Bypass the HR deadline
If you did not give your rent agreement and receipts to your employer in time, payroll treated your HRA as fully taxable, so your Form 16 shows zero HRA exemption.
Do not panic. Under the Old Regime, you can claim the HRA exemption directly in your ITR, using the least-of-three rule (the lowest of: actual HRA, rent minus 10% of basic, or 50%/40% of basic).
A quick anchor: the metro cap is 50% of basic and the non-metro cap is 40% (Source: Section 10(13A), Income Tax Act).
Step-by-step guide
- Calculate your exemption using the least-of-three rule.
- Open the salary schedule in the ITR form on incometax.gov.in.
- Find "Allowances exempt u/s 10".
- Select HRA — "Sec 10(13A): allowance to meet house rent".
- Enter the exempt amount you calculated.
- Confirm tax drops — the portal removes it from taxable salary, usually creating a refund.
Keep your proofs ready
You do not upload rent receipts to the portal, but you must store them. If a notice arrives, you will need:
- Rent agreement
- Rent receipts or bank statements showing transfers
- Landlord's PAN if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh
| Form 16 HRA | What you do | Likely result |
|---|---|---|
| Shows ₹0 | Claim via Sec 10(13A) | Refund of excess TDS |
What you should do
- Compute the exemption before touching the form, so you enter one clean figure.
- Pay rent by bank transfer going forward to build proof.
- Collect the landlord PAN early if rent crosses ₹1 lakh a year.
Common mistake
Entering the full rent or full HRA in the exemption box. Only the least-of-three figure is allowed; a round, inflated number is a red flag.
How LastMinute ITR helps
Adjusting salary figures by hand is nerve-wracking. LastMinute ITR takes your rent details, runs the least-of-three formula, and tells you exactly which box to fill in your deductions, while comparing both regimes. You file and e-verify on incometax.gov.in.