ClearTax Rent Receipt Generator vs 4 Free Alternatives
Key takeaways
- ClearTax's generator is free and two-step but needs your email, has no landlord address or payment-mode field, and its PDF must be signed by the landlord.
- NoBroker adds landlord address and phone; rentreceipt.in and FreeFuelBill print a payment mode; BillOnline offers A4 landscape or A5 portrait.
- Landlord PAN is required on Form No. 124 (earlier Form 12BB; Income-tax Act, 2025 in force from 1 April 2026) when annual rent exceeds Rs 1 lakh; a Re 1 revenue stamp is needed on cash receipts above Rs 5,000 as the tool pages apply Article 53.
- No generator adds a revenue stamp on a free plan; FreeFuelBill sells it as premium and limits free users to one watermark-free receipt.
- Groww has no rent receipt generator; the Economic Times tool could not be verified.
The ClearTax rent receipt generator is free, takes two steps and needs an email; it outputs a PDF of monthly receipts the landlord must sign. NoBroker, rentreceipt.in, FreeFuelBill and BillOnline differ on address, payment mode, revenue stamp and login. Two rules decide: landlord PAN above Rs 1 lakh a year and a revenue stamp on cash above Rs 5,000.
Quick verdict: which rent receipt generator to use
ClearTax suits you if your employer wants only the basics and you do not mind giving an email. NoBroker adds the landlord's address and phone. The three no-signup tools (rentreceipt.in, the FreeFuelBill rent receipt generator and the BillOnline rent receipt generator) are worth a look if you pay by UPI and want a payment-mode line on the receipt. The matrix below records what each form page showed on 2026-10-01; "DATA UNAVAILABLE" means the page did not state it.
| Tool | Landlord PAN field | Landlord address | Payment mode / transaction ID | Period / multi-month | Revenue stamp | Watermark or free-plan limit | Login or email | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClearTax | Yes (optional) | No field seen | No / No | From and till months | Not added; page says affix one for cash above Rs 5,000 | None stated | Email required | PDF of monthly receipts |
| NoBroker | Yes (Owner PAN) | Yes (Owner Address) | No / No | Receipt start and end date | Not added; page says affix one for cash above INR 5,000 | None stated | Email and phones asked; Sign up / Log in present | PDF to print |
| rentreceipt.in | "Tax ID" field (not labelled PAN) | Landlord contact and email; property address | Payment Method (Cash, Bank Transfer, Check, Card, UPI, Digital Wallet, PayPal, Mobile Payment, Other) / No | Rent Period From/To | No feature seen | "Unlimited rent receipts completely free"; no watermark mentioned | No signup | Print, Download PDF, Share |
| FreeFuelBill | Yes (optional) | Yes (required) | Cash, UPI, Bank Transfer, Cheque / optional Transaction ID | Rent Period From/To; Monthly and Quarterly on the free plan | Automation is a premium feature | Free plan: 1 watermark-free receipt per IP or device plus 1 watermarked sample | No sign-up | A4 PDF with preview; templates A, B, Corporate |
| BillOnline | Yes | Address field | DATA UNAVAILABLE | Month field; separate Bulk Rent Receipt Generator | DATA UNAVAILABLE | Footer text "for personal record keeping only" | No login stated | PDF; A4 landscape or A5 portrait |
None of the five prints a revenue stamp on a free plan; the stamp is a physical Re 1 stamp you affix yourself when you pay cash above Rs 5,000. Before choosing a tool, see what a rent receipt is for on the site's rent receipt templates and HRA format page, then use this comparison to pick the generator that captures every field your HR portal asks for.
What HR actually checks on a rent receipt, and the rule behind each field
Employers verify rent receipts because the House Rent Allowance (HRA) exemption is claimed through them. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026, and the HRA exemption now sits in section 11 read with Schedule III (Table, Sl. No. 11) of the new Act; under the earlier Act it was Section 10(13A). Under the earlier Act the exemption was the least of the HRA received, rent paid minus 10 percent of salary, and 50 percent of salary in a metro or 40 percent elsewhere (Rule 2A); the new Act leaves the extent to be prescribed by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, so check the current computation with your employer. The worked computation is in the rent agreement for HRA exemption guide. Two fields rest on a legal rule; the rest are employer practice.
Landlord PAN above Rs 1 lakh a year
Since 1 April 2026 the employee's declaration of HRA and other claims to the employer is Form No. 124 (earlier Form No. 12BB), furnished under section 392(5)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 read with Rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which the Central Board of Direct Taxes notified on 20 March 2026. The department's Form No. 124 FAQ keeps the threshold unchanged: the landlord's Permanent Account Number (PAN) must be furnished if annual rent exceeds Rs 1,00,000. Under the earlier Act, Form 12BB (Rule 26C) listed for HRA the rent paid, the landlord's name, the landlord's address and the landlord's PAN, with the note: "Permanent Account Number shall be furnished if the aggregate rent paid during the previous year exceeds one lakh rupees." Check the current form with your employer and enter what its portal asks for. ClearTax's page states the same rule: PAN of the landlord is mandatory if annual rent exceeds Rs 1,00,000.
