Form 15G / 15H eligibility checker

Form 15G (under 60) and Form 15H (60+) are self-declarations that let your bank skip TDS on FD / RD interest if your final tax liability for the year is zero. Submit at every bank where you have deposits, at the start of each financial year.

Verdict

Quick rules

  • Form 15G: Resident, under 60, taxable income below basic exemption AND total interest income across all banks within that limit AND final tax liability = ₹0.
  • Form 15H: Resident, 60+, final tax liability for the year = ₹0 (no interest-income cap, unlike 15G).
  • NRIs cannot file 15G/15H — separate Section 197 lower-deduction certificate process applies.
  • Penalty for false declaration: under Section 277, up to 7 years' imprisonment.