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LTA Calculator India — Leave Travel Allowance Exemption

Calculate how much of your LTA is tax-exempt under Section 10(5), check family travel coverage for spouse, children, and dependent parents, and track your block year claims (2022-2025). Available in old tax regime only. Updated for FY 2025-26.

Annual LTA component in your salary (check payslip or CTC breakup)
Total fare paid for domestic travel (tickets only, not hotel/food)
Exemption cap depends on mode: economy air / AC first class rail / AC bus

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How to Use This Calculator

LTA Exemption tab

Enter the LTA amount received from your employer (check your CTC breakup or payslip), the actual travel fare paid (total ticket cost for domestic travel), and the mode of travel. The calculator computes the exempt amount (lower of LTA received or actual fare) and shows the taxable balance that will be added to your salary income. Remember: only the fare component is eligible — hotel, food, and sightseeing expenses are not covered.

Family Coverage tab

Enter the number of family members travelling, the fare per person for the round trip, and your LTA component. The calculator shows the total eligible fare and exempt amount. Eligible family members include: employee (self), spouse, up to 2 children (born after 1 Oct 1998 limit), dependent parents, and wholly dependent siblings.

Block Year Tracker tab

Select how many LTA claims you have used in the current block period (2022-2025). The calculator shows remaining claims, the deadline to use them, and carry-forward rules. You are allowed 2 journeys per 4-year block. If unused, you can carry forward ONE journey to the first year of the next block (2026).

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The Formula

LTA exemption under Section 10(5) is straightforward — the exempt amount is the lower of what you received and what you actually spent on travel:

LTA Exempt Amount:
Exempt = MIN(LTA Received from Employer, Actual Travel Fare Paid)

Taxable Balance:
Taxable = LTA Received − Exempt Amount

Family Total Fare:
Total Fare = Number of Family Members × Fare per Person (round trip)

Where:
LTA Received = Annual LTA component in salary/CTC
Actual Fare = Domestic travel fare (tickets only, not hotel/food/local transport)
Fare caps: Economy air fare (shortest route) / AC first class rail / AC bus

Eligible family members:
Employee + Spouse + Up to 2 Children (born after 1 Oct 1998) + Dependent Parents + Dependent Siblings

Block period rule:
2 journeys allowed per 4-year block (current: 2022-2025)
Carry forward: 1 unused journey to first year of next block

Tax regime:
LTA exemption is available ONLY under the old tax regime. Under Section 115BAC (new regime), the full LTA amount is taxable as salary income.

The key point: LTA covers only the fare (travel ticket cost) for domestic journeys. Hotel, meals, local transport, and sightseeing are your own expenses and cannot reduce your taxable salary through LTA.

Example

Amit — IT professional in Pune, CTC ₹15L, family trip to Goa

Amit (32) has a CTC of ₹15,00,000 with an LTA component of ₹40,000. He plans a family trip to Goa with his wife and 2 children during Diwali break. He wants to understand how much of his LTA is tax-exempt and how to claim it optimally.

Step 1: Travel fare calculation

LTA component in CTC₹40,000
Family members4 (Amit + wife + 2 children)
Mode of travelEconomy class air (Pune to Goa)
Fare per person (round trip)₹6,250
Total fare for family₹25,000 (4 x ₹6,250)

Step 2: Exemption calculation

LTA received₹40,000
Actual travel fare₹25,000
Exempt amount (lower of the two)₹25,000
Taxable balance₹15,000

Step 3: Tax impact

Taxable LTA balance₹15,000
Amit's tax slab (old regime)30%
Extra tax on ₹15,000₹4,500 + cess
Tax saved via LTA claim₹7,500 (₹25,000 x 30%)

Amit's LTA of ₹40,000 with actual fare of ₹25,000 results in ₹25,000 exempt. The remaining ₹15,000 is taxable as salary. By claiming LTA, Amit saves approximately ₹7,500 in taxes. He submits his flight tickets to HR along with the LTA claim form. Hotel and food bills from Goa are not eligible for exemption.

Block year status

Current block2022-2025
Claims used before this trip0
After this claim1 used, 1 remaining
Deadline for 2nd claimDecember 2025

FAQ

Leave Travel Allowance (LTA), also called Leave Travel Concession (LTC), is a component of salary that employers provide to cover the travel expenses of employees during leave. Under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the fare component of domestic travel is exempt from income tax. LTA covers only the cost of travel (air, rail, or bus tickets) for the employee and their family — it does not cover hotel stays, meals, sightseeing, or local transport. The exemption is available for 2 journeys in a block of 4 calendar years (current block: 2022-2025). LTA is one of the most commonly used salary tax-saving components under the old tax regime.
No. LTA exemption under Section 10(5) is NOT available if you have opted for the new tax regime under Section 115BAC. Under the new regime, most exemptions and deductions (including LTA, HRA, Section 80C, etc.) are removed in exchange for lower tax slab rates. If you are on the new regime, your entire LTA component will be taxed as part of salary income. This is an important consideration when choosing between the old and new regime — employees with significant LTA and HRA components may benefit more from the old regime.
You can claim LTA exemption for 2 journeys in each block of 4 calendar years. The current block is 2022-2025 (January 2022 to December 2025). The next block is 2026-2029. If you do not use both claims in a block, you can carry forward one unused journey to the first calendar year of the next block. For example, if you used 0 claims in 2022-2025, you can carry forward 1 claim to 2026 (not 2027 or later). The second unused claim will lapse. It is important to plan your claims to avoid losing this tax benefit.
LTA covers only the fare component — the actual cost of travel tickets for domestic journeys within India. Specifically: (1) Air travel: Economy class fare for the shortest route to the destination. (2) Rail travel: AC first class rail fare. (3) For places not connected by rail: AC first class rail fare for the equivalent distance, or AC bus fare if bus service is available. NOT covered: Hotel and accommodation expenses, meals and food, local transport (taxis, autos, cabs), sightseeing and activity costs, international travel (LTA is for domestic travel only). You must submit actual travel tickets/boarding passes as proof to your employer.
Yes, but with limitations. If you have unused LTA claims from the current block (2022-2025), you can carry forward ONE journey to the first calendar year of the next block (i.e., 2026). The carry-forward claim must be utilised in 2026 itself — it cannot be pushed to 2027 or later. If you had 2 unused claims, only 1 can be carried forward; the other lapses permanently. To maximise the benefit: use at least 1 claim in the current block, and plan the carry-forward claim for early in the next block's first year. Note that the block 2018-2021 had a special COVID-19 extension allowing an LTA cash voucher scheme, but that was a one-time exception.

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