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LTA is leave travel allowance meant for making tax exempt holiday once in period of two years with or without family. Air travel, train ticket cost (economy or first class AC), hotel and taxi bills within India (no abroad) are allowed. Full LTA that is part of CTC can be claimed with receipts.
If you claim only one LTA in a block then the remaining LTA can be carried forward. However, it has to be claimed in the first year of the next block. Hence, in one block an employee can claim a maximum of three LTAs. In this block year, an employee can claim LTA for two journeys that have occurred during 2014-17, however, if the employee has not made any claims, then the exemption gets moved to the next year and not to the next block. 13 june 2020 yes, if your block falls in 2018-2021 then you can claim. 2 times in a block of 4 years is allowed. I suppose your block is over. An employee can take LTA in two simultaneous years, but to do so, he may not claim it in either of the other two years in that same four-year block. Sorry we couldn't be helpful. Help us improve this article with your feedback.
Lta Claim Year Slot Machines
LTA is the short form for Leave Travel Allowance. It is part of your CTC and can be used to make your travel costs tax-free legally in the Indian Taxation system.
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Although it is good that a salaried person is exempted from paying tax on the amount, he spends on travel expenses of his family, he can only do so twice in a block of 4 years.
There are other restrictions too with respect to claiming LTA and we discuss them here.
LTA Terms & Conditions
#Travel Expenses
Only travel fare i.e. either by Air, train or bus qualifies for exemption.
No food, hotel, sightseeing, etc. expenses are allowed for a claim in LTA.
You can hire a taxi if there is no train, air or bus travel option available to your destination.
#Travel outside India
Thinking of a vacation in Bangkok? Forget LTA!
LTA tax exemption is only allowed for travel expenses to a destination within India.
FYI, Andaman and Nicobar islands are part of India.
#Family
You can take your dependent parents, dependent siblings, spouse, and two children.
All their travel expenses will be exempted.
Slot machine max bet big win. #Luxury Travel
Tax exemption can only be claimed for economy class airfare, first-class AC rail fare, or first/ deluxe class bus fare.
#LTA tax exemption Limit
The full amount as specified in your CTC letter or given by your employer is exempt if you can provide the bills for it.
Note that only Travel expenses can be claimed.
#Carry forward your unspent LTA
If you have not claimed your LTA in the first year, the amount is accumulated in your kitty.
Hence, you can claim a higher amount if you travel next year.
Year 1 amount + year 2 amount is available for the LTA tax exemption claim in year 2.
#Double Dip LTA
If both husband and wife are receiving LTA from their respective employers, then they both can claim LTA in the same year but for DIFFERENT journey's.
One journey on which both husband and wife traveled cannot be claimed twice separately, even though they work in different companies.
There is no mechanism to verify this but, it is illegal to do so.
If caught by the income tax officer, you can be penalized.
LTA Bouquet of Benefits
Some companies have the option of specifying your own LTA amount in the various kitty of allowances as per your preferences. It is generally called Bouquet Of Benefits (BoB). In this case, they fix the total amount of BoB and leave the various allowance figures for you to decide.
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This is generally done to give you a free hand on what you think is the best for you to save tax.
For e.g. A common BoB could be something like this:
ComponentMonth/ AnnualMax. Tax ExemptionHouse Rent Allowance (HRA)7k/84kDepends on Basic Salary and city of residence.Conveyance Allowance800/9.6kMax 800 per monthMedical Allowance1.25k/15kMax 1.25k per monthFood Coupons2k/24kMax 3000 per monthLTA1k/12kNo Maximum limitPersonal Allowance11k/131kFULLY TaxableTotal23k/276kIn this example, there are various tax saving options via different kinds of allowances including LTA. If you look at the structure carefully, there is an allowance called Personal allowance which is FULLY taxed.
Now, the point I am trying to make here is that all other allowance (except personal allow. – which is FULLY taxed), have a maximum limit for tax exemption. Hence, you can use LTA for your advantage and declare it as the maximum value after consuming the maximum amount of other expenses and then reducing personal allowance.
You may argue that you may NOT travel and hence would not be able to claim any tax benefit.
I would say that it won't make any difference even if you declare it and not claim it. But if you do NOT declare it, you are anyway going to be taxed on personal allowance amount and cannot claim in case you do travel!
This is also the reason behind saying that consume all other tax-saving allowances to their maximum before increasing LTA.
So, I would say that this should be the ideal BoB for this example:
I hope this will clarify lot of queries about LTA in your mind.
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FAQ's for claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) as per Income Tax Rules
LTA is the benefit given by the employer to employees. While employee would enjoy the trip, they would also get benefitted with income tax benefit received through LTA. What is Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)? What are the income tax rules pertaining to LTA? In this article I would detail about LTA and some of the frequently asked questions about LTA.
