Form 15H

What is Form Form 15H? Form 15H is a self-declaration that may be submitted by senior citizen aged 60 years or above to prevent TDS deduction on your income i.e. interest earned from fixed deposits (FD) and recurring deposits (RD) investments. Under existing rules, TDS is deducted on interest earned from bank FD and RD held by senior citizens only if annual interest income from these deposits exceeds Rs. 50,000 for financial year 2017-18.

The current Form 15H is available from your bank, or from the Income Tax Department's forms page.

When to Submit form 15H?

When to Submit form 15H? For one financial year, Form 15H is valid. So, please submit these forms at the start of the financial year each year. This will ensure that your interest income will not be deducted by the bank. Delay can be avoided if you submit the required declaration at the beginning of the financial year itself. Conditions you must fulfill to submit Form 15H • Should be an individual tax assessee and not an entity or an organization • Should be an Indian citizen residing in India • Should be minimum 60 years of age • The tax liability for the assessee for the applicable financial year should be nil

Forgot to submit Form 15H?

Forgot to submit Form 15H? A lot of taxpayers forget to submit 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. 1. File your income tax return to claim refund of TDS 2. Submit Form 15H immediately to avoid further deductions for the current financial year.

Purposes for which Form 15H can be submitted

Purposes for which 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 • TDS on EPF withdrawal –TDS is deducted on EPF balance if withdrawn before 5 years of continuous service.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 Form 15H. 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It means the tax on your total income including EPF balance withdrawn should be nil.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 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 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 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 15H for non deduction of TDS if tax on their total income is Zero (with effect from 1 June 2017).

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions 1. Can HUF submit Form15H? HUF can apply Form 15 G if the conditions are met, but Form 15H is for individuals only. 2. Can NRIs submit Form 15H? NRIs cannot submit Form 15H. These can only be submitted by resident Indians. 3. Do I need to submit Form 15H at all the branches of the bank? Indeed, you should send one for each branch of the bank from which you collect interest income, but TDS will only be deducted if the total interest received from all branches exceeds Rs 10,000. 4. Does filing Form 15H mean my interest income is not taxable?

Form 15H is only a declaration that no TDS should be deducted on your interest income since tax on your total income is NIL. Interest income from fixed deposits, recurring deposits, and corporate bonds is always taxable. 5. Will my interest income become tax free if I submit Form 15H? Interest income from fixed deposits and recurring deposits is taxable. For senior citizens deduction of Rs.50,000 is available under section 80TTB for the interest income from fixed deposits/post office deposits/deposits held in co-operative society. You should submit this form only if tax on your total income is zero along with other conditions. 6.

I have submitted Form 15H but I have taxable income? You must intimate to your bank that tax on your total income is not zero. The bank will make changes and deduct TDS accordingly. Do report the entire interest income in your tax return and pay tax on it as applicable. If you have already submitted one of these forms, but realise later in the year that your income is more than what you evaluated, assess your liability on the extra income and pay tax accordingly. 7. Do I have to submit this form 15H to the income tax department? You don’t need to submit these forms 15H directly to the income tax department.

Just submit them to the deductor, and they will prepare and submit these forms to the income tax department.

Important Information for Deductors

Important Information for Deductors If you are a TDS deductor, the Income-tax Act requires you to allot a Unique Identification Number or UIN to everyone who submits a Form 15H. You must file a statement of Form 15H on a quarterly basis and must retain these forms for 7 years. • TDS on EPF withdrawal – TDS is deducted on EPF balances 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/ Form 15H.

However, you must fulfil conditions (listed above) to apply for these forms, i.e. 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 income from them exceeding Rs 5000.

You can submit Form 15H to the issuer requesting to not deduct any TDS. • TDS on post office deposits – Digitized post offices can also deduct TDS and accept Form 15H, if you meet the conditions applicable for submitting them. • LIC premium receipts – Effective from October 2014, if the amount received from a policy exceeds Rs 1 lakh and it is taxable, 2% TDS shall be deducted by the insurer before paying. You can submit Form 15H to request that no TDS be deducted since tax on your total income is nil. • TDS on rent – TDS is deducted on rent, if total rental payment in a year exceeds Rs. 2.4 lakh.

