Employee Reimbursement Calculator
Check what part of an expense claim is reimbursed tax-free and what lands as salary. Without bills, a reimbursement is not a reimbursement — the whole amount is taxable pay.
Free · No sign-up · Nothing leaves your browser · Figures reviewed 22 September 2026
Your details
Set to 0 if this category has no cap.
Optional — shows what the taxable part actually costs you.
Reimbursed tax-free
₹6,000
₹2,000 is above the policy cap and is treated as salary.
- Reimbursed · 75%
- Taxable as salary · 25%
Fuel and vehicle running
- Claimed
- ₹8,000
- Policy cap
- ₹6,000
- Bills submitted
- Yes
- Reimbursed tax-free
- ₹6,000
- Treated as salary
- ₹2,000
Exempt only against bills, and only where the vehicle is used for official purposes. Where the employer owns the car, the perquisite rules apply instead of a plain reimbursement.
Most of these exemptions exist only in the old tax regime. Under the default new regime the standard deduction replaces them, so a reimbursement dressed up as an allowance buys nothing.
An employer must hold evidence before allowing a claim in TDS — section 392(5)(b) makes that mandatory, not discretionary.
This is an estimate for planning, not tax or legal advice. Statutory rates and thresholds are date-effective and change by notification — confirm against the current one before you run payroll or file.
Reimbursements go wrong in two places: the policy cap, and the receipt. Anything above the cap is salary. Anything without a bill is salary. Both are taxed at the employee's slab rate, which is not what anyone expected when they submitted the claim.
Pick a category to see how that particular exemption works, because they are not interchangeable — the rules for a telephone bill, a meal card and a fuel claim are three different rules.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a reimbursement taxable in India?
- A reimbursement of actual expenditure against bills, within policy and within the relevant exemption, is not taxable. Anything above the cap, or claimed without a bill, is salary and is taxed at your slab rate.
- Are reimbursements exempt in the new tax regime?
- Mostly not. The new default regime replaced the allowance exemptions with a larger standard deduction, so an allowance dressed up as a reimbursement buys nothing. Reimbursement of genuine business expenditure against bills is different — that is not income at all.
- What is the meal voucher exemption limit?
- ₹50 a meal for up to two meals on a working day. Cash paid instead of a voucher is fully taxable.
- Does an employer have to collect bills before allowing a claim?
- Yes. Section 392(5)(b) requires the employer to obtain evidence of prescribed claims before allowing them in TDS. It is mandatory, not a matter of internal policy.
About this tool
Built by the ViniOffice team. Figures and rules last reviewed 22 September 2026 against the statutory reference this team maintains. Indian statutory rates are date-effective and change by notification — confirm against the current one before running payroll or filing. This is an estimate for planning, not tax or legal advice. Statutory rates and thresholds are date-effective and change by notification — confirm against the current one before you run payroll or file.
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