What are the pre-requisites for claiming tax exemption on my leave travel allowance/assistance (LTA)?
The LTA, or leave travel concession (LTC) in the case of government employees, included in your salary is fully exempt from income tax, provided you take leave for the minimum stipulated period, typically between five and eight days. To be eligible for this tax benefit, you have to journey within India and the exemption is limited to the fare component (see chart). Hence, the expenses on hotels, food, sight-seeing, etc, are not considered. In the event that you fail to get public transport and are forced to rent a car, you can submit the bill issued by the rental company, which is accepted as valid proof by many organisations. This exemption is available only on the sum actually spent on travel by an employee, subject to the maximum amount of LTA payable to him. How does one claim this benefit? This exemption can be claimed by submitting proof of travel boarding passes, tickets and rental receipts to the accounts department at your workplace and the employer will certify the LTA exempt
