Do I still need to submit Form 15G or 15H for FY 2026-27?

No. From April 1st 2026, Form 15G/15H is replaced by and renumbered as Form 121 under the new 2025 Income Tax Act. Use the older forms only if you're filing for FY 2025-26 or an earlier year.

What is the TDS threshold on FD interest that triggers deduction?

Currently ₹50,000 for individuals below 60, and ₹1,00,000 for resident senior citizens, in a given financial year, per bank.

Can I submit one Form 121 to cover FDs held across multiple banks?

No. A separate declaration must be submitted to each bank or payer individually, even if your total income across all sources is what makes you eligible.

What happens if TDS was already deducted before I submitted my declaration?

It cannot be reversed by the bank once deducted. You'll need to claim that amount back as a refund when filing your income tax return for the year.

How to Submit Form 15G/15H to Avoid TDS on FD

How to submit Form 15G or 15H to stop TDS on your FD interest, online and offline.

JioFinance Team

6 mins read · 25 Sept 2026

How to Submit Form 15G/15H to Avoid TDS on FD

Form 121 replaces Form 15G and Form 15H from FY 2026-27.
Eligible residents can submit Form 121 to avoid TDS.
Separate Form 121 submissions are required for each bank.
Submit the declaration early, before interest gets credited.
Already deducted TDS cannot be reversed by banks.
NRO account holders cannot use Form 121 for deposits.
The declaration must be renewed every financial year.

If your total income doesn't actually cross the taxable threshold, having your bank deduct TDS on FD interest anyway is money sitting with the government until you claim it back at tax filing time. Submitting a simple self-declaration at the start of the year avoids that altogether. The self-declaration Form 15G/15H itself has recently changed, and it's worth knowing what applies now.

An Important Update: Form 15G and 15H Have Been Renamed.

For years, Form 15G and Form 15H were the standard self-declarations used to prevent TDS on interest income. From 1st April 2026, under the Income Tax Act, 2025, both have been consolidated into a single new form, Form 121. If you're filing for FY 2025-26 or an earlier year, the old Form 15G/15H still applies. For FY 2026-27 onward, which is the current financial year, Form 121 is what banks and other payers now require.

The underlying purpose hasn't changed. It's still a self-declaration confirming your total income is below the taxable threshold. So, TDS shouldn't be deducted, but the naming and a few procedural details have shifted. Since the terms "15G" and "15H" remain widely used and searched, this guide covers both what they meant and what Form 121 now requires in their place.

Who Could Use Form 15G, and Who Uses Form 121 in the Same Way?

Form 15G was meant for individuals below 60 years of age, along with HUFs, whose total income for the year fell below the tax-free threshold of ₹2.5 lakh (old regime) or ₹4 lakh (new regime). Form 121 serves this exact purpose now, requiring the same underlying eligibility: your total income, after all applicable deductions, should result in nil tax liability for the year.

Who Could Use Form 15H, and Who Uses Form 121 Instead?

Form 15H was specifically for resident senior citizens aged 60 and above, with one meaningful difference from Form 15G: there was no interest income ceiling. There is only a requirement that final tax liability for the year work out to nil after considering all deductions, including the senior-citizen-specific Section 80TTB benefit under the old regime. This distinction carries forward under Form 121 as well.

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Form 121 at a Glance

Here's the essential eligibility and process information condensed into one table.

Aspect	Requirement
Who can file	Residents whose total income results in nil tax liability for the year
One restriction carried forward	HUFs cannot use it for dividend income, the same limitation that applied under Form 15G
Validity	One financial year; must be submitted each year afresh
Where to submit	Separately with each bank or payer where you hold an FD or other TDS-applicable deposit
When to submit	Ideally at the start of the financial year, before any interest is credited
Identification	Each submission generates a Unique Identification Number (UIN), tracked separately per bank

How to Submit Form 121?

The process itself is a short, mostly digital sequence that takes only a few minutes per bank.

Step 1: Log in to your bank's net banking portal or mobile app.
Step 2: Navigate to the relevant section commonly labelled "Tax Centre," "e-Services," or "Tax Forms," depending on the bank.
Step 3: Select the self-declaration form. Form 121 for the current financial year, or the legacy Form 15G/15H if you're catching up on a prior year's filing.
Step 4: Verify your auto-filled PAN and personal details, then enter your estimated total income for the year.
Step 5: Confirm submission via OTP, and save the acknowledgement for Form 121; this includes the UIN generated for that specific declaration.

If your bank doesn't offer online submission, the same form can typically be filed offline at a branch, with largely the same information required.

Rules to Keep in Mind When Filing Form 121

A handful of practical details trip people up more often than the form itself does:

Submit Separate Form for Every Bank

If you hold FDs across three different banks, three separate declarations are needed; one submission doesn't cover deposits held elsewhere.

TDS Cannot be Reversed

The TDS that's already deducted can't be reversed by the bank retroactively. If you submit the form mid-year after some TDS has already been deducted for earlier quarters, that portion isn't refunded by the bank. You'll need to claim it back when filing your ITR.

NROs Cannot Submit Form 121

This route doesn't work for NRO deposits. NRIs holding NRO accounts face a considerably higher TDS rate (around 30%, plus surcharge and cess), and neither the old forms nor Form 121 can be used to avoid it.

ITR Filing is Still Mandatory

Submitting the form doesn't replace filing your ITR. Even with no TDS deducted, your interest income still needs to be reported if you're otherwise required to file a return.

What Happens If You Don't Submit Form 121

Skipping the declaration doesn't create a penalty. It just costs you a bit of convenience. Your bank simply deducts TDS at 10% (or 20% if your PAN isn't on file) once your interest crosses the applicable threshold, currently ₹50,000 for individuals below 60 and ₹1,00,000 for senior citizens.

That TDS isn't lost; it's an advance against your final tax liability. If your actual liability is nil, you can claim the entire amount back as a refund when filing your return. Submitting the self-declaration upfront simply avoids this detour. The money stays in your account through the year instead of being deducted and refunded later.

Tip: With JioFinance, you can check all the details of the FDs booked through the platform in a single view, the all-in-one finance tracker. This makes it easier to see which deposits are approaching a point where interest might cross the TDS threshold for the year.

Conclusion

Form 15G and Form 15H have effectively been replaced by Form 121 from FY 2026-27 onward, but the core idea remains the same. It is a simple, honest self-declaration that your income doesn't warrant TDS, filed early and separately with every bank holding your deposits. Getting this right at the start of the year avoids the unnecessary back-and-forth of having TDS deducted only to claim it back months later.