ITR Filing AY 2025-26: Can you claim deductions both for HRA and Home loan interest? Old and new tax regime, documents, sections…

ITR Filing (Representative Image)

As the time has come for ITR Filing AY 2025-26 and you might have been starting the process of filling your Income Tax Return, you might have been facing a plethora of questions. A question that most salaried taxpayers face is if they can claim both House Rent Allowance (HRA) and home loan interest deduction benefits. Yes. You can legally claim both benefits at the same time if you live on rent and also pay a home loan.

It is not against the law and both HRA and home loan interest deductions can be claimed under certain conditions.

• 1. You can claim both benefits if you own a house in one city and have a job in another city, where you live on rent, you can claim both deductions — both HRA and home loan interest.
• 2. If your office is very far from your residence and you can not live there due to long distance and traffic, you live on rent. You can claim both deductions if you have a valid reason like this and you can prove it.
• 3. If you have rented out your home, say, for investment purposes and live in a rented home, you can still claim both benefits of the HRA and deductions of home loan interest.

Documents required

• For HRA, you need to submit a rent receipt, rent agreement and landlord’s PAN number, if your annual rent is more than Rs 1 lakh.
• For deduction in home loan interest, you will have to submit the loan statement, with interest and principal details, sale deed and possession certificate.

Tax benefit Relevant sections

• 1.HRA Section 10(13A) Depends on your salary to rent ratio
• 2.Home loan interest Section 24(b) Rs 2 lakh (Self-occupied house)
• 3. Principal amount Section 80C Rs 1.5 lakh

Old Tax Regime

In the old tax regime, you can claim HRA, deduction in Home Loan Interest for self-occupied property, and home loan interest for let-out property. You can also claim exemptions on principal repayment on home loans under Section 80C.

New Tax Regime

In the new tax regime, you can not claim deductions for the HRA, Home Loan Interest for self-occupied property and exemption on principal repayment on home loan under Section 80C. However, you can claim deductions for home loan interest for the let-out property.