Form 15G/15H to Form 121: New Act Declaration Guide

Understand the form-transition context for no-TDS declarations, how to preserve declarations, and what taxpayers should check under the new law.

For Indian taxpayers adjusting to the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Finance Act 2025 changes, this guide is an educational readiness note — not a promise of tax outcome, refund speed, or notice avoidance. Always match your position against the official portal, notified forms, and your own documents before acting.

What changed with the new law

Declaration forms prevent or reduce TDS deduction, but only when eligibility is correctly assessed first. Submitting the wrong form — or simply signing the familiar old one without checking the current rules — can create tax, interest, or mismatch problems down the line.

The transition problem in practice

The shift to the Income-tax Act, 2025 creates a year-selection puzzle. AY 2026-27 return work, Tax Year 2026-27 current compliance, old notices, and new forms can all land on your desk in the same month. A clean file should clearly show the period, law reference, portal form, payment or return type, and supporting evidence. Without that clarity, even a straightforward declaration can end up mapped to the wrong year or the wrong legal framework.

A real-world scenario

A senior citizen giving a no-deduction declaration to a bank still needs to estimate total taxable income for the year. That matters because AIS and Form 26AS will later reflect the interest credited — and if the declared income turns out to be wrong, the mismatch shows up during return processing. Preserving interest statements and the bank's acknowledgement of the declaration is not optional; it is the paper trail that explains your position.

Records every declarant should keep

• Interest certificate from the bank or deductor
• Copy of the declaration submitted
• Bank acknowledgement of receipt
• AIS and Form 26AS downloads for the relevant period

Filing checklist

• Identify whether no-TDS declaration filing affects AY 2026-27 filing, Tax Year 2026-27 compliance, or both.
• Read the official source and map the rule to your income head, taxpayer type, and dates.
• Collect source records, computation notes, challans, statements, and declarations before filing or payment.
• Check whether the position changes the ITR form, schedule, tax payment, TDS/TCS, or disclosure route.
• Preserve the final return, acknowledgement, e-verification proof, and supporting working papers.

Official sources

Mistakes worth avoiding

The most common error is reaching for a familiar form number out of habit. In a transition year, the correct form for a given period may have changed. Other traps:

• Mixing AY 2026-27 filing records with Tax Year 2026-27 payment or TDS records.
• Treating a headline slab, rebate, or threshold as the final computation rather than a starting point.
• Filing or paying before reconciling AIS, Form 26AS, challans, books, and certificates.
• Not keeping a note of which official source informed the decision.

How MyeCA helps

MyeCA helps taxpayers and businesses organize records, compare filing routes, prepare document checklists, and review tax-credit mismatches. When the position is genuinely complex — especially for multi-year transitions, large interest income, or notice situations — a CA-led review before filing is the safer call.

In summary

Confirm the year, check the official source, collect supporting records, prepare a short computation note, verify the return or payment route, and preserve the acknowledgement after submission. The declaration is only part of the story; the paper trail behind it is what protects you later.