IT Tools · FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

HRA Exemption Calculator

See exactly how much of your House Rent Allowance escapes tax under the old regime, the three statutory limbs, the least of them highlighted, and your taxable balance, computed live.

Your Salary & Rent

Switch between monthly and annual figures, values convert automatically.

Enter figures as exemption is always computed annually

Basic salary + DA DA only if it counts for retirement benefits

₹

₹0₹5 L

HRA received as per your salary structure

₹

₹0₹3 L

Rent paid actual rent for your home

₹

₹0₹3 L

City of residence metro = Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai

HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) is available only in the old tax regime. If you opt for the new regime, the entire HRA is taxable.

Your HRA Split

All results are annual figures for FY 2025-26.

Exempt HRA (annual) ₹0 ≈ ₹0 per month exempt

1. HRA actually receivedLeast ₹0

2. Rent paid − 10% of salaryLeast ₹0

3. 50% of salary (metro)Least ₹0

Taxable HRA ₹0

For guidance only, consult Taxopd before acting. The exemption assumes rent was paid and HRA received for the same period through the year; mid-year changes in salary, rent or city require a month-by-month computation.

How It Works

The Least-of-Three Rule

Section 10(13A) read with Rule 2A exempts the least of three amounts from tax. "Salary" here means basic pay plus dearness allowance (if it counts towards retirement benefits) plus any commission earned as a fixed percentage of turnover, not your full CTC. Whatever part of your HRA is not exempt gets added to your taxable salary.

Exempt HRA = least of:
  (a) HRA actually received
  (b) Rent paid − 10% of salary (basic + DA)
  (c) 50% of salary in a metro · 40% elsewhere
Taxable HRA = HRA received − Exempt HRA

Only Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai count as metros for limb (c), Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and every other city use 40%, however expensive the rent. And if you pay no rent at all, limb (b) turns negative, the least becomes zero, and the entire HRA is taxable.

Worked example, ₹50,000 basic, Mumbai

Suppose your basic + DA is ₹50,000 a month (₹6,00,000 a year), you receive HRA of ₹20,000 a month (₹2,40,000 a year) and pay rent of ₹18,000 a month (₹2,16,000 a year) in Mumbai. The three limbs work out to: (a) ₹2,40,000 received; (b) 2,16,000 − 60,000 = ₹1,56,000; (c) 50% × 6,00,000 = ₹3,00,000. The least is limb (b), so ₹1,56,000 is exempt and the remaining ₹84,000 of HRA is taxed with your salary, exactly what the calculator shows with its default inputs.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. HRA exemption is an old-regime benefit only. If you pay substantial rent, run both regimes through our Income Tax Calculator, a large HRA exemption plus 80C can still make the old regime cheaper for some taxpayers.

Yes, provided the arrangement is genuine, you actually live in their house, transfer rent (ideally by bank), have a rent agreement, and they report the rent as income in their returns. Paying "rent" to a spouse is generally not accepted. Sham arrangements are a common scrutiny trigger, so keep the paper trail clean.

If your rent exceeds ₹1,00,000 a year, your employer must collect the landlord's PAN before allowing the exemption through payroll. Separately, if your monthly rent crosses ₹50,000, Section 194-IB requires you as the tenant to deduct TDS at 2% from the rent, an obligation many tenants miss.

Yes, Section 80GG (old regime) allows a deduction of the least of ₹5,000 per month, 25% of adjusted total income, or rent paid minus 10% of income, provided neither you nor your spouse owns a home in your work city and you file Form 10BA. It is far smaller than a typical HRA exemption, but better than nothing.