Form 15G and 15H are gone: how to fill the single Form No. 121 so your bank stops deducting TDS on FD interest

From 1 April 2026, the paper trail that kept TDS off your fixed deposit interest changed shape. The Income-tax Rules, 2026, notified as G.S.R. 198(E) on 20 March 2026, retire the twin Forms 15G and 15H used under the Income-tax Act, 1961. In their place, Rule 211 prescribes one declaration, Form No. 121, furnished under section 393(6) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. If you are a retiree, a student or a homemaker whose total tax for the year will be nil, this one form is now what tells your bank, post office or mutual fund house not to deduct TDS.

This guide walks through Rule 211, every row of Part A of Form 121, a worked example with two bank deposits, and the six errors most likely to land a declaration in trouble during the seven-year look-back the rules allow.

What the Section Says

Section 393(6) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 lets a person claim receipt of certain incomes without tax deduction at source, provided they furnish a declaration. Rule 211 of the 2026 Rules fixes the form and the process. In plain English, it says five things.

Rule 211(1): one form. The declaration under section 393(6) shall be furnished in Form No. 121. There is no longer a separate form for those aged 60 or more; the age question has moved into row 5(a) of the same form.

Rule 211(2): two modes. You may furnish Form 121 electronically, verified through an electronic process, or on paper. Most banks that accepted online 15G/15H through net banking before 1 April 2026 are expected to move that flow to Form 121.

Rule 211(3) and (4): the payer's duty. The payer, meaning your bank, post office or fund house, allots a unique identification number (UIN) to each declaration every quarter. It must report that UIN in its quarterly TDS statement even if it deducted no tax at all. This means your declaration is visible to the department within the quarter, and the interest still appears against your PAN in Form 26AS and the AIS.

Rule 211(5): seven-year retention. The department may call for the declaration up to seven years from the end of the tax year in which the income was received. A declaration given for interest received in tax year 2026-27 can therefore be called for until 31 March 2034.

Note 12: prosecution risk. A false statement in the declaration is liable to prosecution under section 482 of the 2025 Act. The form is a sworn-style statement, not a routine bank request.

Who can file, and for which incomes

Note 3 to Form 121 limits it to two classes: a resident individual (Sl. 1) or any person other than a company or firm (Sl. 2). Note 5 lists the incomes it covers:

Forms 15G/15H versus Form 121

The rows of Part A

Part A is yours to fill; Part B is filled by the payer. Part A asks for 14 pieces of information:

1. Name.
2. Address.
3. PAN.
4. Status (individual, HUF, AOP and so on).
5. Residential status, with row 5(a) asking whether a resident individual is 60 years or more at any time during the tax year.
6. Email.
7. Mobile number.
8. Tax year for which the declaration is made.
9. Nature of income.
10. Estimated income for which this declaration is made.
11. Number and aggregate amount of other Form 121s filed during the year.
12. Aggregate income declared across all Form 121s.
13. Estimated total income for the tax year.
14. Acknowledgment numbers and returned income of ITRs for the previous two tax years.

Note 10 is the row people misread most: "estimated total income" is computed after Chapter VIII deductions, set-off of house property loss and the rebate under section 156. The declaration then states two things: that tax on your estimated total income will be nil, and, except for residents aged 60 or more, that the income declared does not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax.

Worked Example

Take a hypothetical retired resident, Mrs Lata Kulkarni, who turned 63 in June 2026. For tax year 2026-27 she estimates the following income:

Suppose that after her Chapter VIII deductions and the section 156 rebate, a run of the income tax calculator shows nil tax on Rs 6,00,000 under the regime she uses. (Use the old vs new regime calculator to confirm which regime gives nil tax in your own case; this article does not assume either.) Because tax is nil, she may file Form 121 with each of the three interest payers.

She files them in this order, and rows 11 and 12 change each time:

Three points follow from the table. First, row 13 stays at Rs 6,00,000 on all three forms, because it is her whole-year estimate, pension included. Second, row 12 rises from Rs 1,40,000 to Rs 3,20,000, so the third payer can see she has already declared Rs 2,00,000 elsewhere. Third, row 5(a) is answered "Yes" because she is 63; as a resident aged 60 or more, she is not bound by the condition that declared income must not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. She must still meet the nil-tax condition.

