House Rent Allowance (HRA): Rules, Exemptions, and Calculations

With the increase in urbanisation, more people are moving to cities for better career opportunities. As these people move to cities demand for housing facilities increases causing a spike in rental prices. Such rent expenses are so huge that it burns a hole in the pocket. To help cover such expenses, employers generally provide HRA (House Rent Allowance) as a component of salary.

• What is House Rent Allowance (HRA)?
• Exemption Rules and Calculation
• Can a taxpayer claim both deductions on Home Loan & HRA?
• What if you don’t receive HRA?
• FAQs

What is House Rent Allowance (HRA)?

House Rent Allowance (HRA) is paid by an employer to employees as a part of their salary to meet the accommodation expenses. Salaried individuals who live in rental premises can claim exemption of House Rent Allowance u/s. 10(13A).

Employees are required to submit the rent receipts to their employers to claim the tax benefit. The employers, in turn, will calculate an exempt House Rent Allowance and deduct the same from the employee’s taxable salary. The exempt house rent allowance can be checked from the Form 16.

From FY 2020-21 onwards, House Rent Allowance Exemption is only available if an employee opts for the Old Tax Regime.

Exemption Rules and Calculation

The amount of Exempt HRA will be the least of the following amounts:

• Actual House Rent Allowance received
• Actual rent paid less 10% of salary
• 50% of the salary in case of metro city/ 40% in case of a non-metro city
  (Here Salary includes – Basic Salary + Dearness Allowance)

The House Rent Allowance calculation formula has been explained below with the help of an example:

Let’s understand with an example:

Raj works in a company in Ahmedabad. He lives in a rented flat. He pays INR. 20,000/month as rent. Following is his salary structure:

The least of the following will be the exempt House Rent Allowance:

1. Actual House Rent Allowance = INR 2,50,000
2. Actual Rent Paid (-) 10% of Basic Salary = INR 1,90,000 [2,40,000 – 10%(5,00,000)]
3. 40% of the Basic Salary = INR 2,00,000 [40%(5,00,000)]

INR 1,90,000 will be exempt from the total House Rent Allowance received and the remaining INR 60,000 (2,50,000-1,90,000) will be taxable.

Use the HRA calculator to find taxable and tax-exempt House Rent Allowance.

Can a taxpayer claim both deductions on Home Loan & HRA?

Yes, a taxpayer can claim both HRA and deduction on a Home Loan for interest and principal component if the specified conditions are met:

What if you don’t receive HRA?

• The taxpayer has paid the House rent
• There is no House Rent Allowance component in the salary structure.
• The taxpayer or their spouse or minor children do not own residential accommodation at the place of employment
• Do not own self-occupied residential accommodation at any other place

If all the above conditions are fulfilled, a deduction is available as the least of the following amounts:

• Rent paid less 10% of the total income
• INR 5,000 per month i.e. annually INR. 60,000
• 25% of the total income

(Here total income would be total income less all deductions under chapter VI-A except deduction u/s. 80GG)

The important point to keep in mind is in order to claim deduction u/s. 80GG, the taxpayer has to file Form 10BA prior to filing the ITR.

FAQs

No, HRA is an allowance and is exempt from Salary Income u/s 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act.

A taxpayer can go for a rental agreement with anyone except their spouse and claim HRA. So, if they have a rental agreement with their parents, and pay rent to them, the taxpayer can claim an exemption.

Yes, a taxpayer can claim both HRA and home loan interest simultaneously subject to the genuineness of the conditions. Also, a deduction for principal repayment can be claimed under Section 80C.

An employee must submit the landlord’s PAN if the total rental payment for a year exceeds INR 1,00,000.

Got Questions? Ask Away!

Can I save more than Rs 1.5 Lakh in Taxes through deductions?

Hey @sushil_verma There are a wide range of deductions that you can claim. Apart from Section 80C tax deductions, you could claim deductions up to INR 25,000 (INR 50,000 for Senior Citizens) buying Mediclaim u/s 80D. You can claim a deduction of INR 50,000 on home loan interest under Section 80EE.

• Medical allowance is exempt up to INR 15,000 on a reimbursement basis.
• Children education allowance is exempt up to Rs. 200 per child per month up to a maximum of two children.
• Conveyance allowance is exempt up to a maximum of Rs. 1600 per month.

Tax on employment and entertainment allowance will also be allowed as a deduction from the salary income. Employment tax is deducted from your salary by your employer and then it is deposited to the state government.

The benefit Section 80EEB can be claimed by individuals only. An individual taxpayer can claim interest on loan of an electric vehicle of up to INR 1.5 lacs u/s 80EEB. However, if the electric vehicle is used for the purpose of business, the vehicle should be reported as an asset, loan should be reported as a liability and the interest on loan can be claimed as a business expense irrespective of the amount. (We have updated the article with the changes). Thus, if you have a proprietorship business, you should claim interest amount as a business expense only if the vehicle is used for business purpose. However, if it is used for personal purpose, you can claim deduction of interest u/s 80EEB in your ITR since you would be reporting both personal and business income in the ITR (under your PAN). As per the Income Tax Act, the deduction under Section 80EEB is applicable from 1st April 2020 i.e. FY 2020-21.

Hey @Sharath_thomas , we have updated the content according to the appropriate assessment year. Thanks for the feedback.

Hey @shindeonkar95 In case of capital gain income (LTCG/STCG), transfer expenses are allowed as deduction, except STT. However, in case of business income (F&O, intraday), all expenses incurred for the business (including STT) are eligible to claim deduction in ITR. Hope, it helps!

Hello, Is it possible to claim deductions under S. 80CCF for Infra bonds bought in the secondary market and held to maturity? There were a number of 10 year infra bonds issued in the 2010- 2013 period, which will start maturing soon. These are all listed on the exchanges (although hardly any liquidity or transactions in them). If I were to buy some of these bonds in the open markets and hold them in my demat to maturity ( Bharti_Vasvani says:

Hello @Veejayy, Yes you can claim deduction under 80CCF for investment made in specified infrastructure and other tax saving bonds bought in the secondary market and held to maturity. Deduction under Section 80CCF can be availed only through investment in certain tax saving bonds, issued by banks or corporations after gaining permission from the government which shall be restricted upto 10,000 per year. These bonds are generally long term bonds, having tenure of more than 5 years with a lock in period of 5 years in most of the cases. These bonds can be sold after the lock in period! Also, interest earned on these bonds will be taxable. Hope this helps!

Hi, I need to file my income tax for FY21, I am using Quicko platform for filing, I wanted to confirm if the ELSS investment amount for the FY21 is to be added in the section 80C, since I already the amount of Rs30,072 , should I add my ELSS amount to this existing amount and submit the total

Hey @Sheirsh_Saxena, yes, the investment amount needs to be added under 80C. Learn by Quicko – 31 Aug 21

Section 80C : Deductions for Tax Saving Investments - Learn by Quicko

Section 80C allows you to claim deductions up to INR 1,50,000 to individuals and HUFs for specified investments and expenses in an FY. Estimated reading time: 5 minutes