Form 15G and 15H: Save TDS on Interest Income

What is Form 15G & Form 15H?

Form 15G & Form 15H are the forms which are submitted to banks by the individuals in order to prevent themselves from tax deduction on the interest income earned in a financial year. You can also submit these forms via online through bank’s website.

15G is submitted by the individuals who are having less than 60 years of age whereas 15H is submitted by the individuals who are 60 years or older. These forms are given by the individuals to their respective banks to declare their total income earned in a financial year and serve as a proof for non-deduction of TDS. These forms are submitted to the banks so that they do not deduct any TDS on your interest income.

These forms have specified deadline for submission. Due to coronavirus outbreak, taxpayers may not be able to submit these forms till the first week of April 2020. Therefore, government extended the deadline up to 30th June 2020 and now recently decided that individuals can submit their 15G & 15H forms in the first week of July too.

Note - These forms can only be submitted when the tax liability or TDS on interest income of the resident individual is NIL.

Form 15G and 15H to Save TDS on Interest Income

What are the eligibility conditions for submitting Form 15G?

You need to meet the following conditions in order to submit form 15G –

You must be a resident of India.
You must be an individual. HUF’s, trusts, firms, companies are not eligible to fill this form.
You must be less than 60 years of age.
Your tax liability from total income must be nil.
Your total interest income must be less than the tax exemption limit of Rs.250000 (As per financial year 2019-20).

What are the Eligibility conditions for submitting Form 15H?

You need to meet the following conditions in order to submit form 15H –

You must be a resident of India.
You must be an individual. HUF’s, trusts, firms, companies are not eligible to fill this form.
You must be a senior citizen having age of 60 years or more.
Your tax liability from total income must be nil.
Your total interest income must be less than the tax exemption limit of Rs.300000 (As per financial year 2019-20)

If you forget to submit Form 15G or Form 15H?

Many tax payers forget to submit their form 15G & form 15H before the deadline and later their tax gets deducted by the bank. Confused? What to do after tax deduction? After tax deduction, you can do any of the following steps mentioned below –

Submit Form 15G & 15H Immediately

Usually, banks deduct TDS on quarterly basis. No issues, if you forget to submit the forms, submit it as early as possible now to prevent TDS deduction on income for the remaining financial year.

File Income Tax Return to Claim TDS Refund

The other way to claim your TDS refund is by way of filing income tax return. When you deposit your TDS with banks, it is being forwarded to the income tax department. Later, you need to file your income tax return in order to get your excess TDS refunded.

Purpose of Form 15G or Form 15H Submission

The main purpose of submitting Form 15G or Form 15H is to prevent interest from TDS deduction but there are few other places where we can submit these forms –

TDS on Rent

If your total income from rent exceeds the limit of Rs.240000 annually, TDS needs to be deducted on your rental income. In case your tax on total income is nil, you can take a step forward and submit form 15G or form 15H to request the tenant not to deduct TDS.

Also Read - Section 80GG: Claim Income Tax Deduction on Rent Paid

TDS on Post Office Deposits

Digitised post offices also deduct TDS and accept 15G or 15H forms, if you meet the applicable conditions of submission.

TDS on Insurance Commissions

If your total commission from insurance exceeds the limit of Rs.15000 in a financial year, TDS needs to be deducted on your insurance commissions. If the tax on the total income of insurance agent is nil, they can submit Form 15 G or Form 15H for non-deduction of TDS.

TDS on Income from Corporate Bonds

If your total income from corporate bonds exceeds the limit of Rs.5000 in a financial year, TDS needs to be deducted on your income from corporate bonds. You can submit 15G or 15H form to the issuer of the bond and request for non-deduction of TDS.

TDS on EPF withdrawal

If you are withdrawing your EPF before 5 years of continuous service and crossing the maximum amount limit, TDS needs to be deducted on your EPF balance. If you are planning to withdraw your EPF balance exceeding Rs.50000 and having less than 5 years of service, you can prevent yourself fromTDS by filing 15G or 15H forms. You can only file these forms when your total income including EPF balance withdrawn is NIL.

Difference between Form 15G & Form 15H

S.no	Form 15G	Form 15H
1	This form is filed by Indian residents who are less than 60 years of age	This form is filed by Indian residents having 60 or more than 60 years of age
2	To be filed by general category	To be filed by senior citizens
3	You are only entitled to submit this form if your tax is less than the exemption limit of Rs.250000.	You are only entitled to submit this form if your tax is less than the exemption limit of Rs.300000