KaroDesk

India HRA Calculator

Enter your basic salary, HRA received and rent paid to see exactly how much of your House Rent Allowance is tax-exempt for FY 2025-26, and how much is taxable.

This only applies if you've stuck with the old tax regime. The new regime taxes your full HRA regardless of rent.

Share this toolWhatsApp
₹
₹

Leave at 0 if your salary structure has no DA. Most private-sector employees don't.

₹
₹

Metro for HRA (FY 2025-26) means Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai. Every other city, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad, is non-metro.

HRA exemption

Exempt HRA (annual)Taxable HRA (annual)
Actual HRA received
₹1,92,000.00
50% of salary (basic + DA)
₹2,40,000.00
Rent paid − 10% of salary
₹1,32,000.00
Exempt HRA (annual)
₹1,32,000.00
Taxable HRA (annual)
₹60,000.00
Exemption applies only under the old tax regime. The new regime taxes all of your HRA.

₹1,32,000.00 of your HRA is exempt this year: the rent you pay caps it: a higher salary or HRA alone won't raise this further.

Smart next steps

Formula

Exempt HRA = least of (actual HRA received, rent paid − 10% of salary, 50%/40% of salary)

Taxable HRA = Actual HRA received − Exempt HRA

"Salary" here means basic pay plus dearness allowance. The 50% limit applies to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai for FY 2025-26; every other city uses 40%. Whichever of the three amounts is smallest is what you actually get to exempt. Increasing just one of the others past it makes no further difference.

Worked example

A Bengaluru (non-metro) employee on ₹40,000 basic pay, ₹16,000 monthly HRA and ₹15,000 monthly rent has an annual salary of ₹4,80,000, HRA received of ₹1,92,000, a 40% salary limit of ₹1,92,000, and rent minus 10% of salary of ₹1,32,000 (₹1,80,000 rent − ₹48,000). The smallest of the three is ₹1,32,000: that's the exempt amount, and the remaining ₹60,000 of HRA is taxable.

How to use this calculator

  1. 1Enter your monthly basic salary and dearness allowance, if your salary structure has one.
  2. 2Enter the HRA you actually receive each month and the rent you pay.
  3. 3Pick metro or non-metro based on where you live, not where your employer is based.
  4. 4Read the exempt and taxable HRA, and which of the three limits is holding your exemption back.

When businesses use it

  • Declaring HRA exemption to your employer's payroll team before the financial year closes.
  • Deciding whether the old regime's HRA exemption beats the new regime's lower slabs.
  • Checking how much of a rent increase would actually raise your exempt HRA, versus just adding taxable income.

Why a bigger HRA doesn't always mean a bigger exemption

HRA exemption is capped by whichever of three numbers is smallest, so raising just one of them often does nothing. If your rent is low relative to your salary, the rent-minus-10%-of-salary limit binds first: a higher HRA component in your CTC just becomes more taxable income, not more exemption. The reverse is also common: high rent in an expensive city with a modest basic salary means the 50%/40%-of-salary limit binds instead, so paying more rent stops helping once you're past it.

The city test is about where you actually live, not where your employer's office is registered. Someone on a Mumbai company's payroll working remotely from a non-metro town gets the 40% limit, not 50%, and the reverse is equally true for someone who relocated to a metro city without updating their HR declaration.

Basic pay plus DA is deliberately the only 'salary' this calculation uses: not gross salary, and not CTC. A salary structure that quietly keeps basic pay low and loads variable pay elsewhere shrinks both the salary-percentage limit and the rent-minus-10% limit at the same time, which is one reason two employees on similar gross pay can end up with very different exempt HRA.

Mistakes that shrink your exemption unnecessarily

  • Forgetting to update your declared city after relocating between a metro and a non-metro posting.
  • Assuming HRA exemption applies under the new tax regime: it doesn't, at all.
  • Not keeping rent receipts and, above ₹1,00,000 a year, your landlord's PAN, employers generally won't process the exemption without them.
  • Paying rent to a spouse, which is not accepted as a genuine rental arrangement by most employers and assessing officers.

Using this with your income tax

HRA exemption only reduces your taxable income if you stay on the old regime. It disappears entirely under the new one. Work out the exempt amount here first, then enter it as a deduction on the income tax calculator to see whether claiming it actually leaves you better off than the new regime.

Renting in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune or Ahmedabad? Those cities are non-metro (40% limit) for FY 2025-26. A new rule expands the 50% metro limit to those four cities from FY 2026-27 onward. Check back here once that year's return is due, since it isn't in effect for FY 2025-26 yet.

Sources & references

The rules behind this calculator, from the official source. Rates and thresholds change — confirm the current figure on the source itself before relying on it for a filing.

Was this tool useful?

Explore more tools

Other calculators and tools in this area, if you want to keep browsing.

Popular

India Income Tax Calculator

Calculate income tax for FY 2025-26 under the new and old regime with slabs, rebate and cess.

Use tool

India Salary Calculator

Convert monthly gross salary into net pay after PF, professional tax and TDS.

Use tool

India CTC Calculator

Break an annual CTC into gross salary, employer PF, gratuity and in-hand pay.

Use tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Basic pay plus dearness allowance (DA), if your salary structure has one. Most private-sector jobs don't. It does not include HRA itself, bonuses, or other allowances.

No. HRA exemption under section 10(13A) is only available under the old regime. Under the new regime your entire HRA is taxable, whatever your rent.

For FY 2025-26, only Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai count as metro, at a 50% limit. Every other city (including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad) is non-metro at 40%.

Yes, provided the arrangement is genuine: pay by bank transfer, get a signed rent receipt, and your parent should declare that rent as their income. Paying rent to a spouse is generally not accepted.

Yes, if your annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000 (₹8,333 a month). Without it, most employers won't process the HRA exemption in your payroll, even though the deduction is still legally valid if you claim it directly in your return.

Then there's nothing to exempt here. This calculator applies to salaried employees who actually receive an HRA component. If you pay rent but get no HRA, a different provision (Section 80GG) may apply instead, with its own separate limits.

Yes. Strictly, HRA exemption is computed period by period whenever your salary, rent or city changes, then summed for the year. This calculator gives a full-year figure assuming your inputs stay constant, for a job change or relocation mid-year, work out each period separately and add the exempt amounts together.

No. They're separate provisions and can both apply if you rent where you work but own a home elsewhere that's let out or vacant, subject to each provision's own rules. Owning and self-occupying a home in the same city where you claim HRA is generally not accepted.

Need to create an invoice?

Calculate GST instantly, then create a professional invoice in seconds.

Create Free Invoice

Calculations happen instantly in your browser. Your calculator inputs aren't sent to our servers. KaroDesk provides calculations and information for general informational purposes. Results should be verified against applicable laws, official notifications, employer policies, lender terms, or professional advice where appropriate. Read our full disclaimer.