Revenue stamp on cash above Rs 5,000
Article 53 of the schedule to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 charges one rupee of duty on a receipt for money above the threshold, with an exemption for a receipt endorsed on or contained in an instrument that is already duly stamped. The Rs 5,000 cash threshold is the figure ClearTax and NoBroker apply on their pages; ClearTax adds that the stamp is optional for digital and cheque payments. A revenue stamp therefore matters only for cash payers, and no generator affixes it for you.
Period, address, amount, mode and signature
NoBroker's rent receipt format guide lists what a receipt should show: date, receipt number, landlord and tenant names and addresses, property address, amount, payment mode and landlord signature. ClearTax's own instruction after download is to get the receipt signed by your landlord before submitting to HR, so treat the landlord signature as required regardless of tool.
| Element on the receipt | Why HR asks | Rule or source | Which tools capture it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landlord PAN | Mandatory disclosure when annual rent exceeds Rs 1 lakh | Form No. 124 (earlier Form 12BB, Rule 26C) | ClearTax (optional), NoBroker, FreeFuelBill (optional), BillOnline; rentreceipt.in has a "Tax ID" field |
| Landlord address | Listed on the earlier Form 12BB; apnaplan noted in 2020 that most employers ask for it | Earlier Form 12BB (Rule 26C); check the current Form No. 124 with your employer | NoBroker, FreeFuelBill, BillOnline; rentreceipt.in captures landlord contact; ClearTax no field seen |
| Revenue stamp | Cash receipts above Rs 5,000 | Stamp Act Schedule I Article 53 (Rs 5,000 as applied by the tool pages) | None on a free plan; affix a physical Re 1 stamp |
| Rent period and amount | Matches the months claimed in the declaration | Employer practice; HRA claim in Form No. 124 (the earlier Form 12BB asked for rent paid) | All five |
| Payment mode | Lets HR reconcile UPI or bank transfers with statements | Employer practice; NoBroker format guide | rentreceipt.in, FreeFuelBill |
| Landlord signature | Confirms the landlord issued the receipt | ClearTax instruction; NoBroker format guide | Printed and signed by hand for all five; rentreceipt.in offers optional digital signatures |
ClearTax rent receipt generator: step by step
Step 1 and Step 2 fields
Step 1 asks two questions: what is your monthly rent, and what is the house address. Step 2 asks your name, your email (required), the name of your house owner, your house owner's PAN (optional), and from when and till when you want receipts. Then you press Download Receipts. The ClearTax rent receipt page also carries a 17-question FAQ covering HRA eligibility, lease agreements, PAN, job changes, landlord refusals, partial-year claims and deadlines.
What you download and what is missing
The output is a PDF of monthly receipts for the range you chose. Three things were not on the form on 2026-10-01: a landlord address field, a payment-mode field and any revenue stamp handling. ClearTax's own next step is explicit: get the receipt signed from your landlord, then submit to HR. The tool launched in January 2016 with three inputs (name, rent amount, landlord name), so the address and PAN fields came later; the page shows no last-updated date.
Who it suits
Tenants whose HR portal wants rent, period, landlord name and, above Rs 1 lakh, landlord PAN, and who do not mind sharing an email. If your employer asks for the landlord's address on the receipt itself, or you pay by UPI and want the mode printed, use one of the tools below.
NoBroker rent receipt generator
Fields and output
The NoBroker form has eleven fields: Tenant Name, Owner Name, Tenant Phone, Owner Phone, Rent, Owner PAN, Rented Property Address, Owner Address, Receipt Start Date, Receipt End Date and Email. It produces a PDF to print, and the page states that if you pay in cash and the value exceeds INR 5,000 a revenue stamp must be affixed. Sign up and Log in options are present. No payment-mode field was visible.
Who it suits
Anyone whose employer wants the landlord's address and phone on the receipt. That was apnaplan's reason for preferring NoBroker in January 2020 ("it also has Landlord Address. This is now being asked by most employers"), and the field is still there. The trade-off is that the form asks for both phones and an email.
rentreceipt.in, FreeFuelBill and BillOnline: the no-signup options
rentreceipt.in
rentreceipt.in has the longest field list of the five and states "No signup" and "unlimited rent receipts completely free".
- Fields: Receipt No., Date of Receipt, Country/Currency, Property Type, landlord name, contact, email and a field labelled "Tax ID" rather than PAN, tenant name, contact and email, Monthly Rent Amount, Payment Date, extra charges (House Tax, Electricity, Water, Advance, Previous Balance), Rent Period From/To, Property Address, notes.
- Payment Method options: Cash, Bank Transfer, Check, Credit/Debit Card, UPI, Digital Wallet, PayPal, Mobile Payment, Other. There is no transaction-ID field and no revenue-stamp feature.
- Optional digital signatures; Print, Download PDF and Share buttons; no watermark mentioned.
FreeFuelBill
The FreeFuelBill rent receipt generator page showed "No Sign-up", with a freemium model.
