No more Form 15H for senior citizens from April 1, 2026. Avoid TDS with Form 121; details here

Senior citizens planning to avoid TDS on income below the basic exemption limit will no longer need to fill Form 15H from tax year 2026-27, starting April 1, 2026. This form has been replaced by Form 121 under Income-tax Rules 2026. This article explains key details you need to know about this change.

Form 15G and Form 15H of Income-tax Rules 1962 have been replaced by Form 121 under Income-tax Rules 2026.

Effective from April 1, 2026, Form 121 can be used by a taxpayer to avoid tax deduction at source (TDS) if their tax liability for Tax Year 2026-27 will be Nil. Based on this declaration, the payer will not deduct tax on income or credit due to the taxpayer.

What has changed?

Previously, Form 15G was applicable for taxpayers aged below 60 years while Form 15H was applicable to senior citizens aged 60 years and above. Under the Income-tax Rules 2026, there is a single form 121 for both types of taxpayers.

"The new Form No. 121 has replaced the earlier Forms 15G & 15H. Now, both type of taxpayers i.e. tax payers below the age of 60 as well as taxpayers of the age of 60 and above, will use Form No. 121 for submitting declaration in order to avoid relevant income from being subjected to TDS," the Income-tax Department says.

The following types of income are covered under Form 121:

• PF withdrawals and pension

• Insurance commission

• Rent

• Interest on deposits

• Income from Mutual Funds

• Payments in respect of Life Insurance Policy

• Dividend income

UIN generation process

A unique identification number is required to be allotted by the payer to each declaration received in paper or in electronic form. The payer is further required to furnish Part B of Form No. 121 containing the details of declarations received in Part A of Form No. 121 (whether digitized or electronic) within the prescribed timelines.

The payer is also required to furnish a statement of deduction of tax referred to in Rule 219 containing the particulars of declaration received by him during each quarter of the tax year along with the unique identification number, regardless of the fact that no tax has been deducted in the said quarter.

As the new Financial Year starts from April 1, the Income-tax Department has specified the following procedure for generation and allotment of UIN in respect of Form No. 121 and quarterly furnishing of Part B thereof by the payer:

• The payer shall allot a 26-character UIN to each declaration (Part A of Form No. 121) received by him during the tax year.

• The UIN shall consist of the following three fields, namely:

(a) Sequence Number - Ten alphanumeric characters beginning with the letter "D" followed by nine digits (for example: 0000000001);

(b) Tax Year - Six digits representing the tax year for which the declaration is furnished (for example, for Tax Year 2026-27, it shall be 202627);

(c) Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) of the payer -Ten alphanumeric characters (for example, for TAN: MUMN12345A it shall be MUMN12345A).