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CA Naresh Jakhotia

Very often, readers keep enquiring about the submission of Form 15G/ Form 15H to the banks or others payer so that interest could be received without deduction of tax at source (TDS). In this column, I am covering all about Form No. 15G & Form No. 15H and hopefully the detailed elaboration hereunder would provide a comprehensive picture about the submission of Form No. 15G & Form No. 15H.

What is Form 15G/ Form 15H and its relevance

Basically, as you may be knowing, Tax at source is deductible (TDS) on some interest paid or payable, above Rs. 5,000/- (Rs. 10, 000/- if the payer is a bank). If yearly interest payment doesn’t exceed Rs. 5,000/- or Rs. 10, 000/-, as mentioned above, then there is no liability to deduct tax at source. The above limit of Rs 10,000 has been increased to Rs 50,000 if the payee is senior citizen.

TDS is nothing but tax paid in advance on behalf of the payee and credit for the same can be claimed by the payee at the time of filing the income tax return. However, TDS can be avoided by the payee by submitting declaration form No. 15G/Form No. 15H. These forms have to be filed in duplicate and once the payer (bank, post office, company etc) takes them on record, the entire interest is to be paid to the depositor / lender without TDS.  There are certain precautions one should take while submitting these forms. Filing a wrong form without being eligible to do so would be illegal and could involve payment of interest on the tax payable and also attracts penal consequences. The conditions under which Form 15G and 15H may be filed are almost similar yet there is a significant difference which needs to be noted carefully. In routine course, lot of taxpayers end up filing one of these forms when they are not eligible to do so and vice versa.

The main difference between Forms 15G and 15H is that Form 15G is meant for non-senior citizens whereas Form 15H is meant for senior citizens only.

Who can submit form No. 15G?

First and foremost only, a person who is resident in India can submit form No. 15G. NRI cannot submit this form. To be eligible to furnish Form 15G, the non-senior citizen needs to fulfill the following two conditions:

1. The final tax on his estimated total income computed as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act should be nil; and

2. The aggregate amount of interest income etc. received during the financial year should not exceed the basic exemption limit for that relevant year. For the A.y 2019-20 the basic exemption limit is Rs 250,000.

If both these conditions are satisfied, Form 15G may be furnished to the payer & entire interest income could be received without any TDS.

Who can submit form No. 15H?

Any resident individual, who is above the age of 60 years or has completed the age of 60 years at any time during the financial year, can submit form No. 15H provided his tax liability on the basis of his estimated income is nil. Unlike form No. 15G, this form can be submitted by the senior citizen even though the total interest amount from the payer may exceed Rs. 3 Lacs (i.e., the limit of basic exemption limit for A.y 2019-20).For super senior citizen the basic exemption liit is Rs 5 lacs for A.y 2019-20. Who can submit Form 15G & 15H & care to be taken in submission

Difference between form 15G and Form No 15H

1. Form 15G can be submitted by individual below the Age of 60 Years while form 15H can be submitted by senior citizens (60 years & above).

2. Form 15G can be submitted by Hindu undivided families also but form 15H can be submitted only by Individual above the age of 60 years.

3. 15G cannot be filed by any person whose income from interest on securities/interest other than “interest on securities” exceeds the applicable basic exemption limit.

Certain points to remember while submitting Form 15G & 15H

1. Please ensure to mention Permanent Account Number (PAN) on the forms while submitting form No. 15G or Form No. 15H. In case, taxpayer fails to provide PAN to the deductor, the tax would be deductible @ 20%.  As a precautionary measure, taxpayer should keep hard copy of an acknowledgement of Form No. 15G/Form No. 15H filed with the deductor (with PAN mentioned over it) to ensure that tax is not deducted at all.

2. These Forms are to be submitted in duplicate, one of which is forwarded to the IT department. Income Tax Authorities can make further inquiries regarding the declaration filed by the depositor.

