To claim your House Rent Allowance (HRA) exemption under the Old Tax Regime for the financial year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26), salaried taxpayers will need to provide specific details on the Income Tax e-filing portal. Please note that this exemption is not available if you opt for the New Tax Regime.
What the e-filing portal is asking for (as of June 18, 2025):
The Income Tax e-filing portal now requires the following information when you claim HRA benefits:
- Your Place of Work
- The Actual HRA You Received
- The Actual Rent You Paid
- Your Salary Details (including Basic Pay and Dearness Allowance)
Many taxpayers may find these fields pre-filled if they had already submitted this information to their employers for tax declaration purposes at the beginning of FY 2024-25. If not, you can easily enter these details yourself on the portal.
Key things to remember for HRA exemption:
- Eligibility: You can claim HRA exemption only if you are paying rent and your employer provides HRA as a component of your salary.
- Landlord’s PAN: You are not required to enter your landlord’s PAN on the e-filing portal itself. However, it’s crucial to keep your landlord’s PAN details and all rent receipts handy. These might be needed if the income tax department sends you a notice in the future.
- High Rent Cases (Above ₹1 Lakh Annually): If your annual rent paid exceeds ₹1 lakh, you must submit your landlord’s PAN to your employer. If your landlord doesn’t have a PAN, you’ll need to provide a signed declaration from them, including their name and address, to your employer.
How HRA Exemption is Calculated (No Change for FY 2024-25):
The amount of HRA exemption you can claim will be the lowest of the following three figures:
- The actual HRA amount you received.
- 50% of your basic salary plus dearness allowance (if you live in a metro city like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, or Chennai) OR 40% of your basic salary plus dearness allowance (for other cities).
- The actual rent you paid, minus 10% of your basic salary plus dearness allowance.
ITR Filing for AY 2025-26 is Open!
Income Tax Return (ITR) filing for the financial year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26) has already begun on the e-filing portal. Currently, you can file your returns using ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam). Make sure to check the eligibility criteria for these forms before proceeding.
The due date for filing ITR for AY 2025-26 has recently been extended for non-audit taxpayers until September 15, 2025.