HRA Exemption Calculator India
Calculate HRA (House Rent Allowance) exemption for income tax in India. Know your tax-free HRA under Section 10(13A).
About this calculator
The HRA Calculator India finds how much of your House Rent Allowance is exempt from tax under Section 10(13A). Enter your monthly basic plus DA, the HRA your employer pays and the rent you pay, choose metro or non-metro, and the tool applies the three rules and returns the exemption per month and per year.
It lists each rule separately, so you can see which one is capping your exemption. That is often the quickest way to decide whether paying a little more rent, or negotiating a higher HRA component, would actually save any tax.
How to use it
- Enter Basic Salary + DA per month.
- Enter HRA Received and Rent Paid per month.
- Select Metro or Non-Metro.
- Press Calculate HRA Exemption and read each rule, the exemption and the taxable HRA.
The three rules
HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) is the lowest of three numbers: (1) the HRA you actually receive, (2) rent paid minus 10% of basic salary (plus DA), and (3) 50% of basic for metro cities or 40% for non-metro. The rule applies per month. A metro here means Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. Whatever HRA is not exempt is added to your taxable income.
Worked example
Basic ₹50,000, HRA received ₹20,000, rent paid ₹18,000, metro city
| Actual HRA received | ₹20,000 a month |
| Rent paid − 10% of basic | ₹13,000 a month |
| 50% of basic (metro) | ₹25,000 a month |
| Exempt HRA (lowest) | ₹13,000 a month, ₹1,56,000 a year |
| Taxable HRA | ₹7,000 a month, ₹84,000 a year |
Rent is the limiting factor here. Paying ₹23,000 rent instead would lift the exemption to ₹18,000 a month, because the rent test would rise from ₹13,000 to ₹18,000.
Tips and common mistakes
- The exemption is available only in the old tax regime.
- Keep rent receipts and the landlord's PAN if the annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh.
- Rent paid to a parent is allowed only if it is real, paid by bank transfer, and declared as income by the parent.
- Rent paid in a different city from where you work is still valid, but the metro test uses the city of your residence.
- If you do not receive HRA, Section 80GG gives a limited deduction for rent paid.
Frequently asked questions
What is the HRA exemption formula?
Minimum of: actual HRA, rent paid minus 10% of basic plus DA, and 50% or 40% of basic plus DA.
Is HRA taxable?
The part that exceeds the lowest of the three rules is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate.
Does this work for the new regime?
HRA exemption does not apply in the new regime, so the result matters only if you choose the old regime.
Can I claim HRA while paying rent to my parents?
Yes, if you really pay rent and your parents show it as income in their return.
Which salary should I use?
Basic salary plus dearness allowance that counts for retirement benefits, plus commission as a percentage of turnover if any.
Is the calculation monthly?
Yes. The rule applies month by month, so changes in rent or salary during the year should be calculated separately.