Use this LTA Exemption Calculator to calculate eligible Leave Travel Allowance exemption under Rule 278. Check travel expenses, fare limits, four-year block rules and Old vs New Tax Regime treatment for 2026.
The LTA (Leave Travel Allowance) Exemption Calculator works out the eligible LTA exemption for qualifying domestic travel. Enter your LTA amount, actual travel cost and the applicable Rule 278 fare limit to get the calculation. Salaried employees, payroll teams, HR professionals and CAs can use it to check an LTA claim, compare the LTA tax exemption, and see how the Old and New Tax Regimes treat the amount.
For salary planning, you can also check the Salary Tax Calculator India after working out your exempt LTA amount.
Leave Travel Allowance, or LTA, is a travel concession or assistance provided by an employer or former employer for qualifying travel within India. The current provision appears in Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It corresponds to the familiar Section 10(5) LTA provision under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The LTA exemption limit is not one fixed rupee amount for every employee. Rule 278 limits the exemption to the eligible travel amount and the fare allowed for the relevant journey. The rule also limits the exemption to two journeys in a four-calendar-year block, subject to its carry-forward provision.
If you're checking your salary structure, don't treat the LTA shown in your payslip as automatically tax-free. The travel conditions and fare ceiling decide the exempt amount.
For an eligible journey under the Old Tax Regime:
LTA exemption
= MIN(
LTA received or due,
actual eligible travel expenditure,
applicable Rule 278 fare ceiling
)
For the specified route where no recognised public transport exists and no specific State or neighbouring-State rate applies:
Rule 278 fare ceiling
= ₹30 × shortest-route distance in kilometres
Rule 278 uses different fare limits for different travel situations:
The official Rule 278 LTA conditions also cover the four-year block, carry-forward treatment and the surviving-child restriction.
Under the New Tax Regime, the LTA exemption is not available. Section 202(2)(a)(i) excludes Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 when total income is computed under that regime. Read the official Section 202 provision before relying on an LTA tax-saving calculation.
For the wider tax impact, run the result through Toolisky's Old vs New Tax Regime Calculator.
The fare ceiling stays as an input because Rule 278 depends on the employee's entitled class, travel mode and shortest route. A generic ticket price would not work for every journey.
If rent is another part of your salary-tax calculation, use Toolisky's HRA Calculator with 80GG separately. HRA and LTA are different exemptions and should not be combined into one formula.
Priya receives ₹50,000 as LTA. She has an eligible journey available and chooses the Old Tax Regime. Her actual eligible travel expenditure is ₹42,000, while the applicable Rule 278 fare ceiling is ₹45,000.
LTA received/due = ₹50,000
Actual eligible travel = ₹42,000
Rule 278 ceiling = ₹45,000
LTA exemption
= MIN(₹50,000, ₹42,000, ₹45,000)
= ₹42,000
Priya's LTA tax exemption is ₹42,000. The remaining ₹8,000 is outside the eligible amount in this example.
Now use the same figures under the New Tax Regime. The underlying Rule 278 calculation still gives ₹42,000, but the tax-regime exemption is ₹0 because Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 is excluded under Section 202(2)(a)(i).
Your salary tax can change for reasons beyond LTA. After calculating the exempt amount, check the result in the Salary Tax Calculator India to see the effect on taxable salary.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026 for income covered by Tax Year 2026-27 onward. The Income Tax Department's transition guidance explains the move from the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the new Act.
Read the Income Tax Department's Tax Year transition guidance if you're unsure whether an old Assessment Year or the new Tax Year applies to your income.
For the current LTA rules, Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 carries the travel-concession provision. The official section mapping connects the earlier Section 10(5) reference with the new Schedule III entry.
The official Income-tax Act 2025 section mapping is useful when you see older LTA articles referring only to Section 10(5).
Rule 278 allows two journeys in a block of four calendar years, with the blocks commencing from calendar year 2022. The current block is 2026–2029. An unused journey can receive the prescribed carry-forward treatment when the first journey is taken in the first calendar year of the next block.
The rule also changed an important part of the old LTA calculation. For qualifying no-public-transport routes, the new Rule 278 provides ₹30 per kilometre when no specific State or neighbouring-State rate applies. Air travel now uses the fare admissible for the employee's entitled class by the shortest route. These details matter when comparing current LTA rules with older Section 10(5) explanations.
For a broader view of the current tax-year terminology, see Toolisky's guide to Tax Year vs Assessment Year vs Financial Year.
The New Tax Regime does not provide the Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 LTA exemption. Section 202(2)(a)(i) excludes that entry from the computation under the regime. If you're deciding between regimes, compare LTA with your other Old-Regime benefits rather than looking at LTA alone.
There is no single fixed rupee limit for every LTA claim. Rule 278 limits the exemption by actual eligible travel expenditure and the applicable fare ceiling. The ceiling depends on the travel mode, entitled class and shortest route. For the specified no-public-transport case, the rule uses ₹30 per kilometre.
No. Section 202(2)(a)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 excludes Schedule III, Table Sl. No. 8 from the New Tax Regime computation. The underlying Rule 278 calculation can still be worked out, but the tax-regime LTA exemption is ₹0 under the New Regime.
For an eligible Old-Regime journey, take the lowest of the LTA received or due, actual eligible travel expenditure and the applicable Rule 278 fare ceiling. The result is the eligible LTA exemption. A separate journey and block check also applies before you claim the amount.
Rule 278 allows exemption for two journeys in a block of four calendar years. The blocks start with calendar year 2022, so the current block is 2026–2029. An unused journey can qualify for the specific carry-forward treatment stated in Rule 278.
No. The LTA provision covers qualifying travel to a place in India while on leave, or specified travel to a place in India after retirement or termination of service. An overseas holiday does not qualify for this exemption.
No. The calculation focuses on eligible travel expenditure under Rule 278. Hotel stays, meals, sightseeing and other holiday expenses should not be added to the travel fare simply because the employer paid an LTA component.
Rule 278 limits qualifying air travel to the fare admissible for the class of travel to which the employee is entitled, by the shortest route to the destination. The current rule does not use one universal airfare amount for every employee or route.
Rule 278 allows ₹30 per kilometre for the shortest route when the origin and destination or relevant part of the route is not rail-connected, no recognised public transport system exists, and no specific rate has been prescribed by the concerned State or a neighbouring State.
Calculations verified by our team including CA Anita Patil. View our full accuracy policy and meet the team →
For informational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the rules in effect for the period shown, and are not tax, legal or financial advice. Verify figures against the relevant official source and consult a qualified professional before acting on them. Accuracy & limitations
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