Employees who receive a House Rent Allowance (HRA) from their employer and are actually paying rent for accommodation can claim HRA exemption under the Old Tax Regime.

No, HRA exemption is not available under the New Tax Regime.

The minimum rent eligible for HRA exemption is 10% of your basic salary, while the maximum can be 60% of your basic salary. However, you can only claim the actual rent paid to the landlord, excluding charges like electricity, maintenance, and water bills.

The landlord’s PAN is not required if the rent paid is up to ₹8,333 per month. However, if the rent exceeds ₹8,333 per month (₹1,00,000 annually), you must provide the landlord’s PAN and name to your employer for HRA exemption.

No, a rent agreement is not considered proof of rent payment. It only serves as a legal document allowing the tenant to stay in the accommodation. Rent receipts are mandatory to claim HRA exemption.

You can provide rent receipts on a monthly basis, every two months, or quarterly (once every three months). However, annual or half-yearly rent receipts are not acceptable in advance. Employers may reject these receipts if not submitted periodically.

HRA exemption is calculated as the lowest of the following three amounts:

• 1. Actual HRA received from the employer.
• 2. 50% of Basic Salary (for metro cities) or 40% of Basic Salary (for non-metro cities).
• 3. Actual Rent Paid minus 10% of Basic Salary.

The lowest of these three values will be considered as the **HRA exemption**, and the remaining amount (if any) will be taxable.