Hi,
Though there is no limit for HRA, the same should be fixed to provide maximum benefit to employees within the exemption on HRA under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act. The relevant provisions under the IT Act, along with examples, are as follows:
The minimum of the following is available as an exemption from the employee's earnings:
- The actual HRA received from your employer
OR
- The actual rent paid by you for the house, minus 10% of your salary (including basic + dearness allowance, if applicable)
OR
- 50% of your basic salary (if you live in a metro) or 40% of your basic salary (if you live in a non-metro)
Let's consider a hypothetical case or evaluate with an example. Consider the Salary Components as follows: Basic: Rs. 15,000, Dearness Allowance (DA) or other allowances Rs. 5,000, and HRA: Rs. 9,000, making a total salary of Rs. 29,000. Let the actual rent paid be: Rs. 10,000. You live in Mumbai (considered a Metro in Income Tax Computation).
Now, let's understand how the rule works:
1. The actual HRA received from the employer is Rs. 9,000.
2. The actual rent paid for the house minus 10% of the salary (excluding HRA Component) would be Rs. 10,000 – 10% of (Rs. 15,000 + Rs. 5,000) = Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 2,000 = Rs. 8,000.
3. Fifty percent (50%) of your basic salary, which in this case is 50% of Rs. 15,000 = Rs. 7,500.
The minimum amount out of 1, 2, and 3 is Rs. 7,500. Therefore, the amount of HRA exempt from tax is Rs. 7,500 per month. The remaining HRA amount of Rs. 1,500 (Actual HRA received Rs. 9,000 minus exempt HRA Rs. 7,500 = Rs. 1,500) would be added to your taxable income.