Section 10(13A) under the
Income-tax Act, 2025
House rent allowance (HRA) exemption
Topic
House rent allowance (HRA) exemption — Deductions provisions under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act 30 of 2025).
What carried over
The substance of this provision was not changed by the re-write. What moved is the citation.
STRUCTURAL RELOCATION, not a substantive change: HRA is no longer a section at all. Schedule III is headed 'Income not to be included in Total Income of Eligible Persons' and is given effect by s.11(1). Cross-check that confirms the serial numbering: s.35(a)(ii) of the new Act refers to 'tax paid by employer referred to in Schedule III (Table: Sl. No. 10)', and Sl. No. 10 maps to old 10(10CC) — so Sl. No. 11 is indeed HRA. Note HRA remains unavailable under the s.202 (old 115BAC) default regime.
Source
ICAI 'Tabular Mapping — Schedules to the Income-tax Act, 2025 vis-a-vis Section(s) of the Income-tax Act, 1961', Schedule III row 11, parallel section 10(13A); entry text: 'Any special allowance from employer to meet expenditure actually incurred on payment of rent in respect of residential accommodation occupied by the assessee'. Corroborated by TaxGuru ('Exemptions shifted to Schedule III (HRA, LTC, gratuity...)').
CBDT publishes its own correspondence utility on incometaxindia.gov.in and that is the authority. Spot-check anything high-stakes there before you rely on it.
Frequently asked
Which section is HRA under the Income-tax Act, 2025?
None — HRA is no longer a section. It moves to Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 11, which is given effect by Section 11(1). This is a structural relocation, not a substantive change to the exemption.
Is HRA available under the default regime?
No. HRA remains unavailable under the Section 202 default regime, which is the 2025 Act's home for the old Section 115BAC.
This is a navigational aid for the 1961 → 2025 transition, not tax advice. It helps you find the right place in the new Act when you already know the old section. Confirm every citation against the bare Act and against CBDT's own correspondence utility before relying on it in a return, certificate, notice reply or opinion. The source text used here is the Act as passed, so any rate or threshold amended by the Finance Act, 2026 is not reflected; section numbers are unaffected.