Form 121 Replaces 15G and 15H: FD TDS Guide

Form 121 consolidates legacy Forms 15G (under-60) and 15H (60+) into a single declaration for Tax Year 2026-27 onwards (income earned 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027), under Income-tax Act 2025 Section 393(6) and Rule 211 of the Income-tax Rules 2026. What is genuinely new: the unified form, the Form 121-specific 26-character UIN format prescribed by CBDT Notification No. 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 dated 28 March 2026, and the payer's quarterly Part B furnishing obligation under Section 393(7). What is carried forward unchanged from Financial Year 2025-26: the bank FD interest TDS thresholds (Rs 1,00,000 senior citizen / Rs 50,000 non-senior / Rs 10,000 non-bank Specified person) - these became current under Finance Act 2025-amended 1961 Section 194A effective 1 April 2025 and Section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 5 mirrors them. Declaration must be filed per payer, every Tax Year. Eligibility is open to resident individuals and other resident persons that are not companies or firms, such as HUFs and trusts (this guide's focus is resident individuals), whose estimated total tax for the Tax Year is NIL. Companies, partnership firms, and non-residents cannot file Form 121. Not financial advice.

Quick Facts

What changed: Form 121 unifies 15G and 15H under Sec 393(6)

The structural change for Tax Year 2026-27 is consolidation, not a new threshold regime. Under the 1961 Act, declarants below 60 used Form 15G and those 60 or above used Form 15H, both prescribed under Section 197A read with Income-tax Rules 1962 Rule 29C. Under the Income-tax Act 2025, both forms collapse into a single Form 121, prescribed under Rule 211 of the Income-tax Rules 2026.

Section 393(6) of Act 2025 is the declaration authorization. The operative text reads:

"The deduction of tax shall not be made under provisions referred to in column C of the Table below, in the case of a person as specified in column B, if such person furnishes to the person responsible for paying any income or sum of the nature referred to in such provisions, a written declaration in duplicate in such form and manner as may be prescribed that the tax on such person's estimated total income of the tax year in which such income or sum is to be included in computing his total income shall be nil."

The senior citizen carve-out that historically lived in 1961 Section 197A(1C) is now embedded within Section 393(6) itself as a single sentence exempting resident individuals aged 60 or more from the "exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax" ceiling. This is why Form 121 has no 121A / 121B sub-format split - the form is uniform and eligibility for the senior-specific relaxation is determined by the age field inside the form.

The deductor's filing obligation is Section 393(7) (successor to legacy 1961 Section 197A(2)): the payer must deliver Form 121 declarations to the prescribed income-tax authority by the seventh day of the month immediately following the end of each quarter. Per CBDT Notification No. 01/CPC(TDS)/2026, delivery is electronic via the e-filing portal in the prescribed Part B summary format - a quarterly upload, not a per-declaration monthly one.

FD TDS thresholds for Tax Year 2026-27 (current state, carried forward from FA 2025)

These thresholds will already feel current to readers who tracked the Finance Act 2025 changes. They took effect on 1 April 2025 under FA 2025-amended 1961 Section 194A and Section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 5 of Act 2025 carries them forward without further change for Tax Year 2026-27.

The mechanics: below threshold, the payer does not deduct TDS in the first place, so no declaration is needed. Above threshold, the payer will deduct TDS at the applicable rate UNLESS the depositor files Form 121 AND meets the eligibility test (estimated total tax for the Tax Year is NIL). Filing Form 121 above threshold without meeting the eligibility test is a false declaration.

Who can file: eligibility test

Form 121 is open to resident individuals and other resident persons that are not companies or firms, such as HUFs and trusts. This guide focuses on resident individuals because FD depositors are mostly individuals, but the standalone Form 121 FAQ confirms HUFs, trusts, and similar resident non-company entities can also file subject to the same conditions. Companies, partnership firms, and non-residents cannot file Form 121.

For an eligible person, two further conditions must hold:

1. Estimated tax on total income for the Tax Year is NIL (this includes all heads of income, not just the FD interest in question)
2. For non-senior declarants only, the aggregate of income from the relevant Table Sl. No. payer category does not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. Senior citizens (resident individuals aged 60 or more at any time during the Tax Year) are exempt from this aggregate-ceiling check under Section 393(6).

If your salary plus FD interest plus rent plus all other heads, after applicable deductions and rebate, produces a positive tax liability, you do not qualify. The standalone Form 121 FAQ frames it: filing is not mandatory; it is meant only for taxpayers who do not want tax deducted at source AND whose tax on estimated total income for the Tax Year is likely to be NIL.

