Rent receipts that pass the employer's checklist

When receipts are needed at all

Rent up to ₹3,000 a month: the employer may allow the exemption without receipts. Above that: receipts required. Above ₹1,00,000 a YEAR: add the landlord's PAN (or a signed no-PAN declaration). These lines come from CBDT's salary-TDS circulars, and payroll software enforces them mechanically.

What a passing receipt shows

Period of rent (month or range), amount in figures and words, full address of the rented premises, landlord's name and signature — and a ₹1 revenue stamp across which the landlord signs when the payment was more than ₹5,000 in CASH. UPI, transfer or cheque payments need no stamp at any amount, and their bank trail is itself the strongest supporting evidence.

Monthly receipts are the clean pattern. A single consolidated receipt for the year is widely accepted too — it must still show the monthly rent and full period.

The cash traps

Section 269ST bars RECEIVING ₹2 lakh or more in cash per transaction/day/occasion — a year's rent taken in one cash lump can put the landlord in penalty territory equal to the whole amount. Keep rent digital where possible; everyone's paperwork gets easier and no stamp is ever needed.

For landlords

Rent is your taxable income under "house property" (with the standard 30% deduction after municipal taxes). Issuing proper receipts costs nothing and protects you: it fixes the agreed rent in writing, dates every payment, and pre-empts both tenant disputes and mismatch notices when your tenant's HRA claim names you.

If your tenant deducts TDS under Section 194-IB (rent above ₹50,000 a month), expect Form 16C from them and check that the deducted amount appears in your Form 26AS before filing. The receipt you issue should still show the full agreed rent — the TDS is the tenant depositing part of it with the government on your behalf, not a discount.