This page estimates House Rent Allowance exemption under section 10(13A) and Rule 2A for a resident salaried employee who still files under the old income-tax regime. Enter monthly basic salary plus dearness allowance that forms part of retirement benefits, monthly HRA received from the employer, monthly rent actually paid for the rented house, and whether that house is in a metro city. The calculator returns the three statutory limbs, the least of those three as the exemption, and the taxable HRA leftover. Annual figures are the monthly results times twelve. Everything runs in this browser tab. FlashKit does not store the numbers, does not file an ITR, and does not replace a chartered accountant.
The exemption is the least of (1) actual HRA received, (2) 50% of basic plus DA if the rented house is in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai, otherwise 40%, and (3) rent paid minus 10% of basic plus DA, floored at zero. You cannot create a negative exemption by paying less rent than 10% of salary, and you cannot exempt more HRA than the employer actually paid. Commission is ignored unless your Form 16 treats it as part of “salary” for this rule — this form does not have a commission box. New-regime filers cannot claim this exemption at all: the Act keeps HRA out of the default 115BAC path. If you have already switched to the new regime, the taxable HRA on this page is simply the full HRA received.
Worked example that matches the default fields. Monthly basic+DA ₹50,000, HRA received ₹20,000, rent paid ₹18,000, metro city. Limb 1 is ₹20,000. Limb 2 is 50% of ₹50,000 = ₹25,000. Limb 3 is ₹18,000 − ₹5,000 = ₹13,000. The least of those three is ₹13,000 exempt each month, so ₹7,000 of HRA stays taxable. Over a year that is ₹1,56,000 exempt and ₹84,000 taxable. Paste the annual exemption into the “HRA exemption already computed” box on the India income-tax calculator if you want old-regime tax with this number. The same inputs in a non-metro city change only limb 2 to 40% = ₹20,000; the least is still ₹13,000 because rent minus 10% remains the tight constraint.
A second check: if rent is only ₹4,000 against the same ₹50,000 basic, limb 3 becomes ₹0 and the exemption is ₹0 — living in a cheap room does not manufacture an HRA deduction. If the employer pays only ₹8,000 HRA against ₹18,000 rent in a metro, limb 1 caps the exemption at ₹8,000 and taxable HRA is ₹0. Landlord PAN is usually required when annual rent crosses ₹1 lakh; this page does not ask for a PAN and does not file Form 12BB. Own a house in the same city you claim HRA for, or pay rent to a spouse, and the exemption can fail on facts this calculator cannot see. Confirm the live rule with Form 16, AIS, and a CA before you treat the figure as filed tax.
The fields above match this article. Amounts are monthly rupees (defaults 50,000 / 20,000 / 18,000). Metro is on until you switch to non-metro. Copy summary writes the three limbs, both monthly and annual exemption, and the line “old regime only.” Closing the tab clears the inputs. Nothing is written to FlashKit or to localStorage. Pair the number with the in-hand salary calculator if you want take-home after tax, with the income-tax calculator for old vs new regime, and with EMI / SIP / FD / PPF if the leftover rupee is a loan or a deposit — those pages are formula comparisons, not advice to rent, prepay, or invest.
How to estimate an India HRA exemption
- Enter monthly basic salary plus DA in rupees (for example 50000). Do not type commas.
- Enter monthly HRA received from the employer. This is the cash HRA, not the advertised CTC line alone.
- Enter monthly rent actually paid for the rented house you occupy.
- Choose metro (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai — 50%) or non-metro (40%).
- Read the least-of-three table, monthly and annual exemption, and taxable HRA. Copy summary if you need the figures in notes, then confirm with Form 16 and a CA.
Key Features
- Least of actual HRA, 50%/40% of basic+DA, rent minus 10% of basic+DA
- Metro vs non-metro toggle (statutory four metros)
- Monthly and annual exemption plus taxable HRA
- Rent-minus-10% floored at ₹0 — no negative exemption
- Local only — old regime; not tax advice or Form 16
How the three limbs actually work
- Actual HRA is a ceiling. An employer who pays little HRA cannot be turned into a large exemption by a high rent receipt.
- The 50% / 40% limb looks at the city of the rented house, not the city printed on your offer letter. A Bengaluru or Hyderabad house is non-metro for this rule.
- Rent minus 10% of basic+DA is the limb that usually binds a typical metro renter. Paying just above 10% of salary creates only a thin exemption.
- DA counts only when it forms part of retirement benefits. Ignore a special allowance that is not DA.
- Annual exemption on this page is monthly × 12. If you changed cities mid-year, run two periods and add them — the form is one city at a time.
Old regime vs new regime
- HRA exemption is an old-regime claim. New-regime taxable salary keeps the HRA the employer paid.
- The income-tax calculator already has a box for a pre-computed HRA exemption. Use this page to fill that box; do not type advertised HRA there.
- In-hand salary on the companion calculator does not auto-apply HRA. Model old-regime take-home there only after you know the exempt amount.
- A cheaper old-regime tax after HRA is not a reason to stay in a city or a house you cannot afford. Rent is a cash cost first.
- Related tools: income-tax, in-hand salary, EMI, SIP, FD, PPF, GST calculator. Related guides cover home-loan EMI, personal-loan EMI, EMI vs SIP, and SIP tenure.
Limits this calculator will not save you from
- Rent paid to a specified relative, or for a house you own in the same city, can fail the exemption on facts.
- Landlord PAN when annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh, Form 12BB, and employer proof checks are not modelled.
- Commission, bonus treated as salary, and multiple rented houses in one month are not fields here.
- Paise rounding on a payroll slip can move the last rupee. Use the page to rank scenarios, not to print a cheque.
- Copy the summary before you refresh. Nothing is saved. This is arithmetic, not personalised tax advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does HRA exemption apply in the new tax regime?
No. Section 10(13A) exemption is an old-regime claim. If you file under the default new regime, HRA received stays in taxable salary. This page still shows the old-regime number so you can compare.
What is the HRA exemption formula used here?
Least of actual HRA, 50% of basic+DA in Delhi/Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai (40% elsewhere), and rent minus 10% of basic+DA floored at ₹0. Example: basic ₹50,000, HRA ₹20,000, rent ₹18,000, metro → exempt ₹13,000 a month, taxable ₹7,000.
Which cities count as metro for HRA?
The statutory metros for the 50% limb are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and other cities use 40% on this page. Confirm a rare notification with a CA.
Can the exemption be more than rent paid?
The rent limb is rent minus 10% of basic+DA, and the whole exemption cannot exceed actual HRA. High rent with low HRA is capped by HRA received; low rent can drive the exemption to zero.
Should I type this number into the income-tax calculator?
Yes, as the annual exemption on the old-regime side. Do not type advertised HRA. The income-tax page will not recompute Rule 2A for you.
Is my rent or salary uploaded?
No. Math runs in this tab. Closing or refreshing drops the inputs. Ads on the page are separate from the calculator. This is not personalised tax advice.