway, not just a bigger version of the team one.
If you do tier by role, keep it to two levels and make the difference visible in the contents, not the box size alone. A lead might get the same hamper plus a pantry item they will keep using after the festival.
What your money gets at each level
Here is a mix of ideas at the two most common budgets. Not everything needs to come from a gifting company. A plant from a local nursery or sweets from the neighbourhood halwai can be lovely if they are packed with care.
Around ₹700 to ₹800
- A good steel water bottle or a 500 ml flask that people will carry to work for years
- A money plant or snake plant in a decent pot, for desks and home offices
- Our Emerald Canopy healthy snack gift hamper at ₹745, with Vanilla / Toasted Coconut Chips (55g), Coffee Cookies (70g) and Peri Peri Almonds (100g). It's the one we suggest when a whole team needs the same gift, because the sweet-and-savoury mix suits most palates.
Around ₹1,000 to ₹1,200
- A desk organiser or a leather-finish notebook and pen set
- A set of brass or terracotta diyas with a box of dry fruits
- Our Midnight Bloom ladoo and cookie gift hamper at ₹1,170, with Almond Butterscotch Laddoos (100g, 10 pieces), Cashew Biscoff Cookies (80g), Vanilla / Toasted Coconut Chips (75g) and Coconut Millet Pops (55g). It gives people the familiar ladoo moment of a mithai box, with cookies and snacks alongside.
Both hampers contain nuts. If you know someone on the team has a nut allergy, pick a separate gift for them rather than hoping they will pass it on. For more ideas in each price band, see our list of Diwali gift ideas for employees by budget, or browse all our healthy corporate gift hampers in one place.
A small note from the packing table: the coconut chips in both hampers come from coconuts grown on our family's ancestral estate in Sindhudurg, which has been with the family for five generations. When a gift has a real origin like that, it's worth a line in your note to the team. People read those details.
Tax and GST points worth knowing
This is a general overview, not tax advice. Please check the treatment for your company with your CA or payroll provider.
- Income tax for employees: under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the annual tax-free limit for gifts, vouchers or tokens from an employer has reportedly gone up from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000, effective 1 April 2026 (KPMG summary). A Diwali hamper of ₹1,000 sits well within that, but remember it adds up with other gifts in the same year.
- GST on the gift itself: the government has clarified that gifts by an employer to an employee of up to ₹50,000 in a year are outside the scope of GST (CBIC press release).
- Input tax credit: input tax credit on goods given away as gifts is generally blocked under Section 17(5)(h) of the CGST Act, so treat the GST you pay on hampers as a cost, not something you will claim back. Your CA can confirm how this applies to you.
Timing changes the budget too
Dhanteras falls on Friday, 6 November 2026 and Diwali on Sunday, 8 November. Many offices distribute gifts in the week before Dhanteras, and late orders tend to cost more because you end up paying for express courier or settling for whatever is left in stock.
From our side, orders placed before 5 PM IST ship the same day from Navi Mumbai, and delivery outside Maharashtra usually takes 3 to 5 days, as per our shipping policy. For larger quantities, share your requirement on WhatsApp and we'll confirm what's possible for your dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is a reasonable Diwali gift budget per employee?
Most companies land between ₹700 and ₹1,500 per person for office teams. Large teams with tight budgets often go for ₹300 to ₹600, while senior leaders and clients usually come from a separate, higher budget. Work backwards from your total pool after delivery and GST, not from a gift you like.
Is it okay to spend less than last year?
Yes, if the gift is still thoughtful. A smaller, well-packed gift with a handwritten line from the team head is better received than skipping gifts altogether. What people notice more is a gift that feels generic or arrives after Diwali.
Are Diwali gifts to employees taxable?
From 1 April 2026, gifts, vouchers or tokens up to ₹15,000 a year in aggregate are reportedly treated as tax-free for the employee under the new rules, up from ₹5,000. On the GST side, gifts up to ₹50,000 per employee a year are not treated as a supply. Confirm the details with your CA.
Should remote employees get the same gift?
They should get the same gift, delivered to their home before Diwali. Budget the extra shipping in advance and collect addresses early, because chasing 30 people for pin codes in the last week is where most delays start.
Your next step
Get one total number approved, subtract delivery, GST and a small buffer, and divide by everyone who works with you, support staff included. Then pick a gift that fits that real figure. When you're ready, compare options in our corporate gift hampers collection, or message us on WhatsApp at +91 81049 05922 or write to hello@goodgraze.in with your headcount and dates.
Written by the Good Graze team, who grow coconuts on our family estate in Sindhudurg and pack every hamper in Navi Mumbai.