House Rent Allowance (HRA) is a component of salary provided by employers to employees to meet rental expenses. HRA is exempt from income tax under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act, subject to certain conditions and limits.

HRA exemption is the minimum of three values: 1) Actual HRA received from employer, 2) 50% of basic salary for metro cities (40% for non-metro), or 3) Actual rent paid minus 10% of basic salary. Our calculator automatically computes this using the rule-based formula.

For HRA exemption purposes, Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata are classified as metro cities where 50% of basic salary is considered for exemption. All other cities are non-metro, where 40% of basic salary is considered.

Yes, if your annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh, you need to provide your landlord's PAN details and rent receipts to claim HRA exemption. For lower amounts, you should still maintain rent receipts as the tax department may request them during assessment.

No, HRA exemption cannot be claimed if you pay rent to your spouse. Similarly, if the house is owned by you or you don't actually pay rent, you cannot claim HRA exemption. The Income Tax Department may scrutinize such arrangements under tax avoidance provisions.

There is no minimum rent amount specified to claim HRA exemption. However, the rent must be genuine and you should have proper documentation. If your rent payment is unreasonably high compared to the property value or location, it might attract tax scrutiny.

Yes, you can claim both HRA exemption and home loan benefits simultaneously if you own a house in a different city (for which you claim home loan benefits) while living in a rented property in your work location (for which you claim HRA). This is common for people working away from their hometown.

The exempt portion of HRA reduces your taxable income, potentially placing you in a lower tax slab. For example, if your taxable income is ₹12 lakhs and you have an HRA exemption of ₹2 lakhs, your effective taxable income becomes ₹10 lakhs, which could mean significant tax savings depending on the applicable tax rates.

To claim HRA exemption, keep: 1) Rent receipts or rent payment evidence, 2) Rental agreement, 3) Landlord's PAN (for rent exceeding ₹1 lakh annually), 4) Form 12BB submitted to employer. While these documents may not need submission during e-filing, you should maintain them for potential verification.

If you live with your parents and pay them rent (with proper rent receipts and documentation), you can claim HRA exemption subject to normal limits. However, if your parent owns the house and pays housing loan EMIs, they must show the rent as income in their tax returns, though they can offset it with interest deduction under Section 24.