You can get an income tax notice and your house rent allowance (HRA) claim may be rejected. This is because, for every HRA claim, there must be a corresponding income offered for tax by the landlord. However, if a landlord who is taking rent in cash does not offer this for income tax, you could land into trouble with the tax department.
Financial Literacy News: The Income Tax department has found many cases where the rent received doesn't match the House Rent Allowance (HRA) claimed by taxpayers. Because of this, many people have received notices through the 'e-verification' system on the department's compliance portal.
Financial Literacy News: Employees opting for the old tax regime should be aware of the various exemptions and deductions that they can claim to reduce their tax. Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) is one such benefit. If it's included in their salary or cost-to-company (CTC), employees can claim it.
LTA, usually a component of your salary, covers the expenses of your travel during vacation. The cost incurred for family members who travel with an employees is also allowed as exemption. To claim LTA, the employee typically needs to submit documentary evidence of the incurred travel expenditure to the employers within specific deadlines.