Landlord’s PAN Mandatory for HRA Exemption

Earlier, the government noticed that few employees submitted fake rent receipts to claim the HRA exemption and avoid paying taxes. Also, there are some cases where employees submit fake receipts higher than the actual rent.

If your yearly rent is above ₹1 lakh, you'll need to share your landlord's PAN with your employer. But if your landlord doesn't have a PAN, just provide a written declaration from them confirming this, along with their name and address.

So, by including the landlord’s PAN card details for HRA exemption claims where the total rent paid is more than Rs 1,00,000 per year, the government can ascertain if the employee is actually paying the rent amount mentioned in receipts. 

Also, the government has found that some landlords who rent out the properties were not paying tax or declaring the rental income in their tax returns. So, to nudge such landlords, the government has made it mandatory to include the landlord’s PAN details by tenant’s tax returns to verify the landlord’s income.

An annual rent of Rs 1,00,000 works out to Rs 8,333 per month – therefore if you are taking a house on rent and making a payment exceeding Rs 8,333 per month – remember to obtain the landlord’s PAN or you may lose out on the HRA exemption. 

In case the landlord does not have a PAN they must be willing to give you a declaration. It’s important to do this before you take the place on rent – saves you the hassle of running after your landlord for PAN at the time of tax filing.

Do note that salaried employees earning HRA up to Rs 3,000 per month are exempt from the production of rent receipts. However, we highly recommend you to keep those for your own record. This has been laid down in the CBDT circular no. 8/2013 dated 10th October 2013 as well as in 20/2015 dated 2nd December 2015.

Documents Required for claiming HRA deduction

• Duly stamped rent receipts.
• Rent Agreement for the current financial year.
• If the rent exceeds Rs.1,00,000 annually, the employee should provide a copy of the landlord's PAN and submit it to their employer.

 Sample of Declaration Form

To

Name & Address 

DECLARATION

 I ____________(Full name and address of the declarant) aged ____ do hereby declare that I have leased the Flat no……………… From 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 to ___________( Name of lessor) at a monthly rent of Rs. _______/- ( __________________ only). Further I do hereby declare that my total income during the financial year 2023-2024 do not exceed the statutory limit prescribed under Income tax Act,1961 and have not assessed to tax and does not have a PAN card.

Verification

I,_________________ do hereby declare that what is stated above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Verified today, the _____________ day of _________________

 Date : ________________Place : ________________ (Name of The Declarant)

Click here to know all about HRA.
Click here to calculate your HRA.
Click here to claim rent deduction even if you don’t receive the HRA component.

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