3. The form should be submitted at the beginning of each financial year or at the time of deposit itself so as to avoid a situation where payer has already deducted the tax before its receipt.

4. If a person is making FD in different branches of same bank then these forms should be deposited at each and every branch where the deposit has been made. For example, if Mr. Ashish has made deposits at three different branches of SBI, then he has to submit the Forms at each branch separately.

5. These Forms can only be used for payments like dividends, interest on securities, interest other than interest on securities, national saving schemes, interest on units, premature withdrawal from provident fund (wef june, 2015), rent (wef June, 2016), insurance commission (wef June,2017), payment in respect of life insurance policy (wef june,2015). It may be noted that new set of  forms are required to be filed every year and  the eligibility criteria as stated above needs to be examined every year  before furnishing the forms. Form 15G / Form 15H, once submitted, is valid for the financial year in which it is furnished. For subsequent years, the form would be required to be submitted again if assessee wants to receive the interest without deduction of tax at source.

6. No TDS is deductible by banks on interest payable in saving bank accounts.

7. In case of bank FDR made for longer duration, even if interest will be paid on maturity only, the bank is required to deduct tax at source on the interest accrued for that year even though no interest in fact has been paid. So, ensure to submit form No. 15G/H on yearly basis even if FD doesn’t mature in that year.

8. Any false or wrong declaration attracts penalty under section 277 & so it should not be signed blindly. Such false declaration is liable for prosecution which may range from 3 months to 7 years depending upon the quantum of default. Taxpayer can be penalized with rigorous imprisonment irrespective of fact that such wrong details were furnished intentionally or unintentionally as “Ignorance of Law is no excuse.”

9. Further, the taxpayer may please note that Part A1 in form 26AS shows the interest on FD’s against which tax is not deducted due to submission of Form No. 15G/ Form No. 15H. The information is readily with the IT department.

10. Irrespective of the fact that Form 15G & Form No. 15H has been filed or not, such income has to be mentioned under proper head while filing the return.

I hope that from the above discussion, it may be clear that you need to comply with certain conditions to be eligible to file form No. 15G or Form No. 15H. Moreover, you need to take certain precautions while filing these forms with the payer. Download Form 15G & 15H in excel / Word format with FAQs

(Author is a CA in Practice from Nagpur and is Partner in M/s. SSRPN & Co.)

(Republished with Amendments)

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70 Comments

  1. Sangeeta says:

    I have a savings account and I am an housewife. I had opened a minor account for my daughter. Through both the account i made few fixed deposits. However being ignorant of form 15g did not file the same. My daughters account has entered the second year. Can i claim refund of tax for the previous financial year(s) on the basis of ignorance for tds. Or what has been deducted is done and i can claim only for current. Please guide

  2. Kumar says:

    Sir,
    I have made deposits and has furnished the Form 15H certificate vide email to the Bank and they had deducted the TDS amount for the F.Y. 2017-2018 stating that I have submitted the same vide email rather than the said form should be submitted in physical form with a signed copy.
    Pl. furnish your comments at the earliest.

  3. T./S.KANDASWAMI says:

    IT IS INDICATED THAT NO TDS IS TO BE DEDUCTED FROM THE INTEREST ACCRUED IN SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT.
    KINDLY CLARIFY WHETHER THE INTEREST EARNED IN SB A/C SHOULD BE TREATED AS INCOME AND IT PAID AS PER THE RULES.

  4. CA RAMAN R says:

    Recently Karnataka ITAT has given decision that interest earned on PF balance retained with PF Trust post retirement is taxable.
    Retired Employees are senior citizens above 60 years and may or may not exceed the threshold limit of Rs.3 Lakh basic exemption. Can they given Form 15 H to PF Trust for not deducting TDS?

  5. Ruby Mukherjee. says:

    I have a SCSS a/c in P.O.for 3 lacs, for which i already submitted 15H form in April. Now I have opened another 9 lacs in the month of NOV. Shall I have to submit 15H form again for this new a/c?