In row 14 she quotes the acknowledgment numbers of her ITRs for the two previous tax years and the income returned in each. Each bank then allots a UIN in the quarter it receives her form and reports it in its quarterly TDS statement even though it deducts Rs 0. You can cross-check the Rs 1,40,000, Rs 60,000 and Rs 1,20,000 credits in your AIS after the quarterly statements are filed, and model what would have been deducted with the TDS calculator.

Contrast: a 34-year-old freelancer. Now take Rohan, 34, a resident individual whose only declared income is Rs 90,000 of FD interest. He answers "No" in row 5(a). For him, both conditions bite: tax on estimated total income must be nil, and the Rs 90,000 he declares must not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. If his freelance receipts push estimated total income to a level where tax is payable, he cannot file Form 121 at all, even if the bank interest on its own is small. He would instead let TDS be deducted and claim any excess back as a refund in his return.

Common Mistakes

These are the six errors most likely to surface when a declaration is called for under Rule 211(5), which allows up to 7 years.

1. Declaring only the interest, not total income, in row 13. Note 10 defines estimated total income as income after Chapter VIII deductions, house property loss set-off and the section 156 rebate. In the example above, writing Rs 1,40,000 in row 13 at Bank A instead of Rs 6,00,000 would misstate her income by Rs 4,60,000.

2. Leaving rows 11 and 12 blank on the second and third forms. With 3 payers, each form after the first must show the count and amount of earlier Form 121s. Since every payer reports a UIN quarterly under Rule 211(3)-(4), the department can add up all declarations against one PAN.

3. Filing when tax is not nil. Both Sl. 1 and Sl. 2 declarants must state that tax on estimated total income will be nil. A person aged 60 or more is relieved only of the second condition, not this one. A false statement attracts prosecution under section 482 (Note 12).

4. Answering row 5(a) on the wrong date. The test is whether you are 60 years or more "at any time during the tax year". Someone turning 60 on 15 February 2027 qualifies for the whole of tax year 2026-27, which runs to 31 March 2027.

5. Filing on behalf of a firm or company. Note 3 confines Form 121 to resident individuals and to persons other than a company or firm. A partnership firm's FD cannot be shielded with Form 121.

6. Assuming Form 121 makes the income tax-free. The form only stops deduction at source. The interest is still taxable income, still appears in Form 26AS and the AIS, and still has to be reported in your return. Check your residential status too: Sl. 1 is for resident individuals only.

For statutory text, refer to the Income-tax Act, 2025 on India Code and the rules PDF on the Income Tax Department portal.

FAQ

Can I still submit Form 15G or 15H after 1 April 2026?

No. For income under the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective 1 April 2026, Rule 211 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 198(E), 20 March 2026) prescribes Form No. 121 for the declaration under section 393(6). Forms 15G and 15H belong to the 1961 Act.

Is there a separate Form 121 for senior citizens?

No. A single Form 121 is used by everyone eligible. Row 5(a) asks whether a resident individual is 60 years or more at any time during the tax year; answering "Yes" removes the condition that declared income must not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax.

Do I have to file a new Form 121 with each bank?

Yes. Each payer needs its own declaration, and rows 11 and 12 must disclose the number and aggregate amount of other Form 121s you have filed in that tax year.

Can I file Form 121 online?

Yes. Rule 211(2) allows Form 121 to be furnished electronically, verified through an electronic process, or on paper.

How long can the tax department ask for my Form 121?

Under Rule 211(5), the department may call for the declaration up to seven years from the end of the tax year in which the income was received.

What happens if I give a false declaration?

Note 12 to Form 121 states that a false statement in the declaration is liable to prosecution under section 482 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Will interest covered by Form 121 still show in my AIS?

It should. Under Rule 211(3)-(4), the payer allots a UIN to each declaration every quarter and reports it in its quarterly TDS statement even when no tax is deducted, so the income is reported against your PAN.

This article explains Rule 211 and Form No. 121 as notified on 20 March 2026. It is general information, not tax advice; confirm your own nil-tax position before signing a declaration.