House rent allowance (HRA) is received by the salaried class. A deduction is permissible under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act, in accordance with Rule 2A of the Income Tax Rules. You can claim exemption on your HRA under the Income Tax Act if you stay in a rented house and get a HRA from your employer.

Income from Salary:-Section 17 of the Income Tax (IT) Act is all about taxation under the head ‘salary’. In most of the cases, it is impossible for a salaried person to avoid tax on his income, except by way of deduction under chapter VI A of the IT Act.

As per Section 10 (13A) and rule 2A exemption in respect of house rent allowance is based upon the following – 1) An amount equal to 50 per cent of the salary, where the residential house is situated at Bombay, Kolkata, Delhi or Chennai, and an amount equal to 40 per cent of the salary where the residential house is situated at any other place.

Salary is the remuneration received by or accruing to an individual, periodically, for service rendered as a result of an express or implied contract. The actual receipt of salary in the previous year is not material as far as its taxability is concerned. The existence of employer-employee relationship is the sine-qua¬non for taxing a particular receipt under the head salaries.

How is the exemption on HRA calculated? When can you claim exemption on HRA? Is your landlord an NRI? When can you enjoy the twin benefits of home loan and HRA? Rent-free accommodation vs HRA

Salaried Employees can avail the benefit of various exemptions with respect to the allowances given by their employers during their tenure of service like House Rent Allowance, Gratuity Allowance, Leave Encashment, Conveyance/Transport Allowance, Lea

With the cascading cost of living, renting an accommodation is a major financial outflow for an individual. However, the same rented accommodation can help save some tax for salaried employees. In current salary packages, employees receive house rent allowance (HRA) to meet the cost of renting an accommodation. A salaried employee staying in a rented house can claim a tax exemption towards the HRA received, subject to the limits specified in this regard.

If you have receipts of house rent allowance and if you are paying rent, exemption u/s 10(13A) will be available. Section 24, which allows a deduction in respect of interest on capital borrowed for purchase/construction of a house property, permits this deduction for the interest that relates to the previous year in which the property is acquired or constructed.