Rent receipts are not enough to prove HRA claim: Here're the dos and don'ts

If you are paying rent to a close relative, have a rental agreement and pay them through banking channels

Be extra careful when you submit housing rent allowance (HRA) receipts to your employer if you pay rent to a close relative like parents, sibling or spouse. Make sure that you have documents beyond the rent receipt to substantiate that it’s an authentic payment and not done merely to save tax.

Last year Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai, rejected an HRA claim of a taxpayer as she could not produce documents to substantiate that payment of rent has actually happened. The assessee claimed Rs 252,000 HRA stating that she gives rent to her mother and only produced rent receipts.