Fill Form 15G or 15H to avoid TDS
Form 15G and Form 15H are self-declaration forms which can be submitted to banks and other institutions to avoid Tax deduction at source (TDS) by banks on fixed and recurring deposit. The post covers the following:
Form 15H is meant for senior citizens while Form 15G is meant for all other individuals and HUFs.
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The figure below gives some examples to check the eligibility to fill Form 15G and Form 15H.
There are 19 fields to be filled in the Form. I really wonder why Government department makes forms so complicated and use such technical field names.
First Download Form 15G and Form 15H. You can also refer to your banks site to download these forms.
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The form refers “Assessee” everywhere. Assessee refers to the name of the person on whose name the investment has been done.
Also it mentions “Previous Year” frequently. This confuses many people. Previous Year means financial year (i.e. April 1 to March 31)
The numbers below represent field names in the above form
1. Your name as it appears in PAN card
2. Your PAN number
3. Status – Write Individual or HUF as applicable
4. Previous Year is same as financial year. For e.g. you are making declaration for FY 2018-19 (i.e. for April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019), the previous year field would be FY 2018-19.
5. Residential Status – Resident Indian or NRI. Only resident Indians are eligible to fill form 15G/H.
6 to 12 – Your current address details
13 – Your email address
14 – Telephone Number (with STD Code) and Mobile No. – Fill up both the numbers of whatever you have
15(a). Whether assessed to tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Yes or No – Mention ‘Yes‘ if you have filed income tax return in last 6 financial years.
15(b). If yes, latest assessment year for which assessed – Mention the latest assessment year in which you filed your Income Tax return. (Assessment year is one year next to financial year For e.g. For FY 2018-19, the AY would be 2019-20)
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16. Estimated income for which this declaration is made – This income is for the investment you are giving declaration. For e.g. you have FD of Rs 1 lakh at 7% interest for 1 Year, your estimated income for the financial year would be Rs 7,000.
17. Estimated total income of the P.Y. in which income mentioned in column 16 to be included – Total income expected in the financial year for which the declaration is being made. This would include the income declared in Field 16.
18. Details of Form No. 15G other than this form filed during the previous year, if any
19. Details of income for which the declaration is filed – Mention the details of the investment for which the form is being submitted.
For e.g. For the above example of SBI fixed deposit you need to fill as follows:
I wonder how I-T department expects everyone to know income tax sections. Below are common sections for your reference:
| Investment | Income Tax Section | Cut Off (Rs.) | TDS when Valid PAN submitted | PAN not submitted |
| Bank – Fixed/Recurring Deposits | 194A | 10,000 | 10% | 20.00% |
| Premature withdrawal from EPF | 192A | 30,000 | 10% | 34.61% |
| Interest on securities | 193 | – | 10% | 20.00% |
| Dividends | 194 | 2,500 | 10% | 20.00% |
| Interest other than interest on securities – Others (NCDs, etc) | 194A | 5,000 | 10% | 20.00% |
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Fill the date, place and Sign on the dotted lines.
This part has to be filled by the person responsible for paying the income referred to in column 16 of Part I.
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All the fields are similar to the Form 15G except Date of Birth (Field No 3).
There can be several situations when we look for regular income. This is especially true for people after retirement without any pension. Also there would be new entrepreneurs who need regular income until their start-up stabilises. We tell you 13 investments which can generate regular income for you along with their pros and cons.
Some banks have allowed submission of Form 15G & Form 15H Online through internet banking. The screen shot below is from SBI and shows the links to be clicked for generating the form online.
If you are not eligible to file Form 15G or Form 15H, you should not do so just to evade TDS. Providing false declaration can lead to fine and imprisonment u/s 277
Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme or SCSS is an excellent investment for senior citizens for regular income and tax saving u/s 80C. It is 100% safe as its backed bu Government of India, the interest paid is generally higher than bank fixed deposits and the investment is eligible for tax saving u/s 80C. We explain the eligibility, process and do’s & don’ts of SCSS in this post.
The Form 15G and Form 15H was revised from October 1, 2015 and has been simplified. Also the reporting to income tax department has become more robust. You must fill these forms and submit to relevant banks/institutions only if you are eligible. Do not make a false declaration as that might create problems.
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View Comments
Amit, many thanks for the clear explanation. My mother (60+) has auto sweep facility in her SBI savings account and I am trying to submit her 15H form. She has no other income source.
Auto sweep creates deposit accounts with F.D. rates, whenever the balance in savings goes above a threshold. I am confused about how to calculate the income in this P.Y.
Suppose, a sweep of Rs. 1 lakh (new deposit account opens) was made on October 1, 2016 and it will mature on October 1, 2017. With 7.25% interest rate, the deposit account shows a maturity amount of Rs. 107250. Then, how should I calculate the income amount in this financial year (April 1, 2017 - 31 March, 2018) or P.Y. for this deposit account. Should the income be Rs. 7250, or should it be a certain fraction?
Also, should the income tax section be 194A?
The interest income has to be calculated for the present financial year only. As in your case for deposit made from October, the interest for financial year would be for Oct to Mar only (6 months). So your income for FY would be slightly less than half of 7250. You can do a rough calculation yourself and if not then you'll need to ask your bank for the breakup.