How to fill: field walkthrough + UIN structure

Form 121 fields:

• PAN of the declarant
• Tax Year for which the declaration is made (field 8 of the form; for declarations covering income earned 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, the field takes Tax Year 2026-27 - where the form or portal asks for Tax Year specifically, use Tax Year 2026-27, not Assessment Year 2027-28)
• Estimated total income for the Tax Year + declaration that the tax on that income will be NIL (declaration clause (iii) of the form proforma)
• Signature

The UIN is assigned by the payer at the time of accepting the declaration, not by the declarant. The standalone Form 121 FAQ Q9 and CBDT Notification No. 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 dated 28 March 2026 prescribe the 26-character structure. Read as three components:

• "D" prefix + 9-digit sequence assigned by the payer for the tax year (example component: D000000001)
• 6-digit Tax Year code (example component: 202627 for Tax Year 2026-27)
• Payer's 10-character TAN (example component: MUMN12345A)

Assembled, the UIN runs to 26 characters total. The Notification 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 PDF renders these with inconsistent spacing in different places, which is why the structure is best understood as the three components rather than a single concatenated string.

The UIN concept itself is inherited - 1961 Income-tax Rules Rule 29C already required UIN allotment for Forms 15G and 15H. What Rule 211 + Notification 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 introduce is the specific 26-character format for Form 121.

Payer Part B obligation: under Section 393(7) read with Notification 01/CPC(TDS)/2026, the payer must furnish a quarterly Part B summary to the prescribed income-tax authority electronically via the e-filing portal, by the seventh day of the month following the end of each quarter. This is a payer-side operational responsibility; declarants do not file Part B themselves.

Where and when to submit

Per payer, every Tax Year. The standalone Form 121 FAQ Q14 (and the EPFO-attached FAQ Q6) confirm the per-payer submission rule: multiple fixed deposits at one bank consolidate to one Form 121 for that bank; multiple banks need one Form 121 per bank; rent above the TDS threshold needs Form 121 to the tenant who deducts TDS; and so on for each separate payer-deductor relationship.

Submission channel is bank-determined and rolling out unevenly. As of late May 2026, ICICI Bank's Personal Banking Form Center lists Form 121 as a downloadable PDF under its Deposits section. Other major banks (HDFC, SBI, Axis, Kotak, IndusInd, Bank of Baroda, PNB) have not yet published a publicly visible Form 121 acceptance notice. If your bank's online portal still references Form 15G or 15H, ask the bank for its current Form 121 (or current no-TDS declaration) workflow and do not rely on a 15G or 15H-labelled channel unless the bank confirms it will record the submission as Form 121 under Income-tax Act 2025. Re-check at the start of Q2 of Financial Year 2026-27.

Decision table by depositor situation

The decision is not "above threshold = file Form 121." Above threshold means the payer will deduct TDS unless an eligible declarant files Form 121. Eligibility requires the depositor's total estimated tax for the Tax Year to be NIL, across all heads, after deductions and rebate. Filing Form 121 without meeting eligibility is a false declaration. The table below shows how this plays out in practice.

Transition from 15G or 15H: must I re-file?

Yes. Declarations are per Tax Year (EPFO-attached FAQ Q4). Form 15G or 15H submitted in March 2026 covered Financial Year 2025-26 under the 1961 Act and is valid for that year only.

The cleanest available primary-source transition instruction is the EPFO Head Office Circular No. WSU/TDS Issues/E-772040/2026-27/11 dated 13 April 2026, which spells out the per-Tax-Year reset principle in operational terms. EPFO is a non-bank deductor, so this circular is not bank-rollout evidence (banks are running their own operational paths). It is, however, the cleanest official articulation of the rule that any active 15G or 15H does not carry into Tax Year 2026-27.

The circular's subject reads: "Implementation of the New IT Act, 2025 - Transition from Form 15G/15H to Consolidated Form 121 for TDS-exempted Incomes-reg." Its operational instruction:

"the claims already filed along with Form 15G/H from 01/04/2026 should not be returned for this purpose, but Form 121 should be collected by taking up with the said member."

For declarants outside the EPF context, the same per-Tax-Year reset principle applies: if you submitted 15G or 15H in March 2026 and you remain eligible and want to stop TDS deduction at any payer for Tax Year 2026-27, file Form 121 fresh from 1 April 2026 onwards.

What we don't know yet

Bank operational rollout is partial as of publish date. ICICI Bank's Form Center lists Form 121. HDFC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National Bank have not yet published a publicly visible Form 121 acceptance notice on their customer-facing form-download pages. Operational rollout will continue through Q1 and Q2 of Financial Year 2026-27. Form 121 is the statutorily prescribed form from 1 April 2026 - if your bank's online portal still shows a 15G or 15H label, ask the bank for its current Form 121 declaration workflow and confirm whether they will accept and record your submission as Form 121 under Income-tax Act 2025 before relying on the legacy label. Do not treat legacy 15G or 15H as compliance for Tax Year 2026-27 without that explicit bank confirmation.

