You opted for the new regime. How much of your ₹20,000-a-month HRA is exempt?

None — the exemption belongs to the old regime only

50%, because you live in Mumbai

All of it, up to the rent actually paid

Your rent is ₹55,000 a month. What does section 194-IB ask of you, the tenant?

Withhold 2% of the rent as TDS and deposit it

Nothing — deducting tax on rent is the landlord’s job

Withhold it only if the landlord asks you to

Lesson 2 of 3 · 5 min

Receipts, the landlord's PAN, and the regime

What the paperwork has to show, the rent figure that makes the landlord's PAN compulsory, and why the new regime deletes this calculation altogether.

The numbers that decide your claim

Landlord's PAN needed above: ₹1,00,000 rent a year
Metro cap: 50% of salary
Everywhere else: 40% of salary
The rent test: Rent paid minus 10% of salary

A rent receipt should carry the landlord's name, your name, the address, the month, the amount and a signature — plus a one-rupee revenue stamp where a cash payment tops ₹5,000.

Better than any receipt, though, is a bank trail. The same rent leaving your account on the same date every month is evidence that is very hard to argue with, and a simple rent agreement alongside it is as solid as this gets.

HRA under the old regime vs the new

Which regime works out better depends on your total picture, not on HRA alone — the income tax calculator can run both.
What	Old regime	New regime
HRA exemption	Available, via the least-of-three formula	Not available — HRA is fully taxable
Standard deduction	₹50,000	₹75,000
Where the saving comes from	Exemptions and deductions you claim	Lower slab rates and the ₹12 lakh rebate

Quick check

You opted for the new regime this year. How much of your ₹20,000-a-month HRA is exempt?

Check yourself

1 / 3

Kabir asks

Your annual rent is ₹1,20,000. Besides receipts, what does payroll need from you?

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