How to file Form 15G or Form 15H to stop TDS on bank interest — complete 2026 guide

About 6.2 crore Form 15G/H declarations are filed in India each FY (CBDT TDS Statistics, 2024-25). Roughly 70% are 15G (non-seniors) and 30% 15H (seniors). The biggest filer base: senior citizens with SCSS / FD income just below the ₹3 lakh threshold, and homemakers with FD interest from family-gifted deposits.

Banks, NBFCs, post offices, and companies are required by law to deduct TDS on interest credited / paid to you above certain thresholds:

• Bank / co-op bank / post office FD or RD interest: TDS @ 10% if total interest from that bank in a FY exceeds ₹40,000 (₹50,000 for senior citizens) under §194A.
• Savings account interest: No TDS as such, but interest above ₹10,000 / ₹50,000 (seniors) is taxable income.
• NBFC / company FD interest: TDS @ 10% if total interest exceeds ₹5,000 in a FY (no senior citizen relief here) under §194A.
• EPF withdrawal: TDS @ 10% if withdrawal before 5 years of service and amount exceeds ₹50,000, under §192A.
• Insurance maturity proceeds: TDS @ 5% if not exempt under §10(10D).

If your total income is below the basic exemption limit, the TDS that gets cut would be refundable when you file ITR — but you'd lose that money for 6-12 months waiting for the refund.

Form 15G (for non-senior individuals and HUFs) and Form 15H (for resident senior citizens) are self-declarations under §197A(1A) / §197A(1C) of the Income Tax Act read with Rule 29C of the Income Tax Rules, telling the deductor: “My total income is below the exemption limit — please do not deduct TDS.” The bank then stops TDS for that financial year.

You can file 15G only if BOTH conditions are met:

• Your total estimated income for the financial year (after deductions under Chapter VI-A) is ≤ basic exemption limit (₹2.5L old regime / ₹3L new regime).
• AND your total interest income from all sources for the year is ≤ basic exemption limit.

Important: the second condition is per-payer for individual deductors but the first is total. If your total income (salary + interest + capital gains + house property) is, say, ₹3.5 lakh, you cannot file 15G — even if your interest from one bank is only ₹35,000. False declaration is prosecutable under §277 of the IT Act (jail 3 months – 7 years + fine).

You can file 15H if:

• You are a resident senior citizen (60 years or above as on the date of declaration).
• Your total estimated income (after deductions and rebate u/s 87A) for the year is ≤ basic exemption limit (₹3L for 60-79; ₹5L for super-seniors 80+).

No upper limit on interest amount for 15H — unlike 15G. So a senior citizen with ₹4.5 lakh of FD interest can still file 15H if their total taxable income (after the ₹50,000 §80TTB deduction + standard deduction on pension + §87A rebate) is ≤ ₹3 lakh.

Without PAN — or if your PAN-Aadhaar is not linked (PAN is “inoperative”) — the bank will deduct TDS at the higher rate of 20% under §206AA, even if you submit Form 15G/H. So link first (see Link PAN with Aadhaar), then declare.

15G/15H must be filed separately at each deductor. SBI's form does not cover your HDFC FD. Make a list:

• SBI savings + FD + SCSS — file at SBI.
• HDFC FD — file at HDFC.
• Post Office MIS / SCSS / NSC — file at post office.
• Bajaj Finance company FD — file at Bajaj Finserv portal.

Be honest. List:

• Pension + salary (after standard deduction ₹75,000).
• Interest income from all banks + post office + companies.
• Other income (rent, dividends, capital gains, freelance).
• Less: Chapter VI-A deductions (§80C, §80D, §80TTB for seniors ₹50,000).
• Net total income — this must be ≤ basic exemption.

• SBI YONO / OnlineSBI: “Service Requests” → “Tax” → “Form 15G/15H”.
• HDFC NetBanking: “Accounts” → “Request” → “Form 15G/15H”.
• ICICI iMobile / Net banking: “Customer Service” → “Form 15G/15H”.
• Axis Bank: “Service Requests” → “Tax Documents” → “Form 15G/15H”.
• Kotak / IndusInd / Yes / IDFC FIRST / Bank of Baroda: all support online 15G/15H from net banking dashboards as of 2025.

The bank will pull from its records:

• Name, PAN, address, residential status.
• Account number(s), customer ID.
• Estimated total interest from this bank for the current FY (based on existing FDs + SCSS + savings interest projection).