FAQ

1. What is Form 121?

Form 121 is a TDS-exemption declaration under Income-tax Act 2025 Section 393(6), prescribed by Rule 211 of the Income-tax Rules 2026. It replaces the legacy Forms 15G and 15H from Tax Year 2026-27 onwards.

2. Does Form 121 replace both 15G and 15H?

Yes. The two age-band-specific legacy forms are consolidated into a single unified Form 121. Resident individuals aged 60 or more file the same form as those under 60; the senior citizen carve-out is handled within the form's eligibility logic, not by a separate sub-format.

3. Who can file Form 121?

Eligible persons are resident individuals and other resident persons that are not companies or firms, such as HUFs and trusts, whose estimated tax on total income for the Tax Year is NIL. This guide focuses on resident individuals because FD depositors are mostly individuals. Senior citizens (60 or more at any time during the Tax Year) get an additional relaxation from the non-senior aggregate-ceiling check, embedded directly in Section 393(6). Companies, partnership firms, and non-residents cannot file Form 121.

4. When do I submit Form 121?

At the start of the Tax Year, before the first interest credit or payment for which you want to stop TDS. Most banks accept declarations at the start of the financial year for the full year ahead.

5. Do I need a separate Form 121 for each bank?

Yes. Per the standalone Form 121 FAQ Q14 and the EPFO-attached FAQ Q6, one Form 121 covers one payer-deductor relationship. Multiple FDs at the same bank consolidate to one Form 121 for that bank; multiple banks need one Form 121 per bank.

6. What if I submitted Form 15G or 15H in March 2026 - do I need to re-file?

Yes. Declarations are per Tax Year (EPFO-attached FAQ Q4). The March 2026 declaration covered Financial Year 2025-26 only. For Tax Year 2026-27, file Form 121 fresh from 1 April 2026 if you remain eligible.

7. What are the current FD TDS thresholds?

Rs 1,00,000 for senior citizens on bank deposits, Rs 50,000 for non-senior on bank deposits, and Rs 10,000 for interest from non-bank Specified persons. These became current under Finance Act 2025-amended 1961 Section 194A effective 1 April 2025 and Section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 5 carries them forward unchanged for Tax Year 2026-27.

8. What is the UIN on Form 121?

A 26-character Unique Identification Number assigned by the payer at the time of accepting the declaration. The structure (per CBDT Notification No. 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 and standalone Form 121 FAQ Q9): "D" prefix + 9-digit payer sequence + 6-digit Tax Year + payer's 10-character TAN. UIN allotment is a payer responsibility; declarants do not generate UINs.

9. Where do I download Form 121?

The official PDF is at incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/d/guest/fn-121. Many banks will also host the form on their own customer-forms pages; ICICI Bank's Form Center listed Form 121 as of late May 2026.

10. What if my bank has not switched to Form 121 yet?

Ask the bank for its current Form 121 declaration workflow. If the bank's online portal still labels the form as 15G or 15H, confirm with the bank that they will accept and record your submission as Form 121 under Income-tax Act 2025 - statutorily, Form 121 is the prescribed form from 1 April 2026. Do not rely on a legacy 15G or 15H label as compliance for Tax Year 2026-27 without that confirmation. Re-check at the start of Q2 of Financial Year 2026-27 if operational rollout has progressed.

Sources

• Income-tax Act 2025 (as amended by Finance Act 2026) consolidated PDF: incometaxindia.gov.in
• Income-tax Act 2025 Section 393 (Sl. No. 5 sub-page): incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-393-5
• Income-tax Act 2025 Section 393(6) sub-page: incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-393-6
• Income-tax Rules 2026 landing page: incometaxindia.gov.in/income-tax-rule-2026
• CBDT Notification No. 22/2026 / G.S.R. 198(E) dated 20 March 2026 (parent Rules 2026 notification): incometaxindia.gov.in
• CBDT Notification No. 01/CPC(TDS)/2026 dated 28 March 2026 (UIN + Part B procedure): incometaxindia.gov.in
• CBDT Press Release 1 April 2026 (Act 2025 entry-into-force): incometaxindia.gov.in
• Form No. 121 PDF: incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/d/guest/fn-121
• Standalone Form No. 121 FAQ (Income Tax Department): incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/d/guest/form-121-faqs
• EPFO Head Office Circular No. WSU/TDS Issues/E-772040/2026-27/11 dated 13 April 2026 (transition corroboration; EPFO is non-bank deductor): epfindia.gov.in
• 1961 Income-tax Rules Rule 29C (Form 15G / 15H UIN predecessor; historical reference for the UIN-concept lineage): incometaxindia.gov.in
• 1961 Income-tax Act Section 197A (legacy declaration authorization; historical reference for "what Sec 393(6) replaces"): incometaxindia.gov.in
• 1961 Income-tax Act Section 194A (Finance Act 2025-amended source for current FD TDS thresholds carried forward into Sec 393): incometaxindia.gov.in