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The Employees\u2019 Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a new compliance framework following the rollout of the Income-tax Act, 2025, replacing the widely used Form 15G and Form 15H with a unified Form 121. The change has come into effect from April 1, 2026, as per an EPFO circular dated April 13.<\/p>
\u201cWith the phasing out of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the commencement of the Income-tax Act, 2025\u2026 the erstwhile Form 15G and Form 15H have been replaced by a single, consolidated written declaration in Form 121,\u201d EPFO said.<\/p>
What is Form 121?<\/strong><\/p> Form 121 is a self-declaration submitted by taxpayers stating that their estimated total income for the financial year is nil, and therefore, no tax deducted at source (TDS) should apply on specified incomes.<\/p> Once submitted to the payer\u2014such as EPFO, banks, or employers\u2014the entity will not deduct TDS, provided the declaration is valid.<\/p> What has changed from Form 15G & 15H?<\/p> The biggest shift is consolidation and simplification.<\/p> Earlier:<\/p> Form 15G \u2192 for individuals below 60 years ALSO READ:\u00a0No job, no EPF deposit \u2014 Can your EPF balance still earn you interest?<\/strong><\/p> Now:<\/p> Form 121 \u2192 a single form for all eligible individuals, irrespective of age<\/p> This eliminates the need to choose forms based on age and creates a uniform compliance framework.<\/p> Who should file Form 121?<\/strong><\/p> Form 121 is meant for taxpayers who:<\/p> Expect zero tax liability for the financial year Eligible users include:<\/p> Resident individuals (below and above 60 years) Not eligible:<\/p> Companies and firms Importantly, filing the form is not mandatory. If not submitted, TDS will be deducted as usual, and taxpayers can claim a refund later.<\/p> ALSO READ:\u00a0EPFO 3.0 explained: Will PF accounts work like bank accounts with ATM, UPI access? Who benefits?<\/strong><\/p> What income is covered?<\/strong><\/p> Form 121 can be used to avoid TDS on multiple income streams, including:<\/p> Interest on bank deposits EPFO has also clarified that Form 15G\/H submissions made after April 1, 2026, will not be rejected, but Form 121 may need to be obtained subsequently.<\/p> ALSO READ:\u00a0BT Explainer: Form 121 – How the new TDS declaration form simplifies tax compliance for senior citizens in 2026<\/strong><\/p> What\u2019s new in Form 121?<\/p> The revised Form 121 is designed as a smart, digital-first form to improve ease of compliance and reduce errors:<\/p> Auto-population of details using taxpayer profile data In addition, the consolidation into a single form across age groups significantly simplifies user experience and reduces confusion.<\/p> What should taxpayers watch out for?<\/strong><\/p> While the form simplifies the process, compliance responsibility remains critical:<\/p> Incorrect declaration (if tax is actually payable) may attract penalties Form 121 EPFO new rule, Form 15G 15H replaced 2026, EPFO TDS rules update 2026, Income Tax Act 2025 changes India, how to avoid TDS EPFO, Form 121 eligibility India, EPFO withdrawal tax rules 2026, TDS on PF withdrawal new rules, Form 121 meaning and benefits, EPFO latest circular April 2026#EPFO #introduces #Form #tax #law #replaces #Form #15G #15H1776298715<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Employees\u2019 Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a new compliance framework following the rollout of the Income-tax Act, 2025, replacing the widely used Form 15G and Form 15H with a unified Form 121. The change has come into effect from April 1, 2026, as per an EPFO circular dated April 13. \u201cWith the phasing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[24531,24532,3401,24530,24523,24527,8279,24526,24521,24529,24522,24525,24524,700,1490,2229,1489,24528],"class_list":["post-6581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-15g","tag-15h","tag-epfo","tag-epfo-latest-circular-april-2026","tag-epfo-tds-rules-update-2026","tag-epfo-withdrawal-tax-rules-2026","tag-form","tag-form-121-eligibility-india","tag-form-121-epfo-new-rule","tag-form-121-meaning-and-benefits","tag-form-15g-15h-replaced-2026","tag-how-to-avoid-tds-epfo","tag-income-tax-act-2025-changes-india","tag-introduces","tag-law","tag-replaces","tag-tax","tag-tds-on-pf-withdrawal-new-rules"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Form 15H \u2192 for senior citizens (60+)<\/p>
Want to avoid upfront TDS deduction<\/p>
Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs)
Other specified eligible resident entities<\/p>
Non-residents<\/p>
Dividends
Rent income
Insurance commissions
Mutual fund income
Life insurance payouts
Provident Fund withdrawals and pensions
How does the process work?
Taxpayers can submit Form 121 physically or online (depending on the payer)
The payer must assign a Unique Identification Number (UIN) for each declaration
Details must be uploaded to the income tax e-filing portal
Transactions are reported in quarterly TDS statements (Form 140)<\/p>
Real-time validation and error handling
Dropdown menus and date pickers for accuracy
API and database integration for seamless processing
Checkbox-based smart verification
Standardised name and address fields<\/p>
Taxpayers with multiple income sources may need to file across payers
Timing matters\u2014late submission will not prevent TDS deduction<\/p> <\/div>