I have interest from bank on Fixed deposits from 2 banks. I am yet to file 15G for both the banks. While filing 15G for 1 bank, do i need to write 1 in Total no of forms filed (Field 16) for other bank? Also do i need to write amount of interest of the form of that second bank which i am going to file in field "Aggregate of income for which Form 15 was filed?
You need to sequence the forms. For first bank you need to write 1 and for second 2 and so on. And yes for "Aggregate amount of income for which Form No. 15G filed" keeps on increasing in similar manner.
It should be Zero for first bank 15G considering statement on the form is "Details of 15G Other than this form" and for next back you can put 1. i.e. In short it conclude that you submitted 2 forms. This is what I think considering sentence what specified on the Form 15G/15H
You are right!
Hi Amit
I am out of job since 01 year.
Am i eligible for 15 G
Yes if your income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh in a financial year you can fill Form 15G
hi amit
i joined with a company 02.01.2014 and resigned 29.01.2017... my salary was 15000/- so what willbe at col-4,16,17, and at col 19 what is identification num/ and amount of income?
Hi Amit,
Thank you very much for your clarity and precision. In 15 H, Sec 18 asks for Id no of previous inv. So if I want to make many FD's, I can do it only 1 at a time since I need the no of the previous FD to enter in 18, please confirm I can attach a sheet for 18 as I have many FD's. Thank you very much
I agree the space given for such a question is not sufficient and unfortunately you find such issues in almost all government issued forms. You can list you high value FDs in the space given.
The other option would be to consolidate your FDs at bank level.
I am not sure if there is any provision of extra sheet attachment with the form. But you can confirm with the bank in question.
THanks for your quicksilver response. Your solution will work for banks, but most of us also invest in company FDs, Since I need the no of the previous FD to enter in 18 for company FDs I can do it only 1 at a time, I would need to wait for my prev FD no to be generated so THat I can fill it up in the next FD form 15H. Please confirm, and thanks a lot
All I can think is this column is meant to capture annual income from all other instruments and has no significant meaning. This is more of a legacy field as the government forms have habit of asking things which have no real significance. As of today all the interest paid is reflected on FORM 26AS. So this column is ideally not required.
I can suggest just list down your high value FDs, no one would after you if you have calculated and paid your taxes honestly!
1) My fathar is 75 up and getting pension around 2,80000/- Per year as well as other income of interest around 100000 per year, Should he submit form 15H?
2) His Bank's officer says to fill all FD's details of other banks in 15 H form...is that necessary?
3) should he submit income tax return ? Plz give the answer
Here are your answers:
1. Yes he should submit Form 15H, if he wants to avoid TDs on interest income
2. Yes it is necessary to list other FDs in column 18
3. As his income exceeds Rs 3 lakh, which is the basic tax exemption limit for senior citizens, he has to file his income tax return
As per my opinion :
1) he can not submit form 15H as his income tax limit exceed threshold limit
2) not required to submit if income is below limit than must mention all deposit details
3) yes
Amit, what if his father invest Rs 80000/- in PPF in same financial year. His income will come into non taxable bracket. Do his father need to submit 15H knowing his PPF account is in same bank where his FD's are there and pension get deposited.
Have changed my comment. The rules are different for Form 15G & H. So if he makes any 80C investment for 80K he can fill Form 15H. It does not matter if the PPF account is in the same bank. The Form 15G/H are self-declarations and so does not require any proof!
He can submit Form 15H if his tax calculated after taking all the deductions and exemptions is NIL for the financial year. So on income of Rs 3.8 lakhs if he makes investment of Rs 80,000 in tax saving instruments his income tax would be NIL and hence eligible for form 15H. However for 15G (for people below 60 years of age) the tax deduction is not considered to calculate eligibility.
Hi Amit,
I would like to withdraw my pf amt and want to know what to fill in col 16. My only expected amt is my pf. But, what will be the amt to declare. My epf bal is updated only till 31. 03. 2015. So can i just mention that amt or should i estimate the amt. will we be able to know what the exact pf bal amt.
You can write the best case estimate. You need not mention the exact figures - approximation would work here!
It is required form 15-g for withdraw PF Amount .
Kindly find my details as per below :-
1)Total PF Amount Around Rs.1,00,000
2)Job Duration : 2 Years (I quit my job 2014-Apr and I travelled to abroad 2014-May.)
3) Current Resident Status : NRI
4)Others Income : I have some shares and I am receiving dividends
5)Paid Tax Rs.0 in FY-2014-2015 (As I quit job in April-2014)
Virendra Singh Musyuni
Hi Amit,
I want to withdrawal our pf amount and my total service 4 year 11 month. In this case require to fillup form 15g? total brekup of pf amount (in 4year 11 month) is as follow:
Employee Share :Rs 157440
Employer Share:Rs 120390
Pension Contribution:Rs 37050
And also what is the amount that I have to fill in column 16 ,17 & 19 of form 15G in my case.
Regards
Virendra
As your service period is less than 5 years, your EPF withdrawal would be taxable. So if you have taxable income for this financial lyear, you can skip filling Form 15G
It is required form 15-g for withdraw PF Amount .
Kindly find my details as per below :-
1)Total PF Amount Around Rs.98000
2)Job Duration : 7+ Years
3)No Others Income
4)Paid Tax Rs.41800 in FY-2016-2017
If you had continuous service for 7 years which means you have transferred your EPF account with job change, your EPF is tax free. So you do not require Form 15G