New Delhi, Oct. 6 -- For a house owner, rent that has accrued but has not actually been received from a defaulting tenant can create a tax concern. However, the Income-tax Act, 2025, provides relief where such rent qualifies as 'unrealised rent'.

Section 21(4) of the Income Tax Act, 2025, specifically deals with rent that cannot be realised by the owner. It provides for cases where such rent will not be included when computing the actual rent received. Further, the detailed conditions for treating rent as 'unrealised rent' are elaborated in Rule 21 of the Income-Tax Rules, 2026.

This article explains the tax treatment of unrealised rent and the conditions that a taxpayer must meet to claim the benefit.

As detailed in Section 20 of the ...