Rent Receipt Format for HRA (2026): What to Include + Free Generator

If you live in a rented house and get House Rent Allowance (HRA) as part of your salary, your employer will ask for rent receipts before the financial year ends. Without them, the HRA tax exemption is not applied and more tax is deducted from your salary.

Here is exactly what a rent receipt should contain, the rules people most often get wrong, and how to make all your receipts in a minute for free.

What a valid rent receipt must include

• Tenant's name: the person paying the rent (you).
• Landlord's name: the person receiving the rent.
• Complete address of the rented property, including house or flat number.
• Rent amount, in figures and in words.
• Rent period: the month (or months) the payment covers.
• Date of payment and mode of payment (cash, UPI, bank transfer or cheque).
• Landlord's signature.
• Landlord's PAN, if annual rent is more than ₹1,00,000 (see below).

Standard rent receipt format

Most employers accept this widely used wording:

You can make one receipt per month (12 receipts for a financial year), or a single receipt covering the whole period. Check which your employer prefers.

When is the landlord's PAN required?

If the rent you pay in a year is more than ₹1,00,000 (roughly ₹8,334 a month or more), employers ask for the landlord's PAN. If the landlord does not have a PAN, a signed declaration from the landlord is usually needed instead.

Do rent receipts need a revenue stamp?

A revenue stamp is generally needed only when rent is paid in cash and the receipt is for more than ₹5,000. The landlord signs across the stamp. For UPI, bank transfer or cheque payments, a stamp is usually not required, and the bank record itself is good proof.

How much HRA is tax-free?

Under the old tax regime, the tax-free part of HRA is the lowest of these three:

1. The actual HRA you receive.
2. 50% of salary (Basic + DA) if you live in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, or 40% elsewhere.
3. Rent paid minus 10% of salary (Basic + DA).

The new tax regime does not allow the HRA exemption, so rent receipts matter only if you have chosen the old regime.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Missing the tenant's name or the property address.
• Different rent amounts on different receipts without a reason (like a rent increase).
• No landlord PAN when annual rent is over ₹1 lakh.
• Unsigned receipts. Always get the landlord's signature.
• Paying rent to a spouse. Rent paid to parents who own the house is generally fine if they show it as income; rent to a spouse is commonly questioned.

Make your rent receipts for free

Use the free Rent Receipt Generator: enter the details once and get every monthly receipt (or one for the whole period) in the standard format, ready to print or save as PDF. No sign-up, and nothing is stored. It is also available in Hindi.

This article is general guidance. Confirm the exact HRA rules with your employer or tax advisor.