Form 10BA of the Income Tax Act: Claim Rent Deduction Without HRA

Last updated: Oct 2026

Form 10BA is the declaration that supports a Section 80GG deduction for rent. You file it only if you pay rent and receive no house rent allowance (HRA).

• Deduction: the smallest of Rs. 5,000 a month, 25% of total income, or rent minus 10% of total income
• Maximum: Rs. 60,000 a year
• Regime: old regime only, so the new regime gives no deduction
• Filing: online, before you file your return

• Example: on Rs. 7.5 lakh of income, the new regime costs Rs. 0 and the old regime with the claim costs Rs. 52,520

  
  

Compare both regimes before you file. At most incomes, the new regime costs less than the old regime with the claim.

The form is the declaration you furnish to claim the deduction for rent under Section 80GG of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Rule 11B allows the deduction only if the form is filed.

For Tax Year 2026-27 onwards, the Income-tax Rules, 2026 replace it with Form 31, and the deduction sits in Section 134 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, per a Taxguru mapping. For assessment year (AY) 2026-27 and earlier years, Form 10BA still applies.

You can claim it if you pay rent for your own residence and get no HRA. The conditions are strict.

Even one rupee of HRA in the year ends the claim. A salaried person who gets HRA claims the HRA exemption instead.

You can claim the smallest of 3 figures, and the cap is Rs. 60,000 a year.

Formula used: Deduction = smallest of (Rs. 5,000 × 12, 25% of total income, rent paid − 10% of total income). Total income here excludes certain gains and the Chapter VI-A deductions.

Rent above a threshold also needs the landlord's Permanent Account Number (PAN), so check the form for the current limit.

The tax saved is small. At a 20% slab rate, Rs. 60,000 saves Rs. 12,480 with cess. At 5%, it saves far less.

In most cases, no. The new regime gives no deduction for rent, but its lower slabs and rebate cost less in most cases than the old regime with every claim.

Assumptions: a person with no other deductions, a deduction of Rs. 60,000 under Section 80GG, Rs. 1.5 lakh under Section 80C and 4% cess. The table assumes no standard deduction, as for a freelancer.

The claim helps only if you stay in the old regime for other reasons, such as large deductions. Test both regimes with your own figures.

Five steps cover the filing, and it comes before the return.

1. Collect the rent receipts and the landlord's name and address.
2. Log in to the portal and open the forms section.
3. Select the form and the assessment year.
4. Enter the rent paid, the months and the landlord's details.

5. Submit it, then file your return and claim Section 80GG.

   
   

Do not file the form if you are in the new regime. For the form choice for your return, see the guide to which return form a salaried person files.

Consider Amit, a 31-year-old freelance designer in Pune with a total income of Rs. 7,50,000 and a CIBIL Score of 745, who pays Rs. 18,000 a month and gets no HRA.

Formula used: Deduction = smallest of (60,000; 25% × 7,50,000; 2,16,000 − 75,000).

Amit stays in the new regime and skips Form 10BA. The claim would have saved Rs. 12,480, but the new regime saves him Rs. 52,520.

Bajaj Finance assesses income and existing obligations. Rent receipts do not change your eligibility, but a clean return does.

Approval timelines can extend where income documents need cross-checking, and minimum income thresholds can differ by city. Check your home loan eligibility and compare buying with renting using the home loan EMI calculator.