Automatic HRA Calculator with New Electricity bills reaching homes will be a history soon as the government is currently planning to revolutionise the entire billing system by making all meters smart prepaid in the next three years. “In next three years metering will go smartly prepaid, and gone will be the days of bills reaching your house. So need of the hour is to scale up manufacturing of smart prepaid meters and to bring down their prices.” an official release reported citing R K Singh, Minister of State(IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy. During an interaction with smart meter manufacturers, the minister also said that there is a need to scale up the manufacturing of these meters as the coming few years will pose huge demand for them. The smart prepaid meters should be made mandatory after a particular date, the minister also advised the officials of the power ministry. The plan of the government to fast introduce smart meters in the country will not only revolutionise the power sector but also reduce AT&C losses, ensure better health of DISCOMs, incentives energy conservation, and ease bill payments and also generate skilled employment for the youth, the minister said. It was also decided in the meeting that the technical aspects will be further deliberated into in consultation with meter manufacturers, DISCOMs and system integrators. Meanwhile, the government announced Rs 1.4 lakh crore KUSUM scheme to promote the use of solar power among farmers. The scheme will be implemented from next month. According to the government, 4 crore families targeted under the SAUBHAGYA scheme would get electricity connections by December, ahead of the March 2019 deadline. “The KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan) will be implemented in July. Under this scheme farmers would be provided with solar water pumps,” the minister of power and new & renewable energy said at a press conference. Under the scheme, the government has planned to provide 27.5 lakh solar pumps (17.50 lakh standalone + 10 Lakh Grid-connected).Rule lowers HRA exemption claim limit & mandatory to submit the PAN of Land Lord if HRA is over 1 Lakh P.A

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If you are a salaried taxpayer claiming HRA(house rent allowance) deduction, watch out. The central government has lowered the exemption limit for reporting the rent received. Salaried taxpayers claiming HRA exemption and paying a rent of over Rs 1 lakh per year have to give landlord’s PAN (permanent account number). Till now, if the total rent paid was less than Rs 15,000 a month there was no need to submit the landlord's PAN details. The new rule effectively lowers the rent limit from Rs 15,000 a month to Rs 8,333 per month for claiming HRA exemption without making any disclosures.

"Further, if annual rent paid by the employee exceeds Rs 1,00,000 per annul, it is mandatory for the employee to report PAN of the landlord to the employer," the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in its latest circular. "In case the landlord does not have a PAN, a declaration to this effect from the landlord along with the name and address of the landlord should be filed by the employee," it said.

Though incurring actual expenditure on payment of rent is a per-requisite for claiming deduction under section 10(13A) of the I-Tax Act, it has been decided as an administrative measure that salaried employees drawing HRA up to Rs 3,000 per month will be exempted from production of rent receipt.

  

The new rule is aimed at people claiming HRA exemption for living in their own house. "It has to be noted that only the expenditure actually incurred on payment of rent in respect of residential accommodation occupied by the assessee subject to the limits laid down in Rule 2A, qualifies for exemption from income-tax," CBDT said in its circular.

Thus, HRA granted to an employee who is residing in a house/flat owned by him is not exempt from income-tax. "The disbursing authorities should satisfy themselves in this regard by insisting on production of evidence of actual payment of rent before excluding the house rent allowance or any portion thereof from the total income of the employee," CBDT said.

Click here to Download the Automated HRA Exemption Calculator ( Updated)