You will need to type:

• Estimated total income for the FY (across all sources).
• Estimated income from this bank (interest auto-fills, you confirm).
• Number of 15G/15H declarations filed in earlier FYs (most banks ask for last 3 years).

• One-tap e-Sign linked to your Aadhaar.
• OTP comes to your Aadhaar-registered mobile.
• Acknowledgement number generated and the form PDF downloads to your device.

Important — do not assume one form covers all banks. Even if you have 5 FDs in SBI's name, one form covers all your SBI accounts; but a separate form is needed at each other bank.

Form 15G/H is valid for one financial year only (1 April to 31 March). File again after 1 April every year — ideally in the first week. If you delay and TDS gets cut on the May / June quarterly interest payment, that money is gone (claim refund via ITR; bank cannot reverse already-deducted TDS).

• The bank uploads quarterly (Form 27EQ) to the TDS-CPC system.
• Your Form 26AS will show “Section 197A — declaration” for each bank; nil TDS will reflect for that source.
• Cross-check on incometax.gov.in → “Form 26AS” / AIS.

+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Form 15G (non-seniors below 60)  | Eligibility (BOTH must hold):        |
|                                  |  - Total income ≤ basic exemption    |
|                                  |    (₹2.5L old / ₹3L new regime)      |
|                                  |  - Interest ≤ basic exemption        |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Form 15H (resident seniors 60+)  | Eligibility:                         |
|                                  |  - Total income ≤ ₹3L (60-79)        |
|                                  |  - Total income ≤ ₹5L (80+)          |
|                                  |  - NO upper limit on interest        |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| TDS rate if NO 15G/15H filed     | 10% on interest above ₹40K (₹50K     |
|                                  | seniors). 20% if PAN inoperative.    |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Frequency of filing              | Every financial year. Once per       |
|                                  | bank/NBFC. Re-file in April.         |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Cost of filing                   | NIL (free at every bank, online or   |
|                                  | offline)                             |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Penalty for false declaration    | §277 IT Act: prosecution 3 months    |
|                                  | – 7 years + fine. §277A: false       |
|                                  | statement penalty.                   |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| If 15G/H filed late and TDS cut  | Bank cannot reverse. Claim refund    |
|                                  | by filing ITR (see below).           |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| RTI to PIO bank / IT Dept        | ₹10 by IPO. BPL = free.              |
+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+

• Total income above threshold. You file 15G but your salary + interest is actually ₹4 lakh. Bank uploads to TRACES; the IT Dept's algorithm flags the mismatch — you get a §148A notice for misreporting + penalty + interest. Don't file 15G/H if you're not eligible — file ITR + claim refund instead.
• PAN-Aadhaar not linked. Bank treats PAN as inoperative — TDS at 20%. Link PAN-Aadhaar first (see Link PAN with Aadhaar).
• Filed AFTER first interest credit of FY. TDS already deducted on the May or June interest payment — bank cannot reverse. Only refund via ITR is possible. File before 7 April every year.
• Estimated interest under-stated. You say “₹38,000” to stay under the §194A threshold but the actual interest is ₹52,000 — bank's system flags the mismatch and may still deduct on the excess.
• Multiple 15Gs across banks adding up to taxable income. You file 15G at 5 banks for ₹35K each; total interest ₹1.75 lakh; combined with ₹2 lakh other income = ₹3.75 lakh — over threshold. You should not have filed 15G in the first place; file ITR + pay tax.
• Senior citizen below ₹50K interest at one bank — you don't even need 15H, since §194A threshold for seniors is already ₹50K. Filing 15H is harmless but unnecessary.
• NRI tries to file 15G/15H. Not allowed — only resident Indians. NRIs use Form 10F + Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) for DTAA-based lower TDS.
• HUF tries to file 15H. Not allowed — 15H is for individual senior citizens only. HUF can file 15G if conditions are met.

• Carry the acknowledgement number + PAN + a copy of the 15G/H PDF.
• Most TDS-on-deposit issues are clerical and resolve at the branch.

• Every PSU and major private bank has a PNO listed on their website (footer → “Customer Service” → “Nodal Officer”).
• Email + send by registered post; PNO has 30 days to respond.

• e-Filing helpdesk: 1800-103-0025 / 1800-419-0025 for 26AS / TDS credit issues.
• e-Nivaran: login at incometax.gov.in → “Grievance” → category “TDS Mismatch / Form 15G-H”.