- Fields: landlord name, address (required) and PAN (optional); tenant name and address; property address; an automatic receipt number; Monthly Rent Amount; Payment Frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly; only Monthly and Quarterly on the free plan); Rent Period From/To; Payment Mode (Cash, UPI, Bank Transfer, Cheque); optional Transaction ID.
- Templates A, B and Corporate; A4 PDF with preview.
- Free plan: one watermark-free receipt per IP or device plus one watermarked sample. Revenue-stamp automation, unlimited watermark-free receipts and all payment frequencies are premium features.
BillOnline
The BillOnline rent receipt generator is a simpler form that saves as PDF, with no login stated.
- Fields: landlord and tenant details, rent, month, address, PAN and signature-ready space.
- Layouts: A4 landscape and A5 portrait; the site's own claim is that both are accepted for HRA claims.
- A separate Bulk Rent Receipt Generator link; the footer reads "Generated at billonline.in - for personal record keeping only".
Two tools named in older comparisons are missing from this list. Groww has an HRA calculator but no rent receipt generator was found on groww.in. The Economic Times rent receipt generator could not be opened on 2026-10-01, so its fields are DATA UNAVAILABLE.
Three tenants, three picks
| Situation | Fields that matter | Tools that capture them | Extra step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash rent above Rs 5,000 a month | Amount, period, payment mode "Cash", landlord signature | rentreceipt.in or FreeFuelBill (both print the mode); ClearTax and NoBroker if HR does not need the mode printed | Affix a Re 1 revenue stamp on each printed receipt and have the landlord sign across it |
| UPI rent with annual total above Rs 1 lakh | Landlord PAN, landlord address, payment mode "UPI", period | FreeFuelBill (PAN, required address, UPI mode, optional transaction ID); NoBroker (PAN and address, no mode); rentreceipt.in (UPI mode, "Tax ID" field) | Enter the landlord PAN on Form No. 124 (earlier Form 12BB) as well; no revenue stamp needed for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments |
| Quarterly receipts for a company lease or reimbursement | Rent Period From/To covering three months, receipt number | FreeFuelBill (Quarterly frequency on the free plan, one watermark-free receipt); rentreceipt.in (custom period); BillOnline bulk generator | Check that consecutive periods do not overlap or leave gaps |
Mistakes that get generated receipts rejected
- Unsigned PDF. Every tool produces a document the landlord still has to sign; ClearTax says so on the download step.
- Missing landlord PAN when annual rent exceeds Rs 1 lakh. Form No. 124 (earlier Form 12BB) requires it; ClearTax and FreeFuelBill mark the field optional, so it is easy to leave blank.
- Period gaps or overlaps. Monthly receipts that skip a month or repeat one do not reconcile with the declared rent.
- Address that differs from the rent agreement. The property address on the receipt should match the agreement your employer may also ask for.
- No revenue stamp on cash receipts above Rs 5,000. No free generator adds it.
- Receipts for months not yet paid. Generate for the period actually paid, not the full year in advance.
For the field-by-field layout of a compliant receipt, including where the stamp and signature go, see the house rent receipt format in Word and PDF. Before submitting, check the generated receipt against that format guide so that every field your HR portal asks for is present.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ClearTax rent receipt generator free?
Yes. The tool at cleartax.in/save/rent generates a PDF of monthly rent receipts at no charge in two steps. It requires your email in Step 2; the landlord PAN field is optional. ClearTax instructs you to get the downloaded receipts signed by your landlord before submitting them to HR.
Do I need my landlord's PAN to use a rent receipt generator?
Not to use the tool: ClearTax and FreeFuelBill mark PAN optional. You do need it for your claim if the aggregate rent paid in the year exceeds one lakh rupees, because Form No. 124 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (earlier Form 12BB, Rule 26C) requires the landlord's Permanent Account Number in that case. Below that, the receipt can omit it.
Which rent receipt generator adds a revenue stamp?
None of the five on a free plan as seen on 2026-10-01. FreeFuelBill offers revenue-stamp automation only as a premium feature; ClearTax and NoBroker tell you to affix one yourself. For cash payments above Rs 5,000, stick a physical Re 1 revenue stamp on the printed receipt and have the landlord sign across it.
Do employers accept rent receipts generated online?
Generated receipts are ordinary receipts once printed and signed by the landlord; what HR checks is the content: rent, period, property address, landlord name, PAN above Rs 1 lakh, and a revenue stamp on cash above Rs 5,000. Pick a tool whose fields match your employer's portal and get the landlord's signature on each receipt.
Can I generate receipts for the whole year in one go?
ClearTax takes a from/till month range and produces monthly receipts for it in one PDF; NoBroker takes a receipt start and end date and produces a PDF to print. FreeFuelBill's free plan gives one watermark-free receipt per device, with Yearly frequency reserved for premium. Generate only for months already paid.
Is there a Groww rent receipt generator?
No. A site-restricted search of groww.in on 2026-10-01 found an HRA calculator but no rent receipt generator. Use the HRA calculator there for the exemption estimate if you like, and one of the five generators compared here for the receipts themselves.
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Start nowThis article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and change over time — always verify with a qualified professional or the official source before making a decision.
Written and reviewed by the Rent Agreement Generator editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.