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HRA or House Rent Allowance is received by many salaried people which is included in their pay. But did you know that you could exempt HRA from taxes if you live in a rented place? Under Section 80GG, you can claim for HRA exemption if you are salaried or self-employed. So, let’s understand what House Rent Allowance is, how you can calculate it, and some commonly asked questions.
House Rent Allowance is given by your employer as an allowance for your rented accommodation. You can claim this income tax deduction even if you are employer doesn’t pay you any HRA or if you are self-employed. But the catch is that you should be living in a rented accommodation to exempt HRA from tax deductions. Someone who has a place of their own and gets HRA by their employer cannot reap the benefits of claiming tax deductions under Section 80GG.
House Rent Allowance is determined based on certain factors like the city of residence and your salary. If you live in a metropolitan city then your HRA is equivalent to 50% of your basic salary. In any other city, your HRA should be equal to 40% of your basic salary. The amount you get paid is a sum of basic salary, dearness allowance and other payments. If you do not get paid any dearness allowance or commissions, the HRA you should get is equivalent to 40% - 50%.
Your HRA can be estimated from the below-given factors:
The actual rent paid minus 10% of your basic salary
1. The actual amount of HRA given to you
2. 50% of your basic salary (for a metropolitan city)
The minimum figure out of these three is the HRA that you can claim for tax deductions.
Let’s take an example of a salaried individual named Seema Bhat who resides in Mumbai. She lives in a rented apartment and pays a rent of Rs. 10,000 which totals to Rs. 1.2 lakhs annually. Given below is her monthly earning:
| Basic Salary | Rs. 30,000 |
| HRA | Rs. 13,000 |
| Conveyance | Rs. 2000 |
| Special Allowance | Rs. 3000 |
| Medical | Rs. 1250 |
| Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) | Rs. 5000 |
| Total | Rs. 54,250 |
A professional tax of Rs. 200 and Provident Fund of Rs. 2000 is deducted from her salary every month.
Let’s calculate Seema Bhat’s HRA that she can claim from the salary based on the three factors we had discussed before:
1. Actual rent paid annually minus 10% of your basic salary = (Rs. 10,000 x 12) - Rs. 36,000 = Rs. 84,000
2. Actual HRA given by the employer annually = Rs. 13,000 x 12 = Rs. 1,56,000
3. 50% of your basic salary (annually) = Rs, 1,80,000
The least figure of the three is the HRA deduction that can be claimed for tax exemption which is Rs. 84,000 in Seema’s case.
Here are some things you need to keep in mind about HRA tax exemption: claim. If you are paying rent to your spouse, you cannot claim HRA tax
exemption.
1. HRA exemption in income tax can be availed even if you have taken a home loan
2. House Rent Allowance can also be claimed by you if you stay with your parents by paying rent to them and getting a receipt for the
3. Submitting PAN details of your landlord is mandatory if rent paid by you annually exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.
4. In case of an NRI landlord, a TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) of 30% has to be deducted from the rent before paying it.
1. What is an HRA calculator?
An HRA calculator is an online tool that you can use to calculate your HRA that can be tax exempted. The calculator asks for your salary details to help calculate the amount that can be claimed for a tax deduction.
2. What documents are required to be submitted for HRA tax exemption?
You have to submit your rent receipt to claim tax exemption. But there are other additional documents you need to keep handy to submit as proof. Documents such as lease and license agreement, water bill, electricity bill, a letter sent to intimate the cooperative society about the tenancy, etc.
3. Can I avail HRA tax benefit if my landlord doesn’t give me his PAN details?
Yes, you can claim HRA tax deductions without the landlord’s PAN details but you need to keep a record of other documents like lease and license agreement, water bill, letter intimating the society of occupancy, and electricity bill in case of an enquiry. Also, you should make sure you pay your rent through banking channels for proof.
4. Can both spouses claim HRA tax benefit individually?
Yes, both you and your spouse can claim for HRA exemption individually if both of you pay rent. You can do this by getting separate rent receipts from the
landlord. Make sure there is no duplication of rent to avoid tax being deducted twice from the landlord’s income.
5. How can I claim HRA which is not accounted for by my employer?
If your employer has not considered the HRA leading to an increase in the taxable income, you can claim it while filing your Income Tax Returns (ITR). This will allow you to get a refund of the excess amount of tax deducted from your salary.
6.How to claim HRA exemption if I am self-employed?
You can claim HRA exemption by filing Form 10BA which will contain the details of your rent payment. The amount you can claim as a self-employed person is the minimum value of the following:
a.Rent paid more than 10% of the total Income
b. 25% of the total Income
c. Rs. 5,000 per month
7. What is HRA and DA?
HRA, house rent allowance, is paid to the employee by the employer to cover the cost of accommodation. DA, dearness allowance, is paid to public sector employees by the government to cover the costs of inflation.
8. When can I claim tax exemption on house rent allowance?
You can claim HRA tax exemption if
9. How can I claim HRA exemption?
You can claim HRA exemption on the lowest of the three:
- The amount of HRA your employer pays you.
- If you live in a metro city, 50% of your salary is eligible for HRA deduction. If you live in a non-metro city, 40% of your salary is eligible for HRA deduction. - 10% of your basic pay minus the total rent you pay.
You can either submit your rent receipts to the employer or to the government at the time of filing your income tax return (ITR).
10. What is the tax liability in case my entire HRA is not tax-exempt?
The remaining portion of your HRA which is not tax-exempt will be taxed as per the prevailing tax rates.
11. What is the full form of HRA?
HRA stands for house rent allowance.
12. HRA comes under which section of income tax?
HRA comes under Section 10 (13A) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.
13. How to claim HRA in your income tax return (ITR)?
Your form-16 will show the HRA tax-exempt amount. You can copy this and put it on the ‘Salary as per Section 17’ in your ITR-1 form. The portion that is exempt from taxation should be added to ‘Allowances to the extent exempt under Section 10.’
14. How to claim HRA if not mentioned in form-16?
You can claim a deduction under Section 80GG. This usually happens if your employer does not include a separate component of HRA in your salary.
15. How to save HRA?
If you are staying with your parents and their income is low and does not fall in the taxable income slab, you can pay them the rent. This way, you will be able to claim HRA, and they will not have to pay tax either.
If you have a home loan for your own house but stay in a rented house, you can claim deduction on the principal amount payable under Section 80C and the interest paid under Section 24. In this case, you can claim HRA as well as tax benefits on the home loan.
16. What is an HRA certificate?
If you are a government employee renting an accommodation instead of living in a government-provided house, you will receive an HRA certificate.
17. How to submit HRA proof for ITR?
You need to submit your rent receipts directly to the employer. If your annual rent is more than Rs. 1 lakh, you will also need to submit your landlord’s PAN.
18. How much HRA can be claimed without proof?
You need to submit:
19. What happens if HRA is not claimed?
You can submit a revised ITR before the assessment year is over.
20. What is the maximum limit for HRA?
You can claim a deduction up to the amount of HRA component offered by your employer.
21. Can I claim both 80GG and HRA?
Tax deductions under Section 80GG are only available if you do not get HRA as part of your salary component.
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