  6. MANOJ GARG says:

    IS IT NECESSARY TO SUBMIT 15G/H DETAIL WITH TDS RETRUN WHEN WE HAVE SUBMITTED 15G/H DETAILS IN PRESCRIBED FORM SEPERATELY (AS A DEDUCTOR)

  7. Manindra says:

    Hi Sir,
    Mr A (Individual and liable for 44AB) taken a Loan from Mr B (Individual- Resident- Income<2.50 Lakhs).
    Can B submit 15 G to Mr A for non deduction of TDS.
    In short can 15G be submitted to Individual ?

  8. PRABIR AGRAWAL says:

    I HAVE SUBMITTED 15 G FORM IN THE MONTH APRIL 2016 .I HAVE OPEN A NEW FD IN THE MONTH AUG 2016.WHEATHER I HAVE TO SUBMIT AGAIN 15 G FORM OR NOT.

  9. hbhatelia says:

    After the banks have gone on CBS platform, the Forms 15G/H are entered in the customer’s id/CIF and not in individual deposit accounts and since the customer id/CIF is common for all account of a customer in a bank across branches, these forms need not be submitted at each branch the same bank.

  10. Rajesh Sharma says:

    SIR, PLEASE LET MY KNOW THAT A PERSON ABOVE THE AGE OF 60 YEARS WHOSE TOTAL INCOME INCLUSIVE OF BANK INTEREST IS RS.4.50 LAC THAT IS ABOVE THE BASIC EXEMPTION LIMIT OF RS.3 LAC BUT TAX LIABILITY IS NIL DUE TO INVESTMENT OF RS.1.50 LAC CAN HE FILL FORM 15H. PLEASE SEND REPLY ON MY MAIL ID

  11. Rajesh Sharma says:

    SIR, A SUPER SENIOR CITIZEN OF THE AGE OF 82 YEARS WHOSE INTT INCOME ON TERM DEPOSIT FROM BANK IS RS.3.50 LAC AND OTHER INCOME IS RS 3 LAC THUS TOTAL INCOME IS RS.6.50 LAC . HE INVESTED RS.1.50 LAC IN SENIOR CITIZEN DEPOSIT SCHEME SO HIS TAX LIABLITY IS NIL. CAN HE SUBMIT FORM 15H TO BANK FOR HIS TERM DEPOSIT INTT PLEASE SEND ME REPLY ON MY MAIL ID RAJESH69PER@GMAIL.COM

  12. ishan says:

    Can a HUF submit 15h, moreover if a HUF submits 15g the date of birth in that case would be of karta or date of i corporation of HUF

  13. Vishal Rode says:

    Dear Sir,
    I want know stepwise procedure of online filling of from 15G & 15H. but not only for state bank of india, in general procedure for filling for 15G 15H.In that Process how to filled it? , who to filled it? & how to submitted it? and whom to submit it ? thats the my question
    Please tell me urgently

  14. Vasudev Modi says:

    Sir,
    I am 72 years of age, in Buisness and receiving Interest U/S 194 A Rs.450,000 from 15 parties and paying interest to my creditors Rs.200,000.Sir kindly guide me how to fill in NEW_FORM 15 H—
    (1) In Column 15–Amount of this declaration say Rs.30,000 for single party.
    (2) In Column 16 Total Income Rs 290,000/ not taxable
    (3) In Column 17 Total no of forms issued From 01-04-2015 or from 01-10-2015
    (4) In Column 18 Should I fill it for “Interest U/s 194 A as amount of this form

    Sir kindly send me a copy of response on my mail,Regrds

  15. Deepa kale says:

    Is is mandatory to submit Form 15G with EPFO at the time of withdrawal of EPF amount? Shall the department deduct TDS every year on the interest credited every year to my running EPF account.
    Please explain me in this regard.

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