HRA Exemption Calculator

HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) read with Rule 2A is the least of three amounts: (1) the actual HRA you receive, (2) rent paid minus 10% of salary, and (3) 50% of salary if you rent in a metro city or 40% if non-metro. Salary here means Basic + DA (the part forming retirement benefits) + commission as a fixed % of turnover. The smallest of the three is exempt; the rest of your HRA is taxable.

Only four cities qualify for the 50% limit under Rule 2A: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Despite what some calculators show, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad are NOT metros for income-tax HRA — they fall under the 40% non-metro limit. What matters is where your rented home is, not where your office is.

No. The HRA exemption is available only under the old tax regime. Under the new regime (Section 115BAC, the default from FY 2023-24), the Section 10(13A) exemption is withdrawn and your entire HRA is added to taxable salary. If HRA is a large part of your pay and you pay significant rent, compare both regimes before choosing.

Salary for HRA means Basic pay plus Dearness Allowance (only the portion that forms part of retirement benefits) plus commission received as a fixed percentage of turnover. It excludes bonus, overtime, special allowance, perquisites and all other allowances. The same salary figure is used in all three limbs of the calculation.

Then the second limb — rent paid minus 10% of salary — becomes zero or negative, so your HRA exemption is nil and the whole HRA is taxable. The exemption is floored at zero and can never be negative. In practice you only get a meaningful exemption when your rent comfortably exceeds 10% of salary.

No — the exemption needs HRA in your salary structure, because the first limb caps it at the actual HRA received. If you pay rent but get no HRA (for example, self-employed or salaried without an HRA component), you may instead claim a deduction under Section 80GG, which has its own limits and conditions and is not covered by this calculator.

Yes. To claim HRA exemption you must keep rent receipts, and if your annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000 you must report your landlord's PAN to your employer (or in your return). Without the landlord's PAN above that threshold, the exemption can be denied. These are documentation requirements and do not change the calculation itself.

Yes, in eligible situations — for example if you own a house in one city (financed by a loan) but live on rent in another city for work. You can claim HRA on the rent paid and Section 24(b) interest on the home loan simultaneously, provided the facts are genuine and supportable. Claiming both for the same self-occupied house you live in is not allowed.

Strictly, Rule 2A is applied period-wise — for each stretch during which your salary, HRA, rent and city stay constant. This calculator works on annual figures, which is exact only when nothing changes during the year. If your salary, HRA, rent or city changed mid-year, compute each period separately and add the exemptions together.

Yes, if it is a genuine arrangement: you actually pay rent to a parent who owns the property, you keep receipts, and the parent declares that rental income in their return. The tax department scrutinises family rent claims, so the payment trail and ownership must be real. You cannot claim HRA for rent paid to a spouse for a jointly occupied home.

The exemption reduces your taxable income; the rupee tax saved equals the exempt amount multiplied by your marginal slab rate under the old regime. For example, ₹1,80,000 exempt at a 30% slab saves about ₹54,000 plus cess. This calculator shows the exempt and taxable HRA — apply your own slab rate to estimate the tax saving.

It varies, but for most salaried renters the second limb — rent paid minus 10% of salary — is the binding one, because actual HRA and the 40%/50% cap are often higher. If you pay relatively low rent, that limb shrinks and can even hit zero. This calculator labels which limb caps your result so you can see what to optimise.

You declare HRA through Form 12BB — the standard investment/deduction declaration form introduced by CBDT from June 2016 under Section 192. For HRA you must furnish: (1) the name and address of your landlord, (2) the amount of rent paid each month, and (3) the landlord's PAN or Aadhaar if your total annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000. Along with the declaration, you submit physical rent receipts (stamped if rent exceeds ₹5,000/month per many employer policies). Your employer uses this to reduce TDS on salary for the rest of the year. Retain all originals — the department can ask for them later.

You can still claim the HRA exemption yourself when you file your Income Tax Return (ITR). Your employer will have deducted higher TDS (because they treated the full HRA as taxable without your proof), and that excess tax appears as a refund once you file the ITR and report the correct exempt HRA under Section 10(13A). Keep all your rent receipts and the landlord's PAN handy, because a mismatch between your Form 16 and the ITR may trigger a limited-scrutiny notice asking you to prove the claim. Filing under the old tax regime is essential — the exemption is unavailable under the new regime.

Generally this is scrutinised very closely, but it is not automatically disallowed. Several Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) benches have upheld HRA claims where the spouse is the sole owner of the property, the rent is genuinely paid (bank transfers, not cash), a proper rent agreement exists, and the spouse declares that rental income in their own return. However, if you and your spouse jointly own or jointly occupy the property, the claim will be rejected — you cannot claim HRA for a home you partly own. Because the legal position is fact-specific and has been litigated, consult a tax professional before filing such a claim.