Save Taxes by restructuring your Salary
With the increase in unemployment you can breathe a sigh of relief if you have to
pay taxes because it means, you are employed. But we know how pinching it is when
your hard earned money is taken away in the name of taxes. Therefore we have thought
of a simple way of saving tax.
Do you know how many allowances are included in your salary? No!! This is one of
the reasons for soaring taxes!! Did you know if the salary is broken and the allowances
are shown separately, you will not have to pay tax on certain allowances? Surprised!
We’ll tell you how!
Allowances are paid by the employer to the employee to meet some particular expenses.
These allowances are a part of the salary. Major allowances that are widely paid
by the employers and are tax free to a certain extent are discussed below
1. House Rent Allowance (HRA)
House Rent Allowance is paid as compensation to the rent paid by the employee. Amount
of tax free HRA depends on the city in which house of the employee is situated
- If house is situated in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata then least of the following
is tax free.
- Actual HRA received
- Rent Paid- 10% of Salary
- 50% of Salary
- If house is situated in any other city then least of the following is tax free.
- Actual HRA received
- Rent Paid- 10% of Salary
- 40% of Salary
2. Transport Allowance/Conveyance Allowance
Transport Allowance is paid so that the employee can meet the conveyance expenses
incurred while travelling from office and home and home to office. It is tax free
to the extent of Rs. 800 p.m.
For e.g. If an employee gets Rs. 2,000 p.m. as conveyance allowance, for 12 months
then total conveyance allowance received during the year is Rs. 24,000 (2,000 X
12). Out of this Rs. 9,600 (800 X 12) is tax free and the balance Rs. 14,400 (24,000
– 9,600) is chargeable to tax.
3. Children Education Allowance (CEA)
Children Education Allowance is paid as an encouragement for educating children.
It is tax free to the extent of Rs. 100 p.m. per child. Such exemption is only for
2 children. The remaining expense can be claimed u/s 80C.
For e.g. If an employee has 1 child and he gets Rs. 400 p.m. as CEA, for 12 months
then total children education allowance received during the year is Rs. 4,800 (400*12).
Out of this Rs. 1,200 (100*12) is tax free and the balance Rs.3,600 (4,800-1,200)
is chargeable to tax.
4. Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)
Travelling is regarded as a healthy activity. Therefore to encourage travelling
employer pays Leave Travel Allowance. Out of the LTA received the amount that the
employee actually spend on travelling, that is the travelling fare of the employee
himself, his spouse, children and dependents is exempt from tax. It is to be noted
that you can receive LTA every year from your employer but only two LTAs in a block
of 4 calendar years (current block being January 2010-December 2013) are tax free.
For e.g. If an employee travels to say Goa in December 2013 by air with his family
and the total cost of tickets of the entire family is Rs. 30,000, and he gets Rs.
45,000 as LTA from his employer, then out of Rs. 45,000, Rs. 30,000 is tax free
and Rs. 15000 is chargeable to tax.
5. Travelling Allowance (TA)
Travelling Allowance is paid to meet packing and transportation expenses which are
incurred during transfer of job or in any official tour. It is tax free to the extent
of allowance received or the actual amount spent on such tour whichever is lower.
For e.g. an employee gets transferred from Delhi to Mumbai. To meet the packing
and transportation expenses the company pays him say Rs. 10,000. The employee actually
incurs Rs. 7,000 during such transfer. Out of this Rs. 10,000 Rs. 7,000 (amount
actually spent) is tax free and Rs. 3,000 (amount not spent) is chargeable to tax.
6. Daily Allowance
Daily Allowance is paid to meet ordinary day to day expenses which are incurred
during transfer of job or in any official tour. It is tax free to the extent of
allowance received or the actual amount spent on such tour whichever is lower.
For e.g. an employee goes to Delhi to attend a business meeting, the company pays
him Rs. 5,000 as Daily allowance to meet expenses like food, lodging, local conveyance
etc. but he actually incurs Rs. 3,000. Then out of Rs. 5,000, Rs.3,000 (amount actually
spent) is tax free and Rs. 2,000 (amount not spent) is chargeable to tax.
7. Academic Allowance
Academic Allowance is paid to encourage training, research and academic activities
amongst the employees. It is tax free to the extent of allowance received or the
actual amount spent on such training whichever is lower.
For e.g. An employee gets Rs. 5,000 as Academic allowance but he spends only Rs.
3,000 on training and research activities, then out of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3,000 (amount
actually spent) is exempt from tax and Rs. 2,000 (amount not spent) is chargeable
to tax.
8. Medical Reimbursement
When an employee shows medical bills to his employer his employer may reimburse
the amount of those bills to the employee, this is called medical reimbursement.
This medical reimbursement received from the employer is tax free up to the extent
of Rs. 15000/- Any amount received over and above Rs. 15,000/- as medical reimbursement
is chargeable to tax.
For e.g. an employee shows medical bills of Rs. 20,000/-. Out of this Rs. 20,000/-
the employer reimburses bills worth Rs. 17,000/-. In this case Rs. 15,000/- is exempt
from tax and Rs. 2,000/-(17,000-15,000) is chargeable to tax.
Please note that any amount received as medical allowance is chargeable to tax.
The above rule is applicable only for medical reimbursement not for medical allowance.
9. Sodexo Coupons
An employee may receive free meals or coupons for tea/snacks during office hours
from his employer. Such free meals or coupons received from the employer are tax
free to the extent of Rs. 50/- per meal.
For e.g. if you receive a sodexo coupon worth Rs. 90/- for your lunch at office
then out of Rs. 90/-Rs. 50/- is exempt from tax and Rs. 40/- ( 90-50) is chargeable
to tax.