Form 15G
Form 15 G is a declaration fills by the bank fixed deposit holders whose ages are less than 60 years and are not HUF. The motive of filling the form is to ensure that no TDS is deducted from their interest income for the fiscal. As per the income tax rules, banks are required to deduct TDS when interest earned on Recurring Deposit, fixed deposited is above Rs 10000 in a financial year. In the Interim Budget 2019, this TDS threshold has been increased to Rs. 40,000 with effect from FY 2019-2020.
Process to download 15G
Form 15G for TDS deduction can be downloaded for free from the website of all the major banks in India. In this, the form can also be downloaded from the Income Tax Department website.
Click here to download Form 15G for free
https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/forms/income-tax%20rules/103120000000007845.pdf
Sample for Form 15G
Features of Form 15G
- It is a self-declaration form for seeking non-deduction of TDS on specific income as an annual income of the tax assessee is less than the exemption limit.
- Rules regarding the Form 15G are mentioned under the provisions of Section 197A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
- The format of Form 15G has undergone considerable change in 2015 intending to simplify the compliance burden and costing of both tax deductee and deductor.
- The current format of Form 15G and Form 15H (the senior citizens variant for Form 15G) introduced by CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes).
- Form 15G can be submitted by individuals below the age of 60 years. Any individual above 60 years falls in the category of senior citizens.
Eligibility criteria for submitting Form 15G
- You are an individual or a person other than a company or a firm.
- You must be a resident Indian for the applicable Financial Year.
- Your age should be 60 years or less than.
- Tax liability calculated on the total taxable income for the Financial year is zero.
- Total interest income for the financial year is less than the basic exemption limit.
Instructions to fill Form 15G
There are two sections in Form 15G
The first part is who wants to claim no-deduction of TDS on certain incomes. Following are the details you need to fill in the first portion of Form 15G:
- Name as mentioned on your PAN Card.
- Permanent Account Number. Valid PAN card is mandatory at the time of filing Form 15G. If you fail to furnish valid PAN details, your declaration will be treated as invalid.
- Only individuals can furnish Form 15G, not by a firm or company.
- The previous year should be selected as the financial year for which you are claiming the non-deduction of TDS.
- Mention your residential status as a resident individual because NRI is not allowed to submit Form 15G.
- Mention your communication address correctly along with the PIN code.
- Provide a valid email ID and contact number for further communications.
- Tick mark ‘’Yes’’, if you were able to access the tax as per the provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 for any of the previous assessment years.
- Mention the latest assessment year for which your returns were assessed.
- Details regarding the estimated income for which you are making a declaration should be mentioned. Estimated income means total income for the financial year.
- If you already did the filing of Form 15G anytime during the financial year, then the details along with the aggregate amount of income need to be mentioned in the present declaration.
- Last part of Section 1 talks about the investment details for which you are filing a declaration. You need to furnish the investment account number that could be anything like a term deposit, life insurance policy number/ employee code, etc.
- You need to provide details of investment made such as term deposit, life insurance, policy number, employee code, etc.
- After filling the entire field, re-check all the details to ensure there is no error.
- The second part of Form 15G is to be filled out by the deductor i.e. the person who is going to deposit the tax deducted at source to the government on behalf of the tax assessee.
What if I forgot to submit Form 15G?
Steps to follow are mentioned below:
Step 1: Claim your TDS refund by filing an income tax return.
Once a bank or any other makes a TDS deduction, there will not refund you as they are mandatory required to deposit the amount with the Income Tax Department.
The only way out is to get an income tax refund by filing ITR. Upon verification, the Income Tax Department will process your request for refund back and credit the excess tax deducted for the financial year.
Option 2: Immediately submit Form 15G to avoid further deductions for the current financial year.
Usually, bank makes TDS deduction on every quarter-end of the financial year wherever the interest is applicable on fixed deposit, recurring deposits, and on your savings. To avoid TDS deduction, it is a must to submit Form 15G as soon as possible to avoid any additional deductions for the current fiscal.
When to submit Form 15G?
Scenario 1
TDS on interest income from Bank Deposits:
Banks are supposed to make TDS deduction if the interest amount on Fixed deposits or recurring is more than Rs 10,000 per year as of Financial year 2019-20. It has been increased to 40,000 annually. TDS is being deducted based on the provisional interest not on the actual interest payout.
Hence, even if the tenure of a fixed deposit is more than one year, you need to submit Form 15G to avoid the deduction of TDS.
Scenario 2
TDS on Employee’s Provident Fund Withdrawal:
If an employee withdraws from the provident fund before completing the tenure of 5 years with the current organization. TDS is applicable on the proceeds. Even in that case also, total taxable income including provident fund withdrawal is zero. To avoid any deduction, you can make a submit of form 15G for non-deduction of TDS.
Scenario 3
TDS on interest from post office deposits:
If you meet all the criterion to submit Form 1G, in that case, Post Office which provides the deposit service also accept Form 15G declarations for the deposits made in National saving schemes and post office deposits.
Scenario 4
TDS on income from debentures and corporate bonds:
Income earned from the corporate bonds exceeding Rs 5000 for a financial year is subjected to tax deduction at source. In such cases, if you are eligible to submit Form 15G, you can do so and request the issuer of bonds to not deduct TDS.
