An HRA exemption calculator must use actual HRA, rent paid minus 10% of qualifying salary, and 50% of salary only for Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi or…
An HRA exemption calculator must use actual HRA, rent paid minus 10% of qualifying salary, and 50% of salary only for Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi or Chennai—otherwise 40%. The least amount is exempt under the deduction-permitting regime.
AY 2026–27 relates to FY 2025–26 under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Rule 2A defines qualifying salary and the three-limb test. This page is the transactional calculator-intent page; the separate Finin2min legal-correction article explains why the popular 'eight metro cities' premise is wrong.
Enter basic salary, qualifying DA and turnover-based commission for the rent-occupied period; enter actual HRA and rent; select the rented-house city; calculate all three limbs; take the least; compare old and default regimes.
Basic salary is ₹8,40,000, qualifying DA ₹60,000, HRA ₹3,60,000 and rent ₹3,00,000 in Bengaluru. Salary is ₹9,00,000; rent minus 10% salary is ₹2,10,000; 40% salary is ₹3,60,000. Exemption is ₹2,10,000.
The example is an illustration, not a substitute for the taxpayer's facts. A change in status, period, payment mode, document, city, asset, relationship or scheme can change the result.
Search pages often state a rate or limit without identifying the governing base. The calculation must distinguish gross receipt from taxable profit, tax from TDS, a deduction from an exemption, salary from business income, and an accounting entry from the tax treatment.
| Decision point | Required treatment |
|---|---|
| Legal year | Use the Act, rules and notification effective for the income or transaction period |
| Taxpayer category | Confirm residence, age, entity, employee/business status and regime |
| Calculation base | Use the statutory definition rather than CTC, net bank receipt or accounting label |
| Ceiling or rate | Apply actual-amount, percentage, shared, lifetime and gross-income limits in sequence |
| Documentation | Link every input to an invoice, statement, contract, certificate or official record |
| Final output | Show tax, surcharge, cess, interest and TDS/TCS credits separately |
This page is written around the entities and concepts search engines expect for the topic: Rule 2A, section 10(13A), HRA, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai. They are used only where relevant and are connected to the live calculator and knowledge hub rather than repeated mechanically.
For the complete rules on this topic, see the core guide: HRA Exemption: Rules, Formula and Maximum Limit.
See the broader Income Tax & Salary knowledge hub for related rules and calculators on this topic.
An HRA exemption calculator must use actual HRA, rent paid minus 10% of qualifying salary, and 50% of salary only for Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi or Chennai—otherwise 40%. The least amount is exempt under the deduction-permitting regime.
Finin2min rule: establish eligibility, calculate transparently, and preserve an audit trail.
Use the current official instrument, portal or regulator publication before acting. This panel separates the category authority from page-specific references.