ou have a question about house rent allowance, medical allowance, or even a general tax query.
Here's where we step in with our experts, Relax With Tax.
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I work in Pune but my parents reside in Indore. Both our houses are rented accommodation.
Can I claim House Rent Allowance for the rent paid at Indore if I don't claim it for the Pune house?
- Vinay Gupta
Assuming you are paying rent for both these premises at Pune and Indore, you could claim the HRA benefit for either of the houses.
However, the primary criterion to be considered in your case is whether your company will accept the Indore address for providing the HRA benefit.
The three main criteria that need to be satisfied in availing HRA are:
- The employee should be staying in a rented premise.
- The employee should be paying the rent.
- The house should not be owned by the employee.
If these conditions are satisfied, HRA benefit is available to the individual.
My father is permanently disabled due to a paralytic attack and is entirely dependent on me. He has a medical certificate stating the same.
Every month, I spend around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 for his medical expenses. Can I claim these in my personal tax return?
- Prashant
Based on the facts provided by you about your father's ailment, you could avail of a deduction of Rs 50,000 under Section 80DD.
This deduction is available regardless of the amount spent by you on the medical treatment.
I joined a software company in January 2004. Must I claim my LTA in the financial year 2004-'05? Can I do so even after March 2005?
Can I carry forward the LTA amount and then claim the whole accumulated amount after two or three years?
- M N Rajesh
Leave Travel Allowance can be availed once in two years or twice in a block of four years.
If you have not availed of the benefit in the first block of four years, you could avail of an additional LTA benefit in the next four-year block.
In your case, if you have not availed of the LTA benefit till date, you could claim it now.
I get Rs 120,000 per annum as HRA, which is 50% of my basic salary. I pay a rent of Rs 10,000 per month.
Will there be any tax on the HRA I get?
- Nayab Saiyed
Assuming your basic is Rs 240,000 and further assuming that you reside in a metro, the deduction on account of HRA would be as follows:
Rent paid = Rs 10,000 per month
HRA = Rs 10,000 per month
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50% of basic salary (1) |
Rs 1,20,000 |
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HRA received (2) |
Rs 1,20,000 |
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Rent paid in excess of 10% of basic (3) |
1,20,000 (2,40,000 x 10%) = 1,20,000 24,000 = Rs 96,000 |
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Least of the above is exempt from tax |
Least of (1), (2) and (3) = Rs 96,000 |
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