Leave Travel Allowance Calculator India — FY 2025-26
Calculate your LTA tax exemption under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act. Track block years (2022–2025, 2026–2029), check carryover rules, and see the tax cost of taking LTA as cash instead of travelling.
Try another scenario
How to Use This Calculator
LTA Exemption tab
Enter your annual LTA from CTC and actual travel cost (fare only). Select your travel mode — the exemption is capped at economy class (air) or AC first class (rail). The calculator shows the exempt amount, taxable portion, and estimated tax savings under the old regime.
Block Year Tracker tab
Select the block year period (2022–2025 or 2026–2029) and how many trips you have already claimed. See how many tax-exempt trips remain and whether you can carry over an unclaimed trip to the next block. The carryover must be used in the first calendar year of the next block (by 31 December).
LTA vs Cash tab
Enter the LTA amount received as cash without travel and your income. See exactly how much tax you lose by not travelling. At a 30% slab, ₹40,000 LTA taken as cash means ₹12,480 (including cess) wasted in tax — money you could have kept by taking a trip.
Share your result
Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to a colleague, CA, or save it for later.
The Formula
LTA exemption under Section 10(5) is calculated as follows:
(1) LTA received from employer (annual CTC component)
(2) Actual travel fare incurred (tickets only)
Eligible travel fare is subject to these limits:
• Air travel: Economy class airfare
• Rail travel: AC First Class fare
• No rail route: AC First Class fare for the distance, or recognized public transport fare
• Always via the shortest route to the destination
What is NOT covered:
• Hotel accommodation
• Food and meals
• Local transport at destination
• Sightseeing and activities
• International travel (India only)
Block year rule:
2 tax-exempt trips per block of 4 calendar years
Current: 2022–2025 | Next: 2026–2029
Carryover: 1 unclaimed trip → first year of next block
Important: LTA exemption is available only under the old tax regime. If you opt for the new regime under Section 115BAC, the entire LTA is taxable as salary income regardless of whether you actually travelled.
Example
Rahul — IT professional with ₹60,000 LTA, took a family trip costing ₹45,000
Rahul works in Bengaluru, earns ₹12,00,000 per year, and has ₹60,000 LTA in his CTC. He took a train trip (AC 2-tier) with his family of 4 costing ₹45,000 in fare.
Step 1: Determine the exempt amount
Step 2: Calculate taxable portion
Step 3: Tax impact (old regime)
By travelling and submitting bills, Rahul saves ₹9,360 in tax. The remaining ₹15,000 (LTA minus travel cost) is added to his taxable salary.
What if Rahul took LTA as cash?
If Rahul did not travel and received the entire ₹60,000 as cash:
By not travelling, Rahul loses ₹12,480 in tax — that is 20.8% of his LTA gone to the government.