Can you claim HRA tax exemption for rent paid to wife, parent or any other relative?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

HRA tax exemption to save income tax by paying rent to their wife, parent or other relatives. To be clear, a salaried individual can consider a relative, parent or wife as landlord, pay rent to the person concerned and save income tax. However, the Income Tax tribunal has issued various judgments rejecting such HRA tax exemptions, leading to the individual having to face higher tax liability.

ET Wealth Online spoke to lawyers and tax experts on what the Income Tax Act says if an individual claims HRA tax exemption on rent paid to a relative, parent or wife?Abhishek Soni, CEO, Tax2Win.in – an ITR filing website: “An individual can claim HRA exemption by paying rent to parents or relatives subject to certain conditions. These include: an individual should have a valid rental agreement, the rent amount should be transferred through banking channels, property should be owned by the person to whom the rent is paid. The person receiving the rent must show it as rental income in the income tax return (ITR).

Thus, genuine rent payments to parents or relatives are eligible for tax benefits subject to the basic conditions provided in the income tax law. However, rent paid to the wife is subject to litigation as there are a few cases where this has been restricted. Contrast to this, the Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal recently allowed the HRA tax benefit for rent paid to wife.