What is Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)?
LTA (Leave Travel Allowance), is a benefit provided by almost all employers to their employees which provide income tax benefit. One can claim LTA for two times in a block of 4 years. Employees would take leave, enjoy their travel and claim this as reimbursement where income tax is not deducted. However, there are certain Income Tax guidelines to be followed to claim LTA.
Also Read: How to check employee provide fund (EPF) online?
20 FAQ's for claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) as per Income Tax Rules
1) What is the amount that can be claimed for LTA?
LTA is a benefit provided by the employer. It could be any amount starting from Rs 20,000 and above. The amount would be decided by the employer based on the grade and seniority of the employee.
2) When an employee can claim LTA?
An employee can claim LTA for 2 years in a block of 4 block years. Means, they can claim first time in year-1 and year-2 and second time in year-3 and year-4.
3) What is a block year in LTA?
Income tax rules define block year for claiming LTA. Previously it was 2010-2013. Currently it is 2014-2017. Means you can claim first LTA in 2014 and 2015 and second LTA in 2016 and 2017.
4) How a year is defined by IT rules for claiming LTA?
For claiming LTA, it is a calendar year and not financial year. For e.g. 2015 means 1-Jan-2015 to 31-Dec-2015. 2016 means 1-Jan-2016 to 31-Dec-2016. So current block year (4 years) starts from 1-Jan-2014 and ends at 31-Dec-2017.
5) Which IT section exempts LTA amount?
LTA amount claimed as per IT rules is exempted u/s 10 (5) of Income Tax Act.
6) How many trips an employee is eligible to claim for claiming LTA?
The employee can claim LTA for only one trip in a year. One cannot claim multiple trips in a year to claim LTA.
7) If an employee does one trip, but visits multiple places, is he eligible to claim LTA?
Income tax rule indicates that LTA can be claimed for the shortest distance between the starting point and farthest point. In between, if there are more places to visit, you can do that.
Also Read: What are the smart ways to reduce your home loan interest and EMI?
8) Who is eligible to travel along with employee to get LTA benefit?
The employee can take his spouse, kids and dependant parents, dependent brother or sister as part of travel to claim LTA benefit. He cannot take his friends / girlfriend (J) to get LTA benefit.
9) How many kids are eligible to travel to get LTA benefit?
2 kids are eligible for travel to get LTA benefit. In case there is triplet kid, due to twins, such twins would be considered as one kid for this purpose.
10) Can I claim LTA by travelling abroad trip?
LTA can be claimed for travel taken within India. You cannot claim foreign trip expenses for LTA benefit.
11) What expenses can be claimed under LTA Benefit?
LTA can be claimed only for ticket cost from starting point to the destination point and vice versa. One cannot claim food expenses, lodging expenses and other miscellaneous expenses under LTA claim.
12) What mode of travel is eligible for claiming LTA?
- In case of air travel, economy class is eligible.
- In case of train travel, up to first AC is eligible.
- In case of road transport, rented vehicle / bus of any kind is eligible to claim LTA benefit.
13) In case spouse is working and spouse is also eligible for LTA, how LTA claim would work?
There is no change in IT rules in case spouse is working. However, smart way of claiming LTA is, one can claim in 1st year and spouse can claim in 2nd year. Similarly, one can claim in 3rd year and spouse can claim in 4th year. This way, they can enjoy 4 trips and also get the LTA tax benefit for the entire block year.
Also Read: Should employee negotiate on Gross Salary or Net Take Home Salary during job change?
14) Can we carry forward unclaimed LTA?
Yes. An employee can carry forward one trip to next block year. Means in a 4 block years, he can claim one trip and one trip he can carry forward to the next block year. During the next block year, instead of 2 trips, they can undertake 3 trips and claim LTA benefit. However, this has to be communicated to an employer so that they can make provisions in their books.
15) If an employee moves from one company to another company, how LTA can be claimed?
There are no specific rules if an employee moves from one company to another company. They need to go by the same rules and claim 2 claims in a block of 4 years.
16) If en employee travel at the end of the year and returns from a trip which falls beyond 31st Dec, how does it work?
In such case, employee need to consider starting date as a basis and claim for that calendar year.
17) If en employee travel at the end of the block year and returns from trip after 31st Dec which falls in a different block year, how does it work?
Lta Claim Year Slot Machines
LTA is the short form for Leave Travel Allowance. It is part of your CTC and can be used to make your travel costs tax-free legally in the Indian Taxation system.
Join AM22Tech Money FB Group
Although it is good that a salaried person is exempted from paying tax on the amount, he spends on travel expenses of his family, he can only do so twice in a block of 4 years.
There are other restrictions too with respect to claiming LTA and we discuss them here.
