HRA exemption is the least of actual HRA received, rent paid minus 10% of salary, and 50% of salary in a metro or 40% elsewhere. LTA under s.10(5) covers only travel fare within India, for two journeys in a block of four calendar years. Rent-free accommodation from a non-government employer is valued under Rule 3 at 10%, 7.5% or 5% of salary depending on city population.
House rent allowance is exempt under s.10(13A) read with Rule 2A. The department's own schedule states the exemption as "the least of the following: actual HRA received, rent paid minus 10% of salary, and 50% (metro) or 40% (non-metro) of salary", with salary for this purpose taken as basic salary plus dearness allowance. Note the structure: if you pay no rent, or rent less than 10% of salary, the second limb is nil or negative and nothing is exempt.
Leave travel allowance under s.10(5) is narrower than people expect. It covers the fare only — economy class air fare, first class air-conditioned rail fare, or first class air-conditioned bus fare where rail does not serve the route. Local conveyance, sightseeing, food and accommodation are outside it, and international travel disqualifies the claim entirely. Two journeys are allowed in a block of four calendar years. Rule 2B(2) runs the blocks from the calendar year 1986, so they are 2018-21, 2022-25 and — for a journey performed today — 2026-29; work out the block for the calendar year of travel rather than carrying a remembered block forward. One unavailed journey can be carried to the next block if claimed in the first calendar year of that block.
Perquisites are defined by s.17(2) and valued by Rule 3. For rent-free accommodation provided by a non-government employer and owned by the employer, Rule 3 as amended by Notification No. 65/2023 dated 18 August 2023 (corrected by Notification No. 72/2023 dated 29 August 2023) values the perquisite at 10% of salary in cities with a population above 4 million on the 2011 census, 7.5% where the population is between 1.5 million and 4 million, and 5% elsewhere. Employers were to apply the revised rule for TDS from 1 September 2023. Where the accommodation is leased by the employer, the value is the lower of actual lease rental and 10% of salary, less any rent recovered from the employee. Where the same accommodation continues beyond a year, the value is capped by escalating the first year's value in the ratio of the Cost Inflation Index.
Two thresholds inside s.17(2) were re-based recently. The Finance Act 2025 replaced the fixed monetary limits in s.17(2) with limits to be prescribed by rules, and CBDT Notification No. 133/2025 dated 18 August 2025 set them: the "specified employee" salary threshold moved from Rs 50,000 to Rs 4,00,000 (Rule 3C), and the gross total income ceiling for the overseas medical treatment exemption moved to Rs 8,00,000 (Rule 3D), both applying from AY 2025-26.
Section 17(2) also brings in employer contributions to a superannuation fund above Rs 7,50,000, and the value of specified securities and sweat equity shares allotted free or at a concession.
Finally, the regime choice governs most of this. The department's FAQ lists HRA and Chapter VI-A deductions among those not available under the new regime, and LTA is likewise unavailable there. What the new regime does give is the standard deduction under s.16(ia), which the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 raised to Rs 75,000; the old regime figure remains Rs 50,000.
HRA and LTA are the two largest routine salary exemptions and both are lost outright if you are in the new regime, so the regime choice usually decides the answer before the arithmetic starts. On the perquisite side, the 2023 Rule 3 rates cut accommodation values materially for most employees, and the 2025 re-basing of the specified-employee threshold to Rs 4,00,000 takes a large group out of perquisite taxation on things like a company car or free utilities.
The Assessing Officer wants to tax what my client received on redemption of stock appreciation rights granted by the foreign parent as a perquisite. Is there Supreme Court authority on this?
The officer has valued my company flat under Rule 3 and added the difference to my salary. I pay the licence fee my employer charges everybody. Must he first prove I actually got a concession in rent?
My employees exercised stock options but the shares are locked in and non-transferable. Was I supposed to deduct tax on the market value less what they paid?
My employer pays part of the premium on a superannuation policy, but I get nothing unless I stay until retirement. Is that contribution taxable as a perquisite in my hands now?
As an employer, must I collect bills and tickets from employees before treating leave travel concession or conveyance allowance as exempt while deducting tax under section 192?
My client is an employer facing a s.201 order for not deducting on LTC where the employees' itineraries included a foreign leg but the reimbursement was limited to the domestic shortest-route fare. Is the bona fide estimate defence available?
For old years, was an interest-free loan from my employer taxable as a perquisite?
My client is a bank officer taxed on a deemed concession in rent for the bank's quarters even though the market rent is lower than the percentage of salary applied. Is the deeming provision open to challenge?
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