House Rent Allowance is a component of your salary that your employer pays to help cover rental costs. Under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act, a portion of this HRA is exempt from tax — but only if you actually pay rent and only under the Old Tax Regime.
The exemption is not simply "your full HRA is tax-free." The government uses a 3-condition formula and takes the minimum of the three. This is where most people get confused.
The minimum of these three is your tax-free HRA. The remaining HRA (received minus exempt) is fully taxable and gets added to your income.
In this example Condition 2 (rent minus 10% of basic) is the limiting factor at ₹1.2 lakh — even though the employer paid ₹2.4 lakh HRA and the metro limit allows ₹3 lakh. This is why paying higher rent directly increases your HRA exemption up to the metro/non-metro cap.
Enter your basic salary, HRA received, rent paid and city type — get your exact exemption and tax saving instantly.
Open HRA Calculator →Only four cities qualify as metro for HRA purposes under the Income Tax Act — Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Chennai, and Kolkata. Everyone else gets 40% instead of 50%.
Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad are NOT metro cities for HRA. Despite being among India's largest cities, they use the 40% non-metro limit. Many employees in these cities incorrectly claim 50% and face notices during assessment. Always use 40% unless you're in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, or Kolkata.
| City | HRA Category | Condition 3 Limit | On ₹6L Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | Metro | 50% of Basic+DA | ₹3,00,000 |
| Delhi NCR | Metro | 50% of Basic+DA | ₹3,00,000 |
| Chennai | Metro | 50% of Basic+DA | ₹3,00,000 |
| Kolkata | Metro | 50% of Basic+DA | ₹3,00,000 |
| Bangalore | Non-Metro | 40% of Basic+DA | ₹2,40,000 |
| Pune | Non-Metro | 40% of Basic+DA | ₹2,40,000 |
| Hyderabad | Non-Metro | 40% of Basic+DA | ₹2,40,000 |
| All others | Non-Metro | 40% of Basic+DA | ₹2,40,000 |
This is the single most important thing to understand about HRA in 2025-26. If you opt for the New Tax Regime, you cannot claim HRA exemption at all. The New Regime removes HRA, LTA, 80C, 80D — all major deductions — in exchange for lower slab rates.
Whether Old Regime is better for you depends entirely on your total deductions. If your HRA + 80C (₹1.5L PPF/ELSS) + 80D (health insurance) add up to more than the tax advantage of New Regime slabs, stick with Old Regime.
Old Regime is usually better if your annual deductions exceed ₹3.75 lakhs (for income up to ₹15L). Calculate your HRA exemption first, then add 80C and 80D — if the total deductions are large, Old Regime wins. Use the Income Tax Calculator to compare both regimes with your exact numbers.
Most people accept the HRA exemption they get without realising it's optimisable. Here are three legitimate strategies:
Condition 2 is often the limiting factor — especially when rent is low relative to salary. If your HRA received is ₹2.4L and you're only paying ₹1.2L rent in Mumbai, Condition 2 gives you only ₹60,000 exemption (₹1.2L − 10% of ₹6L). Increasing rent to ₹2.1L gives Condition 2 a value of ₹1.5L — boosting your exemption by ₹90,000 and saving ₹18,000 more in tax at 20% slab.
You can pay rent to your parents if you live in their house, claim HRA exemption, and they declare it as rental income. If your parents are senior citizens with income below ₹3L (zero tax), your family's total tax burden drops significantly. Maintain a proper rental agreement and monthly rent receipts.
If your employer's CTC allows flexibility, increase the HRA component and reduce special allowance (which is fully taxable). A higher HRA component with higher actual rent means more exemption. Many employers allow this during annual appraisal cycles.