LTA Terms & Conditions
#Travel Expenses
Only travel fare i.e. either by Air, train or bus qualifies for exemption.
No food, hotel, sightseeing, etc. expenses are allowed for a claim in LTA.
You can hire a taxi if there is no train, air or bus travel option available to your destination.
#Travel outside India
Thinking of a vacation in Bangkok? Forget LTA!
LTA tax exemption is only allowed for travel expenses to a destination within India.
FYI, Andaman and Nicobar islands are part of India.
#Family
You can take your dependent parents, dependent siblings, spouse, and two children.
All their travel expenses will be exempted.
Slot machine max bet big win. #Luxury Travel
Tax exemption can only be claimed for economy class airfare, first-class AC rail fare, or first/ deluxe class bus fare.
#LTA tax exemption Limit
The full amount as specified in your CTC letter or given by your employer is exempt if you can provide the bills for it.
Note that only Travel expenses can be claimed.
#Carry forward your unspent LTA
If you have not claimed your LTA in the first year, the amount is accumulated in your kitty.
Hence, you can claim a higher amount if you travel next year.
Year 1 amount + year 2 amount is available for the LTA tax exemption claim in year 2.
#Double Dip LTA
If both husband and wife are receiving LTA from their respective employers, then they both can claim LTA in the same year but for DIFFERENT journey's.
One journey on which both husband and wife traveled cannot be claimed twice separately, even though they work in different companies.
There is no mechanism to verify this but, it is illegal to do so.
If caught by the income tax officer, you can be penalized.
LTA Bouquet of Benefits
Some companies have the option of specifying your own LTA amount in the various kitty of allowances as per your preferences. It is generally called Bouquet Of Benefits (BoB). In this case, they fix the total amount of BoB and leave the various allowance figures for you to decide.
Open App in new Window >
This is generally done to give you a free hand on what you think is the best for you to save tax.
For e.g. A common BoB could be something like this:
ComponentMonth/ AnnualMax. Tax ExemptionHouse Rent Allowance (HRA)7k/84kDepends on Basic Salary and city of residence.Conveyance Allowance800/9.6kMax 800 per monthMedical Allowance1.25k/15kMax 1.25k per monthFood Coupons2k/24kMax 3000 per monthLTA1k/12kNo Maximum limitPersonal Allowance11k/131kFULLY TaxableTotal23k/276kIn this example, there are various tax saving options via different kinds of allowances including LTA. If you look at the structure carefully, there is an allowance called Personal allowance which is FULLY taxed.
Now, the point I am trying to make here is that all other allowance (except personal allow. – which is FULLY taxed), have a maximum limit for tax exemption. Hence, you can use LTA for your advantage and declare it as the maximum value after consuming the maximum amount of other expenses and then reducing personal allowance.
You may argue that you may NOT travel and hence would not be able to claim any tax benefit.
I would say that it won't make any difference even if you declare it and not claim it. But if you do NOT declare it, you are anyway going to be taxed on personal allowance amount and cannot claim in case you do travel!
This is also the reason behind saying that consume all other tax-saving allowances to their maximum before increasing LTA.
So, I would say that this should be the ideal BoB for this example:
I hope this will clarify lot of queries about LTA in your mind.
Need Help?
Ask Question PrivatelyAsk us to fill USA Forms
FAQ's for claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) as per Income Tax Rules
LTA is the benefit given by the employer to employees. While employee would enjoy the trip, they would also get benefitted with income tax benefit received through LTA. What is Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)? What are the income tax rules pertaining to LTA? In this article I would detail about LTA and some of the frequently asked questions about LTA.
What is Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)?
LTA (Leave Travel Allowance), is a benefit provided by almost all employers to their employees which provide income tax benefit. One can claim LTA for two times in a block of 4 years. Employees would take leave, enjoy their travel and claim this as reimbursement where income tax is not deducted. However, there are certain Income Tax guidelines to be followed to claim LTA.
Also Read: How to check employee provide fund (EPF) online?
20 FAQ's for claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) as per Income Tax Rules
1) What is the amount that can be claimed for LTA?
LTA is a benefit provided by the employer. It could be any amount starting from Rs 20,000 and above. The amount would be decided by the employer based on the grade and seniority of the employee.
2) When an employee can claim LTA?
An employee can claim LTA for 2 years in a block of 4 block years. Means, they can claim first time in year-1 and year-2 and second time in year-3 and year-4.
3) What is a block year in LTA?
Income tax rules define block year for claiming LTA. Previously it was 2010-2013. Currently it is 2014-2017. Means you can claim first LTA in 2014 and 2015 and second LTA in 2016 and 2017.
4) How a year is defined by IT rules for claiming LTA?
For claiming LTA, it is a calendar year and not financial year. For e.g. 2015 means 1-Jan-2015 to 31-Dec-2015. 2016 means 1-Jan-2016 to 31-Dec-2016. So current block year (4 years) starts from 1-Jan-2014 and ends at 31-Dec-2017.
