5 things you must know about LTA deduction

1) LTA can be claimed as a deduction from taxable income where the employer provides LTA to employee and leave application has been made for a holiday either individually or with family.

2) The deduction is limited to the extent of actual travel costs incurred by the employee. The total cost of the holidays is not covered, only the travelling cost is covered.

3) Travel has to be undertaken within India only. Overseas destinations are not covered for deduction.

4) The tax rules provide for a deduction only in respect of two journeys performed in a block of four calendar years. The blocks are decided by government. They are 2010-2013, 2014-2017 and so on.

5) If the employee does not use their exemption during any block, the exemption can be carried over to the next block and used in the calendar year immediately following that block.

(The content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Arti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta.)