How to make a rent receipt for an HRA claim, and what payroll checks

The short answer. A rent receipt for HRA needs the tenant's and landlord's names, the amount in figures and words, the month it covers, the rented address, how it was paid, and the landlord's signature. Above ₹1,00,000 of rent in a year, the landlord's PAN must be given too. HRA exemption is claimable only under the old tax regime.

Payroll teams ask for rent receipts every year, usually in a rush in December or January when the proof-of-investment window closes. A receipt that is missing one detail is sent back, and a claim that is not proved by the deadline is taxed in full through TDS for the rest of the year. Getting the receipts right the first time is mostly a matter of knowing what is checked.

What a rent receipt must show

Detail	Why payroll checks it
Tenant's name, as on payroll	proves the rent was yours, not a family member's
Landlord's name	must match the PAN or declaration
Amount, in figures and in words	the words stop a figure being altered
Period covered, such as "April 2026"	HRA is worked out month by month; only months you paid rent count
Full address of the rented property	must be where you live, not your own house
Mode of payment: cash, UPI, transfer or cheque	a transfer can be checked against your bank statement
Landlord's signature	the receipt is the landlord's acknowledgement
Landlord's PAN, if the year's rent is over ₹1,00,000	required by the CBDT, see below

One receipt per month is the norm. Many employers also accept a single receipt per quarter or for the whole year, as long as it states every month and the total; check your employer's proof guidelines.

How to make the receipts

1. Collect the monthly rent, the first and last month you are claiming, your name, your landlord's name and PAN, and the address.
2. Open Rent Receipt for HRA and fill them in. Choose monthly, quarterly or one receipt for the year.
3. Choose how the rent was paid. If it was cash, Rent Receipt with Revenue Stamp leaves a square for the stamp.
4. Download the PDF, one page per receipt, and print it.
5. Have the landlord sign each receipt, across the stamp if there is one.
6. Upload the signed receipts with your employer's declaration form, and keep copies with your bank statements showing the payments.

The landlord's PAN: the ₹1 lakh line

CBDT Circular No. 8/2013 says that where the annual rent paid by an employee exceeds ₹1,00,000, it is mandatory to report the landlord's PAN to the employer, and that a landlord without a PAN must give a declaration to that effect, with their name and address. Today the rule is in the Income-tax Rules, 2026: rule 205 and Form 124, the employee's claim statement under the Income-tax Act, 2025, ask for the landlord's name, address and PAN where the aggregate rent paid during the tax year exceeds ₹1,00,000 (read 23 Oct 2026).

The word is exceeds: ₹1,00,000 exactly is under the line. At ₹8,334 a month or more, twelve months take you over it; at ₹18,000 a month you pass it in the sixth month.

The revenue stamp: stamp law, not tax law

Article 53 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 charges ₹1 of stamp duty on a receipt for more than ₹5,000. No income-tax rule makes a stamp a condition of HRA, and a claim is not refused because there is none. Employers still often ask for one on receipts for rent paid in cash, so it is simplest to add it there. Rent paid by transfer or UPI is proved by your bank statement anyway.

A worked example, with the 2026-27 cities

Priya works in Bengaluru. Her basic pay is ₹50,000 a month, her HRA is ₹25,000, and she pays ₹30,000 rent by UPI. She is on the old regime.

Exempt HRA is the least of three amounts:

1. HRA received: ₹25,000.
2. Rent paid minus 10% of basic: 30,000 − 5,000 = ₹25,000.
3. A share of basic: 50% in the eight cities listed under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, 40% elsewhere. Bengaluru is now one of the eight, so 50% of 50,000 = ₹25,000.

All three are ₹25,000, so her whole HRA, ₹3,00,000 for the year, is exempt. Up to tax year 2025-26, Bengaluru took the 40% figure, ₹20,000, and ₹60,000 a year of her HRA was taxable. Her annual rent of ₹3,60,000 is over ₹1 lakh, so her landlord's PAN goes on the receipts and in Form 124. The HRA Exemption Calculator does this calculation for your own figures.

The eight 50% cities from tax year 2026-27: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. Everywhere else is 40%.