If tax on your total income is nil, you can submit 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 15,000 per financial year. However, insurance agents can submit Form 15H for non deduction of TDS if tax on their total income is nil, with effect from 1 June 2017.

How to fill Form 15H?

How to fill Form 15H? Form 15H is divided into two parts – Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1: This part has to be filled out by senior citizen individual applicants who wish to claim TDS on different types of income earned by them during the fiscal.

Let’s understand various points that have to be duly filled by the applicant before submitting the form. • Name and PAN of Applicant • Date of birth • Financial year pertaining to the mentioned income • Residential status • Complete residential address and contact information • The applicant has to enter ‘YES’ if he has been assessed in any of the years out of the six assessment years prior to the mentioned assessment year • The estimated total income for which the applicant wishes to submit a declaration • The estimated total income for the current year along with the estimated income in the previous point • The exact number of Forms filled by the applicant along with the total income pertaining to which the declaration is being filed by the applicant • Details pertaining to the applicant’s number of shares, account number of the deposit, NSS details and LIC policy number along with his employee code • The applicant then needs to diligently verify and rectify the errors, if any, before signing the form.

Part 2: The second part of the form has to be filled and submitted by the deductor who is required to deposit the TDS deducted with the bank authorities. For example: A bank, which is supposed to deduct TDS on the interest earned by a depositor on fixed/recurring deposits.

How to fill Form 15H Online or Offline?

How to fill Form 15H Online or Offline? Form 15H is divided into two parts – Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1: This part has to be filled out by senior citizen individual applicants who wish to claim TDS on different types of income earned by them during the fiscal.

Let’s understand various points that have to be duly filled by the applicant before submitting the form. • Name and PAN of Applicant • Date of birth • Financial year pertaining to the mentioned income • Residential status • Complete residential address and contact information • The applicant has to enter ‘YES’ if he has been assessed in any of the years out of the six assessment years prior to the mentioned assessment year • The estimated total income for which the applicant wishes to submit a declaration • The estimated total income for the current year along with the estimated income in the previous point • The exact number of Forms filled by the applicant along with the total income pertaining to which the declaration is being filed by the applicant • Details pertaining to the applicant’s number of shares, account number of the deposit, NSS details and LIC policy number along with his employee code • The applicant then needs to diligently verify and rectify the errors, if any, before signing the form.

Part 2: The second part of the form has to be filled and submitted by the deductor who is required to deposit the TDS deducted with the bank authorities. For example: A bank, which is supposed to deduct TDS on the interest earned by a depositor on fixed/recurring deposits.

Penalty for false / incorrect / wrong submission of Form 15H

Penalty for false / incorrect / wrong submission of Form 15H Providing a false declaration in Form 15H just to avoid TDS can lead to fine and even 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 if wrong declaration was provided to evade tax of more than Rs. 1 lakh • For all other cases, imprisonment between 3 months to 3 years. Hence, instead of making a false declaration, you should consider submitting Form 15H only if you are eligible to do so.

Factors Affecting Form 15H Submission

Factors Affecting Form 15H Submission: • Form 15H can only be submitted by an individual who has reached the age of 60 years and above i.e. senior citizens. Other individuals/HUFs are required to submit Form 15G in order to prevent TDS deduction. • Form 15H can only be submitted by Indian citizens residing in India.

It is not applicable to NRIs or foreigners. • Form 15H has to be deposited at each and every branch of the bank, which is liable to pay interest to the individual on his deposits. • Form 15H is just a declaration or an undertaking by an individual that the interest earned on his income should be kept free from any kind of TDS deduction, as his tax liabilities on total income earned is zero. • An individual must always keep in mind that the income generated on his fixed deposits as well as recurring deposits is always taxable.

Hence, this form should only be submitted when the individual is sure that the total income earned by him is lower than the taxation bracket. • In case an individual has taxable income and still he has submitted Form 15H to the bank, he must immediately inform his bank regarding the same. Upon receiving intimation on time, the bank will make the required changes and deduct the applicable TDS on the interest income generated. • Individual need not submit these forms to the Income Tax Department directly. It is the duty of the deductor to prepare a proper layout and submit the same to the IT department along with all the relevant details.