About the HRA Calculator
HRA Calculator works out how much of your house rent allowance is free of income tax under the old tax regime in India. Enter your monthly basic salary with dearness allowance, the HRA you receive, the rent you pay and the number of months you paid rent. Say whether you live in a metro city, where the limit is 50 percent of basic pay, or elsewhere, where it is 40 percent. The tool applies the standard rule: the exemption is the least of the HRA actually received, the rent paid minus 10 percent of basic pay, and 50 or 40 percent of basic pay. It shows the three amounts, which one applied, the exempt and taxable parts, and the monthly rent needed to make your full HRA exempt. Everything is worked out in your browser.
Updated September 2026
How to use the HRA Calculator
- 1Enter your monthly basic salary plus dearness allowance, and the HRA you receive each month.
- 2Enter the monthly rent you pay and the number of months in the year you paid it.
- 3Choose whether your city counts as a metro for HRA: 50 percent of basic for metro, 40 percent for others.
- 4Read the exempt HRA, the taxable HRA and the three amounts the rule compares.
- 5Keep your rent receipts and, if yearly rent is above ₹1 lakh, your landlord's PAN for your employer.
What HRA is
House rent allowance is a part of the salary that employers pay to help staff meet rent. Because it is meant to cover a real cost, the tax rules let a part of it be exempt if you actually pay rent. Under the old tax regime the exempt amount is set by a formula with three limits, and whichever is the smallest applies. Anything above it is added to your salary and taxed at your slab rate.
The rule protects the tax system from two extremes. If your HRA is very high, the exemption is capped by your rent or your basic pay, and if your rent is very low, you cannot claim much.
The three limits
- The actual HRA you receive from your employer for the months you paid rent.
- Rent paid minus 10 percent of basic pay plus dearness allowance.
- 50 percent of basic pay if you live in a metro city, and 40 percent if not.
- The lowest of the three is exempt and the balance of the HRA is taxable.
How to use the result
Enter figures for the whole year, or for the months you paid rent if you moved. The table shows the three amounts side by side, so you can see which limit is holding you back. If it is the rent limit, a higher rent, when it is real, would exempt more, and the note in the results shows how high it would need to be to exempt all your HRA.
Use the result to compare the old and new tax regimes, and give your employer your rent details at the start of the year so that tax is not over-deducted from your pay.
Related tools
Rent Receipt Generator makes monthly receipts as a PDF, Salary Calculator turns yearly pay into monthly figures, Gratuity Calculator estimates a lump sum on leaving a job, Percentage Calculator handles the 10, 40 and 50 percent sums and PPF Calculator plans tax-saving investments.
Features
- Exemption as the least of the three HRA limits
- Metro (50 percent) and non-metro (40 percent) options
- Shows which limit applied and the taxable HRA
- Rent needed to exempt the whole HRA
- Reminder about the landlord's PAN above ₹1 lakh rent
- Indian digit grouping for rupees
- Copy the result
- Runs in your browser
Frequently asked questions
How is HRA exemption calculated?
It is the least of three amounts for the year: the HRA you actually receive, the rent you pay minus 10 percent of your basic salary plus dearness allowance, and 50 percent of basic (metro) or 40 percent (non-metro). The lowest of the three is tax free, and the rest of the HRA is added to your taxable income.
Which cities count as metro for HRA?
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have long been treated as metros for the 50 percent limit, and everywhere else uses 40 percent. Rules have been updated in recent tax reforms and may include more cities, so check the current rules or ask your employer's payroll team, and choose the option that applies to you.
Can I claim HRA under the new tax regime?
No. HRA exemption is available only under the old tax regime. Under the new regime you do not get the exemption, and the whole HRA is taxable, though the new regime has lower slab rates. Compare both for your situation before choosing.
What counts as salary for the calculation?
It is basic salary plus dearness allowance if the allowance counts for retirement benefits, and commission based on a fixed percentage of turnover. Other allowances, bonuses and overtime are not included, so use only that part of your pay.
Do I need rent receipts?
Employers normally ask for rent receipts or a rent agreement, and for yearly rent above ₹1 lakh they ask for the landlord's PAN. Keep the receipts for every month, and bank transfer records as proof of payment. Rent Receipt Generator can lay out monthly receipts to be signed.
What if I pay rent to my parents?
You can claim HRA for rent paid to parents if you really pay it, they own the house and they declare the rent as their income. Transfer the rent to their account and keep receipts. Rent paid to a spouse is generally not accepted.
What if my rent is lower than 10 percent of my basic?
Then the second amount is zero, so no HRA is exempt and the whole allowance is taxable. Paying rent that is less than a tenth of your basic salary gives no HRA exemption.