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This financial year, I decided to claim my LTA for 2004-05 and 2005-06.
I had not claimed a tax rebate on my LTA for the last three years.
As per our company policy, I cannot do so this year as the company has declared it to be a "no tax rebate year" for LTA.
In these circumstances, how do I claim my rebate?
- Anup Ranade
You can claim your Leave Travel Allowance only if you fulfill two criteria:
i. You should have taken leave from your company.
ii. You should actually have travelled.
Moreover, LTA is exempt from tax to the extent of actual submission of travel bills for one journey in a year.
However, this exemption is available once in two calendar years or twice in a block of four calendar years.
In other words, you could claim LTA exemption maximum twice in four calendar years.
If you fail to take the exemption in the first block of four years then you could carry forward maximum one exemption to the next block and avail three exemptions in the next block of four years.
The current block of four years is 2002 2005 (January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2005).
If there were any specific company rules concerning the LTA benefit, then you would need to speak to your payroll tax department and convey your status to them.
In any case, you could claim the LTA benefit only for one year i.e., you cannot club two-year entitlements into one year and claim a single exemption.
Do read FAQ on Leave Travel Allowance to gain a better understanding.
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