Every January, salaried renters get the same email from payroll: send your rent receipts, or your HRA will not be counted. The law does not print a rent receipt format anywhere, so what goes on the receipt is partly the tax rules and partly common sense. This page gives you receipts you can copy as they are, a monthly one and a quarterly or yearly one, and then goes through the three rules people get wrong: the revenue stamp, the landlord's PAN, and TDS on rent.
What a rent receipt should show
- The tenant's full name, and the landlord's full name exactly as on their PAN.
- The full address of the house you rent. Your employer matches it with the address in your declaration.
- The period the rent is for (a month, a quarter or the full year) and the amount, in figures and in words.
- How you paid: bank transfer, UPI, cheque or cash, with the reference number if there is one.
- The date, the landlord's signature, and the landlord's PAN where the rule below needs it.
- A revenue stamp across which the landlord signs, where the amount crosses the stamp limit below.
Monthly rent receipt format
Quarterly or yearly rent receipt format
Many employers accept one receipt for a longer period. The format is the same; only the period line changes, and the month-wise rent is listed so the total can be checked.
The amounts in the brackets are a sample only. PAN ABCDE1234F is a made-up sample in the right shape; put your landlord's real PAN there.
When the receipt needs a revenue stamp
The stamp comes from the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, not from the income-tax law. Article 53 of Schedule I charges a stamp duty of one rupee on a receipt for money whose amount exceeds five thousand rupees (the limit was five hundred rupees until Act 23 of 2004 raised it, from 10 September 2004). So a monthly receipt for more than ₹5,000 carries a ₹1 revenue stamp, signed across by the landlord. The exemptions listed under Article 53 are about other kinds of receipts; none of them turns on whether the rent came by cash, cheque or UPI.
Two more lines of the same Act are worth knowing. Section 30 says that anyone receiving money above twenty rupees must, if the payer asks, give a duly stamped receipt; refusing can be fined under section 65. And under section 35(b), an unstamped receipt is still admitted in evidence against the person who gave it, on payment of a one-rupee penalty. Whether your employer accepts a receipt without a stamp is its own policy, so ask payroll rather than guess.
When the landlord's PAN is needed
Under rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, an HRA claim goes to your employer in Form No. 124 with the landlord's name and address, your relationship with the landlord if any, and the landlord's PAN where the aggregate rent paid during the tax year exceeds ₹1,00,000. Note 3 of Form No. 124 says the same: PAN 'shall be furnished if the aggregate rent paid during the Tax Year exceeds one Lakh rupees'. The form also has a box for the landlord's Aadhaar; the Department's FAQ on the form says Aadhaar is not mandatory unless your employer asks for it.
Source: Form No. 124 (Note 3: landlord's PAN; Annexure A-1: house rent agreement), Income Tax Department
Do you need a rent agreement?
Rule 205 itself asks only for the landlord's particulars. But Form No. 124 lists the annexures to attach, and the first one, Annexure A-1, is the 'House rent agreement'. So expect payroll to ask for it with the receipts. If you rent without a written agreement, tell payroll before the deadline and ask what they will accept instead.
TDS on rent: does your tenant side owe it?
Under section 393(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Table, serial 2(i), which replaced section 194-IB), an individual tenant who is not a 'specified person' deducts TDS at 2% when the rent exceeds ₹50,000 for a month or part of a month. The deduction is made once, for the last month of the tax year or the last month of the tenancy. A 'specified person' under section 402(37) is anyone other than an individual or HUF, or an individual or HUF whose business turnover was above ₹1 crore or professional receipts above ₹50 lakh in the previous year; that group deducts every month instead.
Source: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 393 (TDS table, serial 2: rent), Income Tax Department
Source: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 402(37): 'specified person', Income Tax Department
TDS on rent: who deducts, when, and how to deposit itOne example, worked through
Say you pay ₹18,000 a month. Each monthly receipt is above ₹5,000, so each one needs a ₹1 revenue stamp. Over the year the rent is 18,000 × 12 = ₹2,16,000, which is above ₹1,00,000, so the landlord's PAN goes on the receipts and in Form No. 124. The monthly rent is below ₹50,000, so a salaried tenant has no TDS to deduct. A quarterly receipt for the same flat is 18,000 × 3 = ₹54,000.
Paying rent to your parents
Form No. 124 has a line for your 'relationship with the landlord, if any', so rent paid to a parent is not hidden; it is declared. Two things decide whether it holds up. First, HRA exemption under Schedule III, serial 11 of the new Act needs a house that is not owned by you, and rent you actually pay. So the house must belong to the parent, and the money must really move, ideally by bank transfer. Second, for the parent the rent is income: section 20 charges the annual value of a building owned by a person to tax under 'Income from house property', so they show it in their own return.
Old regime or new regime
Section 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is the default 'new regime'. Its sub-section (2) says income is computed without any exemption under Schedule III serial 11, which is the HRA exemption. So rent receipts only save tax if you have chosen the old regime. In the new regime your employer has no use for them.
What payroll asks for in January
- Form No. 124 (the old Form 12BB), with the HRA part filled: landlord's name, address, PAN, relationship and rent paid.
- Rent receipts for the months you claim, with revenue stamps where the amount needs one.
- The rent agreement, which Form No. 124 lists as Annexure A-1.
- Sometimes bank statements showing the rent going out. This is employer policy, not a rule, but it is the strongest proof you have.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a revenue stamp required on a rent receipt?
- Yes, when the receipt is for more than ₹5,000. Article 53 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 charges a stamp duty of ₹1 on a receipt for money above five thousand rupees, and the landlord signs across the stamp. A receipt for ₹5,000 or less needs no stamp.
- Is a revenue stamp needed if I pay rent online?
- The duty is on the receipt, and none of the exemptions listed under Article 53 depends on how the rent was paid. If a receipt above ₹5,000 is issued, it carries the stamp. Some employers accept bank statements in place of receipts; that is their policy.
- When is the landlord's PAN mandatory for HRA?
- When the total rent you pay in the tax year exceeds ₹1,00,000. Rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Note 3 of Form No. 124 both set this limit.
- Can I give one rent receipt for the whole year?
- The law prescribes no receipt frequency, and many employers accept a quarterly or yearly receipt that lists each month's rent. Check your payroll policy. A single receipt above ₹5,000 still needs a ₹1 revenue stamp.
- Can I claim HRA without a rent agreement?
- Rule 205 asks for the landlord's details, but Form No. 124 lists the house rent agreement as Annexure A-1, so most employers ask for it. If you have none, ask payroll what they accept before the proof deadline.
- Do I need rent receipts in the new tax regime?
- No. Section 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the default new regime, computes income without the HRA exemption, so receipts only matter in the old regime.