An employee accepts a voluntary retirement package of Rs 8 lakh after 15 years of service. The employer deducts TDS on the full amount. At ITR filing, the employee discovers that Rs 5 lakh was exempt under Section 10(10C), so the TDS on that part comes back as a refund, and only Rs 3 lakh is taxable. Once the exemption is claimed, Section 89 relief is not available on the balance, so the employee has to choose the better of the two. This is the gap between knowing that VRS has "some exemption" and knowing exactly how the exemption works.
This guide covers Section 10(10C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in full: the five mandatory conditions under Rule 2BA, the Rs 5 lakh ceiling, the compensation calculation formula, eligible organisations, the one-time benefit restriction, the choice between the exemption and Section 89 relief, and ITR reporting.
What Is VRS and Section 10(10C)?
A Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) is a scheme offered by an employer to reduce its workforce by inviting employees to retire voluntarily before their normal retirement age, in exchange for a lump-sum compensation package. VRS is sometimes called a "golden handshake."
Section 10(10C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that any amount received or receivable by an employee at the time of voluntary retirement, in accordance with a scheme of voluntary retirement, is exempt from income tax. The exemption is subject to two conditions:
- The scheme must comply with the guidelines prescribed in Rule 2BA of the Income Tax Rules, 1962.
- The exempt amount cannot exceed Rs 5,00,000.
If the VRS scheme does not meet even one of the five Rule 2BA conditions, the exemption is unavailable entirely. The employee must then treat the full VRS compensation as taxable salary.
The Five Conditions Under Rule 2BA
Rule 2BA prescribes five conditions that a VRS scheme must satisfy for the compensation to qualify for exemption under Section 10(10C). All five must be met simultaneously.
Condition 1: Age or Service Threshold
The employee must have completed 10 years of service with the employer, OR must have attained 40 years of age at the time of voluntary retirement.
Meeting either condition is sufficient. An employee aged 35 with 12 years of service qualifies (service threshold met). An employee aged 42 with 7 years of service also qualifies (age threshold met). An employee aged 38 with 8 years of service does not qualify under either limb.
Condition 2: Scheme Must Apply to All Employees
The VRS scheme must apply to all employees, including both workers and executives. The scheme cannot be selective or targeted at a specific group.
Exception: Directors of a company or co-operative society are excluded. The scheme does not need to cover directors, and directors cannot claim the exemption even if they are included.
Condition 3: Overall Reduction in Workforce
The scheme must result in an overall reduction in the existing strength of employees. This means the employer cannot fill the vacancies created by employees who take VRS. If the employer replaces the retiring employees with new hires, the condition fails and the exemption is denied for all participants.
This is a scheme-level condition, not an individual-level condition. If the employer fills even some of the vacancies, it calls the entire scheme's compliance with Rule 2BA into question.
Condition 4: No Re-employment in Same Management
The retiring employee shall not be employed in another company or concern belonging to the same management. This prevents employers from using VRS as a restructuring tool where employees retire from one group entity and join another entity under the same promoter or management group.
If an employee takes VRS from Company A and subsequently joins Company B (both under the same management), the exemption is liable to be denied.
Condition 5: Compensation Calculation Ceiling
The amount of compensation payable to the employee must not exceed the lesser of:
- 3 months' salary for each completed year of service, or
- salary at the time of retirement multiplied by the balance months of service left before normal retirement.
The VRS scheme must cap the compensation at whichever of these two amounts is lower. "Salary" for this purpose means the last drawn salary (basic pay plus dearness allowance).
Worked example: An employee with last drawn salary of Rs 1,20,000 a month has completed 9 years of service and has 60 months left before superannuation.
- 3 months' salary x 9 years = Rs 3,60,000 x 9 = Rs 32,40,000
- Rs 1,20,000 x 60 months left = Rs 72,00,000
- Lesser of the two = Rs 32,40,000
The VRS scheme can offer up to Rs 32,40,000 to this employee. However, the Section 10(10C) exemption is separately capped at Rs 5,00,000 regardless of the compensation amount.
Exemption Cap: Rs 5,00,000
Even if the Rule 2BA compensation ceiling permits a higher amount, the tax exemption under Section 10(10C) is limited to Rs 5,00,000. This is a hard statutory cap.
The taxable portion (amount exceeding Rs 5 lakh) is taxed under the head "Salaries" at the employee's applicable slab rate.
Eligible Organisations
Section 10(10C) specifies the types of organisations whose VRS schemes qualify for the exemption. The employee must be retiring from one of the following:
- A public sector company
- Any other company
- An authority established under a Central, State or Provincial Act
- A local authority
- A co-operative society
- A university established or incorporated under a Central, State or Provincial Act, or an institution declared to be a university under the UGC Act
- An Indian Institute of Technology
- The Central Government or a State Government
- A notified institute of management, or another notified institution of importance throughout India or any State
Employees of firms, partnerships, LLPs, HUFs, trusts, or unregistered bodies are not eligible for Section 10(10C) exemption. The exemption is restricted to the organisation types listed above.
One-Time Lifetime Benefit
Section 10(10C) contains an explicit restriction: the exemption is available only once in the lifetime of the employee.
If an employee claimed VRS exemption under Section 10(10C) from Employer A, and subsequently takes voluntary retirement from Employer B under a compliant VRS scheme, the exemption is not available for the second VRS. The entire compensation from Employer B is taxable as salary.
