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Allowances and deductions available to a salaried person & documents they need to submit to avail them

Updated on: Jul 31st, 2023

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10 min read

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Salaried taxpayers primarily earn their income from salary. The salaried are normally offered a salary package or CTC (cost to company). The taxability of the salary income is determined by the employer. The employer also deducts a tax (TDS) on the salary paid to them. Thus, the monthly salary receipts would be credited after the tax deduction.

The salary package consists of various components. Many employers offer the option to structure the salary components to their employees. While certain components are fixed, employees can claim tax benefits on other components included in the salary package. Salaried employees can claim the benefit of the components by submitting proofs to their employer.

Latest Updates

The CBDT has issued guidelines for the calculation of taxable income if the annual premium of ULIP is more than Rs 2.5 lakh. 

In the last Budget 2021the government had announced that proceeds from ULIP shall be taxable if the annual premium exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh in any year of the term of the policy.

Typically, a salary package would look like:

  • Basic salary
  • House rent allowance (HRA)
  • Leave travel allowance (LTA)
  • Telephone reimbursement
  • Books and periodicals
  • Meal coupons

The basic salary of every employee is fixed and credited to the account of the employee subject to a tax deduction. Meal coupons are provided by the employer on an amount calculated for two meals per working day. The annual allowance for meal coupons works out to be Rs 26,400 and is tax-exempt in the hands of the employee.

With respect to the other components, the employee has to submit proof of incurring the corresponding expense to the employer. Upon submission of the proof, the employer calculates the tax exemption on the allowance. The balance of the component (non-exempt portion) is taxed along with the basic salary of the employee.

Let us have a look at the various proofs to be submitted to claim the tax exemptions:

Salary componentExpense reimbursedProof submitted
House rent allowanceRent paid for residential accommodationRent receipts including PAN of the employer (PAN is compulsory for rental payment above Rs 1 lakh annually)
Leave travel allowanceTravelling cost to any place in India e.g. air-fare, rail fareAir tickets, train tickets, bus or taxi bills
Telephone reimbursementLandline including broadband and mobile phoneTelephone bill or broadband bill
Books and periodicalsCost of books and periodicals purchasedBills or invoices for the books and periodicals

There are certain other tax benefits or tax deductions that you can claim beyond the salary package:

  • Life insurance premium (LIC premium), children’s tuition fee, housing loan repayments.
  • Investments in Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), mutual fund Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS), tax saver fixed deposits.
  • Contributions made to National Pension Scheme (NPS), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)
  • Interest on home loans.
  • Medical insurance premium.
  • Donations.
  • Interest on loan taken for higher studies.

The proofs that can be submitted for claiming the tax benefits or tax deductions are:

Investment or paymentAllowed as deductionProof submitted
Allowed as a deduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income) 
a. LIC premiumDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)LIC premium paid receipts
b. Children's tuition feeDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)Tuition fee receipts
c. Housing loan repaymentsDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)Interest or EMI schedule from bank or financial institution
d. PPFDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)PPF passbook or statement
e. NSCDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)NSC photocopies
f. Mutual fund ELSSDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)Mutual fund statement
g. Tax saver fixed depositsDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)Fixed deposit receipts
h. National Pension Scheme (NPS)Deduction under section 80C and 80CCD(2)  against aggregate income (gross total income)NPS account statement
i. Sukanya Samriddhi YojanaDeduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)SSY account statement
j. Contribution to Employee Provident Fund (EPF)Deduction under section 80C against aggregate income (gross total income)No proof is required to be submitted. The employer makes a contribution on behalf of the employee.
Interest on home loanTaken under ‘income from house property’ and reduced from aggregate salaryInterest or EMI schedule from the bank or financial institution
Medical insurance premiumDeduction under section 80D against aggregate income (gross total income)Medical insurance premium receipt
DonationsDeduction under section 80G against aggregate income (gross total income)Donation receipts
Interest on loan taken for higher studiesDeduction under section 80E against aggregate income (gross total income)Interest schedule from the bank or financial institution

Standard deduction and staff benefits from the employer: Apart from the above tax exemptions and deductions claimed by an employee, the employer also allows a standard deduction to every employee. The standard deduction is Rs 50,000 for the financial year 2019-20 (AY 2020-21). Separately, employers can gift to their employees or provide them with gift vouchers. Such gifts are tax-exempt up to Rs 5,000 annually. In respect of gifts and any other staff welfare payments made by the employer, the employee is not required to submit any proof to the employer.

Income tax exemptions claimed in specific cases: The employer calculates the tax exemption on the retirement and resignation benefits mentioned below. The balance of the component (non-exempt portion) is taxed along with the basic salary of the employee.

Income componentCriteria for exemptionExemption allowed
GratuityAllowed on retirement or resignation or death or disablement Least of the following: 
-Last salary (basic + dearness allowance)* number of years of employment* 15/26; 
-Rs 20 lakh (which has been hiked from Rs 10 lakh as per the amendment); 
-Gratuity actually received
PensionCommuted value of the pension allowed at the time of retirement– If the employee receives gratuity, then one-third of the amount of the pension 
-If only pension received, one-half of the pension
Leave encashmentAllowed at the time of retirement or resignationLeast of the following: 
-Average salary drawn for the last 10 months; 
-Salary per day* unutilised leave (considering maximum 30 days leave per year) for every year of completed service 
-Leave encashment received 
(i) Leave encashment received by Central or State government employee at the time of  retirement or resignation is fully exempt; 
(ii) Leave encashment received by legal heirs of deceased employees is fully exempt

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents do I need to submit to claim standard deduction?

No documents are required to be submitted to claim the standard deduction. A standard deduction of Rs.50,000 (from Ay 2020-21) is allowed for all salaried employees from their salary income.

I was not able to produce the LIC investments made by me to the employer, how can I claim the deduction now?

If you were not able to produce the documents to your employer, you can claim the deduction for the same when filing an Income tax return.

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