5) Which IT section exempts LTA amount?
LTA amount claimed as per IT rules is exempted u/s 10 (5) of Income Tax Act.
6) How many trips an employee is eligible to claim for claiming LTA?
The employee can claim LTA for only one trip in a year. One cannot claim multiple trips in a year to claim LTA.
7) If an employee does one trip, but visits multiple places, is he eligible to claim LTA?
Income tax rule indicates that LTA can be claimed for the shortest distance between the starting point and farthest point. In between, if there are more places to visit, you can do that.
Also Read: What are the smart ways to reduce your home loan interest and EMI?
8) Who is eligible to travel along with employee to get LTA benefit?
The employee can take his spouse, kids and dependant parents, dependent brother or sister as part of travel to claim LTA benefit. He cannot take his friends / girlfriend (J) to get LTA benefit.
9) How many kids are eligible to travel to get LTA benefit?
2 kids are eligible for travel to get LTA benefit. In case there is triplet kid, due to twins, such twins would be considered as one kid for this purpose.
10) Can I claim LTA by travelling abroad trip?
LTA can be claimed for travel taken within India. You cannot claim foreign trip expenses for LTA benefit.
11) What expenses can be claimed under LTA Benefit?
LTA can be claimed only for ticket cost from starting point to the destination point and vice versa. One cannot claim food expenses, lodging expenses and other miscellaneous expenses under LTA claim.
12) What mode of travel is eligible for claiming LTA?
- In case of air travel, economy class is eligible.
- In case of train travel, up to first AC is eligible.
- In case of road transport, rented vehicle / bus of any kind is eligible to claim LTA benefit.
13) In case spouse is working and spouse is also eligible for LTA, how LTA claim would work?
There is no change in IT rules in case spouse is working. However, smart way of claiming LTA is, one can claim in 1st year and spouse can claim in 2nd year. Similarly, one can claim in 3rd year and spouse can claim in 4th year. This way, they can enjoy 4 trips and also get the LTA tax benefit for the entire block year.
Also Read: Should employee negotiate on Gross Salary or Net Take Home Salary during job change?
14) Can we carry forward unclaimed LTA?
Yes. An employee can carry forward one trip to next block year. Means in a 4 block years, he can claim one trip and one trip he can carry forward to the next block year. During the next block year, instead of 2 trips, they can undertake 3 trips and claim LTA benefit. However, this has to be communicated to an employer so that they can make provisions in their books.
15) If an employee moves from one company to another company, how LTA can be claimed?
There are no specific rules if an employee moves from one company to another company. They need to go by the same rules and claim 2 claims in a block of 4 years.
16) If en employee travel at the end of the year and returns from a trip which falls beyond 31st Dec, how does it work?
In such case, employee need to consider starting date as a basis and claim for that calendar year.
17) If en employee travel at the end of the block year and returns from trip after 31st Dec which falls in a different block year, how does it work?
Block year for the current LTA period is from 1-Jan-2014 to 31-Dec-2017. Assume that you want to claim your 2nd LTA amount and planned your trip from say 25th Dec 2017 to 5th Jan 2018. Since 1-Jan-2018 onwards is a different block period, you can still claim this trip under 2014-2017 block period.
18) My employer does not provide LTA benefit, can I make a trip and claim LTA while filing IT Returns?
LTA is a benefit provided by the employer. This is paid as reimbursement to you when you claim as per IT Rules. In case your employer does not provide this benefit, there is no way you can claim LTA. You cannot claim this while filing IT Returns.
19) I missed to submit my first LTA claim in a block year. Can I submit 2 LTA claims in a block year later?
Lta Claim Year Slot Value
As per IT Rules, an employee need to claim 2 trips LTA in a block of 4 years. However, if you have missed to claim in first 2 years, you need to indicate this to your employer, so that they can carry forward to subsequent 2 years of the same block year. You can later submit the bill pertaining to the first 2 years (bill date should indicate that) and claim it. However, you cannot claim 2 trips expenses in subsequent 2 years of a block period (with bill dates pertaining to 3rd and 4th year of a block period).
Also Read: How to get Rs 10 Lakhs and above a tax free Income and pay Zero Tax?
20) Do I need to submit a single bill for our trip or multiple bills would be accepted for LTA?
LTA benefit is given for a trip. Means, one family is travelling. Ideally, there would be one bill. However, there are cases where multiple bills would be received for a single trip (for airfare bills, where a family member agreed to join later and the booking was made later, but travel date is same of the remaining members). In such case, these are agreed by employers. It would be better to check with employer in such circumstances before proceeding further.
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20 FAQ's for claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) as per Income Tax Rules
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