Jas Business Blog

It is that time of the year again when we sift through our financials and make decisions as to where to invest to save the tax. As popularily said, we should save tax by planning instead of evading it. So I will be writing few posts on where all to save the tax from. This post lets have a look at LTA (leave travel allowance) options.

This is the allowance given by public sector companies under LTC rules and by private sector under fringe benefits (FB). The rules for this are set by government and not by the company. Here are the Ten Commandments for LTA:

1. You can get LTA only if you have applied for leave from your company and have actually traveled. Only domestic travel is allowed on LTA, not international one.
2. The entire cost of the holiday is not covered. Only the travel costs are covered; and the lodging sightseeing and food etc are NOT covered. Also you will have to show the ticket to claim your LTA.
3. If you travel by car and it is owned by a central government organization like ITDC, the state government or the local body, then LTA is permitted. Some companies also accept plain taxi bills.
   If you could not get public transport and resorted to private transport like renting a car, get a bill issued by the rental company. If your employer does not accept the bill, you can always file an income tax return, claim an exemption and get a refund.
4. LTA covers travel for yourself and your family. Family, in this case, includes yourself, parents, siblings dependent on you, spouse (even if your spouse is working) and children.
   For children born after October 1, 1998, the exemption is restricted to only two surviving children (unless, of course, one birth has resulted in multiple children like twins and triplets).
   If your family travels without you, no LTA can be claimed. You have to make the trip, either by yourself or, if claiming for your family, you should travel with them.
5. LTA is not related to when you started your employment. The government fixes blocks of years. These blocks are not financial years (April 1 to March 31); they are calendar years (January 1 to December 31).
   The current block is 2006-09 — January 2006 to December 2009. The earlier one was from 2002-05 — January 2002 to December 2005. During this time period, a person is entitled to two LTA claims from this block.
6. Though you can claim two journeys in a block of four years, you can claim the LTA benefit just once in a year. You cannot claim both the journeys in one year.
   So, while a person can get an income tax exemption for two journeys in a block of four calendar years, he can make a trip only once a year. If you make two trips in a year, you lose one. One-way out is to claim one and make your spouse claim the other.
7. You can carry forward your LTA. One LTA can be brought forward and claimed in the first year of the next block.  Let’s say you do not take your LTA in 2006-09. Or that you use only one LTA. Don’t worry, you will be able to take the pending LTA in 2010. This means that, in the 2010-13 block, you will be totally entitled to the three journeys.
8. If you switch jobs, you can get the LTA not only from your present organization but also from your former employer, if the concession is lying unutilized.
9. You must take the shortest route to your destination to be eligible for LTA.
10. If your LTA is not utilized, it gets added to your salary and you will be taxed on it.

Mode of journey and amount of fare you receive -
By Air : Economy class national carrier via shortest route.
By Railways : AC 1st Class Fare via shortest route.
By any other  mode of Transport : If recognized public transport exists, then the 1st Class Deluxe fare; else an amount equivalent to the AC 1st Class Rail fare.