Last updated on: July 29, 2025
Conveyance allowance is a fixed sum paid by employers to employees to cover daily travel expenses between home and workplace. It is a common component of salary structures in India and other countries, aiming to offset the cost of commuting, such as fuel, public transport, or vehicle maintenance. Under Indian tax law, conveyance allowance up to ₹1,600 per month (₹19,200 annually) is tax-exempt when paid as part of the salary. Any amount received above this limit is taxable. The allowance is separate from reimbursements for official travel, which are not taxed if actual expenses are submitted for business purposes. Eligibility and exact amounts may vary between organizations, but the primary purpose is to assist employees in managing routine transportation expenses efficiently and cost-effectively.
Conveyance allowance is also an important element of the salary package of an employee in India particularly those who travel frequently as part of their job. With the rising urbanization, longer commute time and policy changes in 2025, it is necessary to know what conveyance allowance is, what are its benefits, its tax exemptions and how it may fare against other similar benefits like transport or travel allowance. This article unravels every detail of conveyance allowance using real life examples, important points, latest changes and expert views to help you make the best out of your salary package.
Conveyance allowance is a fixed amount of money that the employees who are paid a salary earn on a daily basis by their employers to meet their daily travel expenses to and fro the workplace. This is supposed to relieve the commuting cost burden and is usually present in both the public and the private sector salary slips. It offers an easy means of enabling the employees to cover part of their daily commute expenses.
Daily travelling expenses are a major outlay incurred by employees in most of the organizations, particularly in big cities of India such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Employers address this by including conveyance allowance as a part of Cost to Company (CTC).
Keywords: conveyance allowance regulations, tax exemption, conveyance reimbursement and conveyance allowance vs transport allowance
Conveyance allowance is useful to both the employee and the employer in a number of ways:
First-Hand Experience:
Being an IT professional in Pune, the expenses on daily cabs consumed a huge proportion of my monthly expenses. But since my employer updated the CTC structure in 2024 by adding conveyance allowance, it saved me more than 1,500 rupees every month as it was partially tax-free as well.
A lot of employees mix up conveyance allowance with other travel related reimbursements. Distinctions can simply be disposed of by a glance at the comparison:
Coding | Transport Allowance | Travel Allowance |
---|---|---|
Purpose | Daily office | Special work-related |
Frequency | Once in a month | Once in a month/in some cases |
Tax Exemption (2025) | Up to ₹1,600/month | Higher for disabled/field staff |
Requires Proof | No | Sometimes |
All Employees | Yes | Only special profiles |
Trivia Time
Employees with disabilities or field jobs have higher transport allowance which can rise up to 3200rs per month in case you qualify.
The primary goal is to subsidize commuting regularly to and from your home to official place of duty. It is usually constituted of:
Expert Tip: HR managers recommend that one should refer to his/her appointment letter and salary break-up to ascertain the correct amount and conditions.
Claiming conveyance is simple compared to other allowances like Leave Travel Allowance (LTA):
Does GST apply on conveyance allowance in salary?
No, GST is not charged on such components of salary like allowances that are received directly and not as reimbursement of bills.
There are advantages and disadvantages of every advantage. So here is the rundown.
Pros:
Cons:
First-Hand Experience:
My HR explained that if I switch to using company shuttle services, I would lose the conveyance component, as it’s meant only for self-funded commutes.
By increasing your conveyance allowance you may end up getting higher take home pay as it would lower your taxable income to the exemption limit.
In case you are in the 20 percent tax bracket, the tax saved annually simply because of the exemption would be 19,200 x 20 percent = 3,840 per annum.
Trivia Time
When you choose the New Tax Regime with effect FY 2023 2024 and onwards, you are not allowed to claim exemption of conveyance allowance because most of the exemptions and deductions are not available.
Is it possible to claim LTA, and also conveyance allowance under old regime?
Yes, you may claim exemptions of each of them separately because they are different in their purpose as well as in their limits.
No, it is not mandatory that companies provide conveyance allowance. It is however, common in both the private and the government employment where employees do not travel on company transport.
Currently, there are job comparison marketplaces and salary benchmarking tools that would allow you to compare salary packages, including the allowance breakdown. When you compare the jobs of two or more companies ensure you do the following:
By using such platforms, you will be able to choose offers that will maximize your take-home pay and give you the right tax advantages.
Expert Insight: Now, most of the fintech startups have an option to analyse the salary slips of various organisations and provide a detailed breakdown of the allowances, which saves time and enables candidates to negotiate better.
In most cases, there are no requirements of documents since it is a fixed element. You do not need to give out travel bills, log sheets or tickets unless your company has an internal audit policy. Form 16 reflects only the total annual exemption as far as income tax is concerned.
No, conveyance allowance is specific to employees who are paid salaries. But the self employed professionals may claim fuel, cab or other travelling costs as business expenses under the head professional expenses in his tax returns as long as he keeps proper records.
What is the tax treatment on conveyance allowance of the contract workers?
Only the person whose salary system is the same as that of full time employees can claim allowances; the majority of contract workers receive consolidated payments and cannot do so.
As the remote and hybrid work model becomes standard after 2024, most companies have changed their compensation strategy.
First-Hand Experience:
In 2024, when the company moved to remote work, my employer no longer paid me the conveyance allowance and instead, they provided a 2000 Rs monthly WFH reimbursement.
Q1. What is the difference between conveyance and travel allowance?
Travel allowance is on official work travel that is not part of your normal commute. Travel is commuting to and fro office.
Q2. Is it possible that both husband and wife working in the same organization can receive conveyance allowance?
Yes, the two can claim separately when it is reflected in their respective salaries structure.
Q3. Does conveyance allowance impact on pension benefits such as PF or gratuity?
No, it is not regarded as basic salary or is used to calculate the retirement benefits.
Q4. What will happen to my conveyance allowance when I travel in the company cab?
You tend to lose your claim to this allowance because the company already subsidizes your travel.
Q5. Is it possible to have conveyance allowance beyond the limit of tax exemption?
Yes, the employer is allowed to pay a higher figure but only 1600 rupees per month is tax free as per the existing laws.
Q6. Will conveyance allowance be taxable when I choose to use the new tax regime?
Yes, exemption of conveyance allowance is not allowed under the new regime and the whole amount is taxable.
How could we improve this article?
Written by Prem Anand, a content writer with over 10+ years of experience in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors.
Prem Anand is a seasoned content writer with over 10+ years of experience in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors. He has a strong command of industry-specific language and compliance regulations. He specializes in writing insightful blog posts, detailed articles, and content that educates and engages the Indian audience.
The content is prepared by thoroughly researching multiple trustworthy sources such as official websites, financial portals, customer reviews, policy documents and IRDAI guidelines. The goal is to bring accurate and reader-friendly insights.
This content is created to help readers make informed decisions. It aims to simplify complex insurance and finance topics so that you can understand your options clearly and take the right steps with confidence. Every article is written keeping transparency, clarity, and trust in mind.
Based on Google's Helpful Content System, this article emphasizes user value, transparency, and accuracy. It incorporates principles of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).