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Zoho Payroll

HRA (House Rent Allowance)

HRA in Zoho Payroll is a salary component paid to employees for housing expenses. It qualifies for partial income tax exemption under Section 10(13A) when the employee pays rent.

House Rent Allowance (HRA) in Zoho Payroll is an earning component included in the salary structure to compensate employees for rented accommodation. It is partially or fully exempt from income tax under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act, provided the employee actually pays rent and submits a declaration. The exempt amount is the lowest of: actual HRA received, rent paid minus 10% of Basic, or 50% of Basic (metro) / 40% of Basic (non-metro).

HRA Exemption Calculation in Zoho Payroll

During investment declaration, employees provide their monthly rent amount and landlord PAN (mandatory if annual rent exceeds Rs 1 lakh). Zoho Payroll applies the least-of-three rule each month and includes only the taxable portion of HRA in the TDS computation. This ensures the correct TDS is deducted without requiring manual intervention from the payroll team.

Metro vs Non-Metro HRA Rates

The Income Tax Act treats cities differently for HRA exemption: employees in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai qualify for 50% of Basic as the third condition, while those in other cities (including Pune and Bengaluru) qualify for 40% of Basic. Zoho Payroll applies the correct rate based on the work location configured on the employee profile.

Reporting HRA in Form 16

HRA appears in Form 16 Part B under ‘Allowances exempt under Section 10’. The taxable and exempt split is computed by Zoho Payroll across the financial year, including months where rent declarations changed. The final Form 16 generated by Zoho Payroll reflects the correct annual exempt amount.

Example: An employee in Pune has Basic Rs 30,000 and receives HRA Rs 12,000. She pays monthly rent of Rs 10,000. The exempt HRA is the least of: Rs 12,000 (received), Rs 7,000 (Rs 10,000 minus 10% of Rs 30,000), or Rs 12,000 (40% of Basic for non-metro). Exempt = Rs 7,000. Taxable HRA = Rs 5,000. Zoho Payroll applies this automatically.
What is HRA in Zoho Payroll?

HRA (House Rent Allowance) is an earning component in Zoho Payroll that compensates employees for rental accommodation expenses. Zoho Payroll automatically computes the tax-exempt portion each month using the least-of-three rule under Section 10(13A) and adjusts TDS accordingly.

Does Zoho Payroll handle HRA exemption automatically?

Yes. Once the employee submits their rent declaration through the Zoho Payroll employee self-service portal, the system calculates the exempt and taxable portions of HRA each month and incorporates the result into the TDS calculation without any manual input.

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