Things that get a claim rejected

• You are on the new regime. It is the default, and it allows no HRA exemption at all. Choose the old regime with your employer if HRA and other deductions make it cheaper.
• The address is a house you own and live in. You cannot claim rent for your own home.
• Rent paid to your spouse. Tax officers generally do not accept it, since spouses usually share a home.
• Rent paid to a parent with no paper trail. Rent to a parent who owns the house can be claimed, but it should be paid by transfer and the parent should show it as income in their own return. Form 124 asks you to state your relationship with the landlord.
• Receipts for rent that was not paid. A receipt only records a payment; it does not create one. Claims are cross-checked against the landlord's PAN and your bank statements, and a false claim is penalised.

If it doesn't work

• Payroll returned the receipts. Check the list above; the period, the address and the signature are the usual gaps. A receipt without a signature is just a printout.
• Your landlord will not share their PAN. Without it, or a declaration that they have no PAN, the claim above ₹1 lakh is incomplete. If the window closes, you can still claim the exemption in your own return with the receipts and the PAN.
• The deadline passed and HRA was taxed. Claim the exemption when you file your income tax return. TDS that was deducted is adjusted, and any excess is refunded.
• You moved mid-year. Make receipts for each landlord and address separately, each with its own months.
• The calculator shows 40% for your city. Pick the 50% option if you live in one of the eight cities above.

Questions people ask

What should a rent receipt for HRA include?

A rent receipt should name the tenant and the landlord, give the amount in figures and words, state the month it covers and the rented address, say how the rent was paid, and carry the landlord's signature. Where the year's rent is over ₹1,00,000, add the landlord's PAN. Payroll teams most often return receipts missing the period or the address.

Is the landlord's PAN mandatory for HRA?

Only when the annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000, which is about ₹8,334 a month or more for twelve months. CBDT Circular 8/2013 made reporting the landlord's PAN mandatory above that line, and a landlord without a PAN must give a signed declaration instead. Below it, receipts alone are enough. From 1 April 2026, rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Form 124 state the same line: the landlord's PAN where the year's rent exceeds ₹1,00,000.

Is a revenue stamp needed on a rent receipt?

Not for the tax claim. The ₹1 revenue stamp comes from the Indian Stamp Act, which charges duty on a receipt for more than ₹5,000; no income-tax rule requires it for HRA. Many employers still ask for one on rent paid in cash, so adding it there avoids an argument. Rent paid by bank transfer is proved by the statement.

Which cities get 50% HRA exemption from 2026-27?

Eight: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad, under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 notified on 20 March 2026. In those cities the third limit of the HRA calculation is 50% of basic pay plus dearness allowance; everywhere else it is 40%. The change applies from tax year 2026-27, which began on 1 April 2026.

Can I claim HRA under the new tax regime?

No. The new regime, which is the default, does not allow the HRA exemption, so all HRA is taxed. Employees who pay rent should compare both regimes with their own figures: with high rent in one of the eight 50% cities, plus deductions such as 80C, the old regime is often cheaper. Choose the regime with your employer at the start of the year.

Sources

Checked 5 Oct 2026:

• CBDT: Circular No. 08/2013 of 10 October 2013, paragraph 5.3.9 (landlord's PAN mandatory where annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000; declaration where the landlord has none), hosted by the Department of Revenue
• Income Tax Department: Income-tax Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 198(E) of 20 March 2026), rule 205, Table item 1, and Form No. 124, note 3 (landlord's PAN where the aggregate rent paid during the tax year exceeds ₹1,00,000), read 23 Oct 2026
• Department of Revenue: The Indian Stamp Act, 1899, Schedule I, Article 53 (₹1 on a receipt for more than ₹5,000)
• Income Tax Department: Notification No. 22/2026, G.S.R. 198(E) of 20 March 2026, the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (eight cities at 50%; Form 124 replacing Form 12BB)
• The HRA exemption formula (least of HRA received, rent minus 10% of salary, and 50% or 40% of salary) is the one carried from section 10(13A) and rule 2A of the 1961 law into the 2025 Act and its rules.