Form 15G and Form 15H
Form 15G or 15H has to be submitted by fixed deposit holders at the start of a financial year to the relevant financial entity like a bank. This is done to avoid TDS (tax deducted at source) on the interest income earned.
Conditions you must fulfill to submit Form 15G:
- You are an individual or HUF or trust or any other assessee but not a company or a firm.
- Only Resident Indians can apply.
- Such person should be less than 60 years old
- Tax calculated on your Total Income is estimated to be Nil
- The total interest income for the year is less than the basic exemption limit of that year, which is Rs.2.5 lakh for financial year 2019-20 (AY 2020-21).
Conditions you must fulfill to submit Form 15H:
- You are an individual and resident Indian
- You’re a senior citizen or will be 60 during the year for which you are submitting the form
- Tax calculated on your Total Income is estimated to be
A lot of taxpayers forget to submit Form 15G and Form 15H on time. In such a situation, the bank might have already deducted the TDS. Based on your situation, you can do any of the following.
- File your income tax return to claim refund of TDS
The only way to seek a refund of excess TDS deducted is by filing your income tax return. Banks or other deductors cannot refund TDS to you since they have already deposited it to the income tax department. Income tax department will refund excess TDS after you file an income tax return
- Submit Form 15G and Form 15H immediately
Most banks deduct TDS every quarter. If you forgot to submit Form 15G or Form 15H, don’t worry. Submit it at the earliest so that no TDS is deducted for the remaining financial year.
Purposes for which Form 15G or Form 15H can be submitted:
While these forms can be submitted to banks to make sure TDS is not deducted on interest, there are a few other places too where you can submit them.
TDS on EPF withdrawal –TDS is deducted on EPF balance if withdrawn before 5 years of continuous service. If you have had less than 5 years of service and plan to withdraw your EPF balance of more than Rs.50,000 (Rs 50,000 effective 1 June 2016, Rs.30,000 prior to that), you can submit Form 15G or Form15H. However, you must fulfill conditions (listed above) to apply for these forms. It means the tax on your total income including EPF balance withdrawn should be nil.
TDS on income from corporate bonds –If you hold corporate bonds, TDS is deducted on them if your income from them exceeds Rs 5,000. You can submit Form 15G or Form 15H to the issuer requesting non-deduction of TDS.
TDS on post office deposits –Post offices that are digitized also deduct TDS and accept Form 15G or Form 15H, if you meet the conditions applicable for submitting them.
TDS on rent – TDS is deducted on rent exceeding Rs 2.4 lakh annually. If tax on your total income is nil, you can submit Form 15G or Form 15H to request the tenant to not deduct TDS (applicable from 1 April 2019).
TDS on Insurance Commission – TDS is deducted on insurance commission if it exceeds Rs 15000 per financial year. However, insurance agents can submit Form 15G/Form 15H for no deduction of TDS if tax on their total income is nil (with effect from 1 June 2017).
