Want HRA exemption under Old Tax Regime? Submit these details on e-filing portal for AY 2025-26

Salaried taxpayers can claim tax exemption on House Rent Allowance (HRA) for FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) when filing their returns under the old tax regime. This exemption is not allowed under the new tax regime.

This year, the Income Tax e-filing portal is asking for some additional details from taxpayers seeking HRA exemption under the old regime. These details are as follows:

• Place of work
• Actual HRA received
• Actual rent paid
• Details of salary, including basic pay and dearness allowance.

The following is the actual screenshot of the e-filing portal taken on June 18, 2025. It shows the details that the tax portal is asking for when claiming the HRA benefit this year:

Many taxpayers may find the above details already pre-filled on the e-filing portal if they had provided them to their employers while submitting tax details at the start of FY 2024-25. If not, then they can fill in these details on their own on the e-filing portal and claim the HRA benefit.

Tax exemption on HRA is allowed only if you have paid rent and your employer is providing this allowance as part of your salary.

Please note that you are not required to provide the PAN card number of your landlord for claiming HRA on the e-filing portal. However, you should keep the landlord's PAN and rent receipts with you to reply to any notice from the income tax department in the future.

Taxpayers paying annual rent above ₹1 lakh in a year are required to submit the landlord's PAN to their employers. In case the landlord doesn't have a PAN, then you should submit a declaration signed by the landlord along with the name and address of the employer.

How will the HRA exemption be calculated?

There is no change to the rule to calculate the HRA exemption under the old tax regime for FY 2024-25.

The exemption allowed is least of the following:

• Actual HRA received

• 50% of salary (in metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai) or 40% of salary in case of other cities

• Actual rent paid-10% of salary

Who can file a return now?