Calculate your House Rent Allowance (HRA) tax exemption under the old tax regime.
HRA exemption is the minimum of these three amounts:
Whatever HRA you receive beyond this exempted amount is added back to your taxable salary.
No. HRA exemption is only available if you opt for the old tax regime. Under the new tax regime, the entire HRA you receive is fully taxable as part of your salary.
HRA exemption is the lowest of three amounts: (1) actual HRA received, (2) rent paid minus 10% of basic salary, or (3) 50% of basic salary for a metro city (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai) or 40% for a non-metro city.
No, HRA exemption requires that you actually pay rent for accommodation. If you live in your own house and pay no rent, you cannot claim HRA exemption, even if you receive an HRA component in your salary.
Yes, your employer typically requires rent receipts (and your landlord's PAN if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh) to allow HRA exemption on your payslip. Keep these documents for your own ITR filing as well.
Basic salary generally includes your basic pay plus dearness allowance (DA) if it forms part of retirement benefits, but excludes other allowances and perquisites. Check your salary slip's breakup for the exact basic component.
If you're a salaried employee paying rent and you've opted for the old tax regime, HRA exemption can meaningfully reduce your taxable income. This calculator applies the standard three-way minimum rule used by the Income Tax Department to determine your exact exemption.
Use this alongside our Income Tax Calculator to see how this exemption (and others) affects your overall old-vs-new regime comparison.