This restriction applies regardless of the amount claimed earlier. Even if the employee claimed only Rs 2 lakh exemption at Employer A (below the Rs 5 lakh cap), the exemption is fully exhausted. There is no "remaining balance" that carries forward.
Practical implication for CAs: Always verify with the employee whether Section 10(10C) exemption has been claimed in any prior assessment year before including it in the current ITR. The Income Tax Department can cross-reference past returns to identify duplicate claims.
Tax Treatment When VRS Compensation Exceeds Rs 5 Lakh
When VRS compensation exceeds Rs 5,00,000, the excess is taxable as salary income. Since the entire compensation relates to past years of service, it can push the employee into a significantly higher tax bracket for the year of receipt.
Exemption or Section 89(1) Relief: Choose One
Section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act, read with Rule 21A of the Income Tax Rules, provides relief for income received in arrears or in advance, and VRS compensation can qualify. But the proviso to Section 89 bars this relief on VRS compensation if the Section 10(10C) exemption has been claimed for it in the same or any other assessment year. So you either take the Rs 5 lakh exemption and pay tax on the excess at normal rates, or skip the exemption and claim Section 89 relief on the whole amount. Compute both and pick the lower tax.
If you choose Section 89 relief, the mechanism works as follows:
- Calculate tax on total income (including the taxable VRS amount) for the year of receipt.
- Spread the VRS compensation over the years as prescribed in Rule 21A.
- Calculate the tax that would have been payable had the income been received in those years.
- The difference between Step 1 and Step 3 is the relief under Section 89(1).
Filing requirement: To claim Section 89(1) relief, the employee must file Form 10E on the Income Tax e-filing portal before filing the ITR. If Form 10E is not filed, the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) will disallow the Section 89 relief and raise a demand.
For a detailed walkthrough of Section 89 relief computation and Form 10E filing, see the Section 89 tax relief and Form 10E guide.
How to Report VRS in Your ITR
VRS compensation has two components for ITR reporting: the exempt portion and the taxable portion. Each goes in a different schedule.
Step-by-step for employees:
- Obtain Form 16 from the employer. Verify whether the employer has already applied the Section 10(10C) exemption while computing TDS.
- If the employer did not apply the exemption (TDS deducted on full amount), the employee claims the exemption directly in the ITR and the excess TDS becomes refundable.
- Decide between the Section 10(10C) exemption and Section 89 relief; you cannot claim both on the same VRS compensation. If you choose Section 89 relief, file Form 10E on the e-filing portal.
- If you claim the exemption, report the exempt amount (up to Rs 5 lakh) as exempt allowance under Section 10(10C) in the salary schedule.
- Report the taxable excess under Schedule S (Salary).
- Verify that TDS as per Form 26AS / AIS matches the TDS shown in the ITR.
Common Mistakes and Pitfalls
Claiming the exemption without verifying Rule 2BA compliance. Many employees (and their CAs) assume that any "voluntary retirement" payment qualifies for Section 10(10C). It does not. If the employer's scheme fails any of the five Rule 2BA conditions, the entire exemption is denied. Always obtain a copy of the VRS scheme document and verify each condition.
Forgetting the one-time restriction. Employees who have changed multiple jobs may not remember (or may not disclose) a prior Section 10(10C) claim. The Assessing Officer can identify duplicate claims by cross-referencing past ITRs. An incorrect claim results in reassessment, tax demand, and interest under Section 234B/234C.
Claiming both the exemption and Section 89 relief. The proviso to Section 89 bars relief on VRS compensation once Section 10(10C) exemption is claimed. CPC can deny the relief and raise a demand.
Not filing Form 10E before the ITR. Where Section 89 relief is chosen instead of the exemption, it requires Form 10E to be filed first. If the ITR is filed without Form 10E, the CPC processes the return without the relief, resulting in a higher tax demand. The employee then has to file a rectification request under Section 154.
Treating the full VRS amount as exempt. Employees sometimes report the entire VRS compensation (say Rs 12 lakh) as exempt. The exemption is capped at Rs 5 lakh. The remaining Rs 7 lakh must be shown as salary income. CPC mismatch processing will catch this.
Directors claiming the exemption. Directors of companies and co-operative societies are specifically excluded under Rule 2BA. A director who receives voluntary retirement compensation should not claim Section 10(10C). This error is common in closely-held companies where promoters hold both director and employee positions.
Employer filling VRS vacancies. If the employer hires replacements for employees who took VRS, Rule 2BA Condition 3 (overall reduction in workforce) is violated. This jeopardises the exemption for all scheme participants, not just the replaced employee.
Related Retirement and Salary Exemptions
Section 10(10C) is one of several retirement-related exemptions under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act. If you are computing a full-and-final settlement, these related provisions may also apply:
- Section 10(10): Gratuity exemption. Covers gratuity received on retirement, resignation, or death. See the gratuity calculation and tax exemption guide, and for the employee side of the rules, gratuity tax exemption under Section 10(10) for AY 2026-27.
- Section 10(10AA): Leave encashment exemption. Covers earned leave encashment on retirement or resignation, exempt up to Rs 25 lakh for private employees. See the leave encashment tax exemption guide.
- Section 89(1): Relief for arrears. Covers tax relief on salary arrears or advance salary received in a lump sum. See the Section 89 relief and Form 10E guide.
- Section 10(12): EPF withdrawal. Your provident fund balance is tax-free after 5 years of continuous service, and also before that if service ends for reasons beyond your control. See the EPF withdrawal tax rules guide.
Let Tax Garden Handle Your VRS Tax Filing
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