Scenario 5
TDS on proceeds from Life Insurance Policy
According to the provision of Section 194DA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, if the maturity proceeds from Life Insurance Policy is above Rs 1 Lakh, in that case, proceeds are subjected to tax deductions at source. If all the conditions which are mentioned in Form 15G are satisfied then in that case, the taxpayer can submit Form 15G to the life insurance company to avoid any TDS deduction.
Scenario 6
TDS on Rental income
If your rental income for the financial year is above 8 Lakh, such income is subjected to tax deductions at source. However, if the taxable income is lower than the basic exemption limit, and then you can submit Form 15G for non-deduction of TDS.
Difference between 15G and 15H
| 15G | 15H |
Applicable to individuals who are less than 60 years old.
| Applicable to individuals who are either 60 years or more.
|
It can be submitted by individuals as well as HUF.
| It can be submitted only by individuals.
|
Only applicable to individuals or HUFs with an annual income lower than the basic exemption limit.
| Any senior citizen can submit the form irrespective of the annual income level.
|
Example to understand the criteria of Form 15G
| Income of | Sunita | Rakesh | Kavita |
| Age | 53 years | 23 years | 66 years |
| Salary Income | Rs 180,000 | - | - |
| Pension Received | - | - | Rs 110,000 |
| Interest from Fixed Deposit |
Rs 86000 | Rs 261000 | Rs 180,000 |
| Total income for the year(Before Section 80 Deductions) | Rs 261,000 | Rs 266,000 | Rs 290,000 |
| Deductions allowed under Section 80 | Rs 45000 | Rs 30,000 | Rs 10,000 |
| Total Taxable income | Rs 221,000 | Rs 231,000 | Rs 280,000 |
| Basic Exemption Limit | Rs 250,000 | Rs 250,000 | Rs 300,000 |
Are they eligible to submit Form 15G
| Yes | Yes | No |
| Explanation | Form 15G can be submitted as the total tax liability for the year is nil and aggregate interest income for the year is less than basic exemption limit. And she also satisfies the age criteria of below 60
| Form 15G cannot be submitted since aggregate interest income for the year is more than basic exemption limit
| Form 15G cannot be submitted as she is more than 60 years old. However, Form 15H can be submitted in this case as tax calculated on total income is nil.
|
Submission of Form 15G
- The Central Board of Direct taxes has digitized the process of submitting form 15G and 15H. Process of submission with major banks is as follows:
- The taxpayer needs to fill Form 15G online and submit it. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the deductor is supposed to assign a Unique Identification Number for each self-declaration made by the taxpayer.
- Deductor needs to provide details of all the self-declaration along with the Unique Identification number to the Income Tax Department via quarterly TDS Statement.
- One should keep in mind that self-declaration using Form 15G works only for that particular financial year. Every year you need to fill a separate form 15G. According to the current Government rules and regulations, the deductor is supposed to retain Form 15G for seven years.
Process to fill form 15G
- Many banks have an option of online filling and submitting the form 15G. For this, it is a must to have an operational internet banking login for availing this facility. Process of the same is as follows:
- By making use of the applicable User ID and Password, log in to the net banking of the bank.
- Click on the online fixed deposits tab as it will redirect you to the page where are fixed deposit details.
- On that same page, you also find an option to generate Form 15G and Form 15H. Click on the link to get a fill-able form option.
- Once you opened online in fill-able form, then start the process of filling out details and information carefully.
- Provide the branch details of the bank in which you are having Fixed deposits or recurring deposits.
- If you are not having the required details in handy, with the help of the bank’s branch locator tools, you can access the information.
- Fill out all other details about your investment without any error and submit it.
Income Tax Act Sections and rates of Tax deducted at Source
Many banks have an option of online filling and submitting the form 15G. For this, it is a must to have an operational internet banking login for availing this facility. Process of the same is as follows:
- By making use of the applicable User ID and Password, log in to the net banking of the bank.
- Click on the online fixed deposits tab as it will redirect you to the page where are fixed deposit details.
- On that same page, you also find an option to generate Form 15G and Form 15H. Click on the link to get a fill-able form option.
- Once you opened online in fill-able form, then start the process of filling out details and information carefully.
- Provide the branch details of the bank in which you are having Fixed deposits or recurring deposits.
- If you are not having the required details in handy, with the help of the bank’s branch locator tools, you can access the information.
- Fill out all other details pertaining to your investment without any error and submit it.
| Investment Type | Sections of Income Tax Act | Thresold Limit | TDS( With valid PAN) | TDS(Without PAN) |
| Interest on Bank Deposits | 194A | 10,000 | 10% | 20% |
| EPF Proceeds- Premature withdrawal | 192A | 30,000 | 10%
| 34.61% |
| Interest on Securities | 193 | - | 10%
| 20%
|
| Dividend Income | 194 | 2500 | 10%
| 20%
|
| Interest other than interest on Securities | 194A | 3000 | 10%
| 20%
|
Penalty for submitting a false declaration by using Form 15G
- By providing a false declaration in Form 15G is just to avoid TDS will result in fines and imprisonment under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The following are the details of punishments u/s 277 of the IT Act, 1961.
- Imprisonment for a period of 6 months to 7 years in case the wrong declaration was provided to evade tax of more than 1 Lakh rupees.
- For all other cases, imprisonment between 3 months to 3 years.
- Hence, rather than making a false declaration, you should consider submitting Form 15G only if you are eligible to do so.