• https://pgportal.gov.in → for bank issues: “Department of Financial Services”. For TDS issues: “Department of Revenue” → “Income Tax (CBDT)”.

• https://cms.rbi.org.in — file under RBI-IOS 2021. Free. Use after 30 days from bank.

PSU banks are public authorities (per CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011) 8 SCC 497). The Income Tax Department / TDS-CPC are also public authorities. PIOs:

• For PSU bank: PIO at the Zonal Office of the bank.
• For TDS credit / 26AS reconciliation: PIO TDS-CPC, Vaishali, Ghaziabad.
• For broader IT Dept queries: PIO CBDT, North Block, New Delhi.

RTI helps here when:

• You filed 15G/15H, the bank acknowledged, but TDS was still deducted — RTI to bank PIO for: dealing officer, reason for not honouring 15G, action taken on the form.
• Your 15G/15H was rejected without a written reason — RTI for the policy basis and the rejection note.
• The bank claims to have uploaded to TRACES but your 26AS shows TDS deducted — RTI to bank PIO for the upload challan / PRN number; cross-RTI to PIO TDS-CPC Vaishali for the reconciled record.
• You have asked the bank to reverse a wrongly-deducted TDS at quarterly rectification (Form 26B) and they are silent — RTI to bank PIO for the refund process status.
• For systematic TDS over-deduction across a branch / bank — RTI for the count of 15G/H rejections in the last quarter (statistical, not personal).

RTI does NOT help here when:

• You filed 15G knowing your income is above the limit, and the IT Dept caught you — RTI cannot undo a misreporting penalty; you owe the tax.
• You want the bank to reverse already-deducted TDS for a quarter that has closed — that money is sitting with the IT Dept as a credit; only ITR refund can return it. RTI to bank cannot reverse closed quarters.
• You want the IT Department to waive interest under §234A because the refund was delayed — that's a §119(2)(b) condonation decision, not RTI.
• You want to know if you should file 15G — that's tax advice; RTI gives information held, not advice.
• Your 15G was filed at an NBFC / private FD company that is not a public authority — RTI Act doesn't apply; use NBFC Ombudsman (RBI) or consumer forum.

See the dedicated guide: RTI for TDS / IT refund delayed — copy-ready template.

Q. I'm 58 and my total income is ₹2 lakh — which form do I file?
Form 15G (you're below 60). When you turn 60, switch to Form 15H.

Q. I file 15H at SBI in April. Do I need to file again at HDFC where I also have an FD?
Yes. Each deductor is separate. File 15H at HDFC too.

Q. The bank says my 15G “did not get auto-validated” — what now?
Common when PAN-Aadhaar mismatch or the system flags interest > exemption. Check the rejection reason in the bank's portal; fix and refile. If it persists, e-Nivaran ticket on incometax.gov.in.

Q. Can I file 15G if I'm a salaried person?
Yes — if your total income (salary + interest) is below the exemption limit. Most salaried earning above ₹2.5 / ₹3 lakh cannot file 15G; they must let the bank deduct TDS and claim credit while filing ITR.

Q. What if I made a mistake in the estimated income?
You can file a revised 15G/15H at the same bank. The bank will treat the latest valid declaration as effective. If TDS was deducted between submissions, file ITR for refund.

Q. Does 15G / 15H apply to dividends now (since dividends are taxable in hands of investor)?
Yes, since FY 2020-21. For dividend income above ₹5,000 from a single company, TDS @ 10% is deducted under §194. You can file 15G/15H with the company / RTA (CAMS / KFintech) to stop dividend TDS, subject to the same eligibility conditions.

Q. The bank cut TDS in April even though I filed 15G in March. Why?
Because 15G filed in March is for the previous financial year. Refile after 1 April for the new year — the form is FY-specific.

Q. Can my parent file 15H in my name on my behalf?
No. The declaration must be self-signed (digital or wet) by the account holder. Family members cannot e-sign on behalf.

• How to file Income Tax Return online
• How to link PAN with Aadhaar
• How to apply for PAN correction or re-issue
• RTI for TDS / IT refund delayed
• RTI in 12 simple steps — for first-time filers
• All Indian government helplines — one master directory
• RTI forms + state-wise fee chart

Last reviewed: 26 April 2026 by RTI Wiki editorial team. Basic exemption limits, 87A rebate amounts, and §80TTB / §80TTA deductions change with each Union Budget — verify on incometax.gov.in or write to admin@bighelpers.in if you spot a stale figure.