What are Form 15G & Form 15H: Parts, Usage, and Eligibility?

Form 15G a self-declaration form that an individual tax payer aged less than 60 years and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) can submit to request deductors like banks not to deduct TDS (tax deducted at source) on passive income like interest income from term deposits, rental income, etc.

Form 15H is a self-declaration form that a resident senior citizen can submit to a deductor like a bank to request non-deduction of TDS on passive income such as interest from fixed deposits, recurring deposits, rental income, etc. received during the financial year. So, as per this definition, only individuals who are over the age of 60 years and Indian residents are eligible to submit this form with a deductor.

The applicable form (15G or 15H) is typically submitted along with a copy of the PAN card of the taxpayer in order to validate the applicant has an annual income lower than Rs. 2.5 lakh for the applicable financial year.

While Form 15H is very similar to Form 15G in many ways, there are two key differences one needs to keep in mind:

• Individuals aged below 60 years are not eligible to submit Form 15H they can only submit Form 15G
• Form 15H cannot be submitted by Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), while HUF can submit Form 15G

Now that you know what form 15G is, let’s c you can use it. You may furnish form 15G for non-deduction of tax from the interest accrued if you meet the below-mentioned conditions:

• Your income for the fiscal year is less than ₹2.5 lakh.
• You are less than 60 years and an Indian citizen.
• You have zero tax liability for the fiscal year.
• HUFs with annual income less than ₹2.5 lakh are also eligible for Form 15G submission.

As discussed above, only resident senior citizens in India are eligible to submit and benefit by submission of this TDS form. The following are details of the Form 15H eligibility criteria that one needs to keep in mind:

• Senior citizen, i.e. individuals aged 60 or above are eligible to submit the form
• The Form 15H declarant must be an Indian resident
• The declarant’s annual taxable income for the fiscal must be nil

Based on the current eligibility criteria, senior citizen individuals with net taxable income of zero after rebate under Section 87A are also eligible for TDS relief using Form 15H. However, senior citizens with higher income i.e. Rs. 5 lakh or more in a fiscal cannot avail this benefit.

While Form 15H is most commonly submitted to banks by senior citizens seeking TDS relief on term deposit interest. Similarly, Form 15G is mostly used for the same purpose by HUF and individual tax payers aged less than 60 years. But, these form can be submitted to get TDS relief in some other situations too.

A few other cases where Form 15G and Form 15H can prevent TDS deduction include:

Form 15G consists of two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. The Part 1 of this form looks like this:

Form 15H has 2 parts – Part I and Part II.

Part 1 is to be filled by the resident individual who is 60 or above and claiming a non-deduction of tax due to annual income below the taxable limit as per applicable income tax slabs and rates.

Under existing rules of the Income Tax Act, there is no time limit for submission of Form 15G or Form 15H. So, an eligible individual or HUF can choose to make the submission any time during the year. But it is good practice to submit it at the start of every new financial year i.e. in April. This will reduce the chances of forgetting to submit the form before TDS deduction is made on the accumulated income from interest, rental or bond pay outs.

Here are a few additional details you need to be mindful of when filing the form:

• Do not submit the declaration if you have taxable income for the applicable financial year
• In case of fraudulent submission of these forms, the assessee be penalized under section 277 of the IT Act, 1961.
• The form is not a substitute for your Income Tax return form as you have to file ITR separately
• If you submit Form 15H/Form 15G late and TDS is deducted, refund on excess TDS deducted can be claimed by filing Income Tax Return
• It is not mandatory to submit Form 15G/Form 15H, but it can prevent excess tax pay out if you are eligible for TDS relief
• Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are not eligible to submit Form 15G or Form 15H as per current rules