TDS or Tax Deducted at Source is applied when the interest income from investments like fixed deposits crosses a certain amount. Form 15G and Form 5H are used in such cases of fixed deposit transactions. They help to get tax exemption when the amount of interest income is Rs. 10,000 or more. As these forms are valid for a single financial year only they must be submitted at the beginning of the year and not the end.

Form 15G

• You must be a citizen of the country
• You must be an individual or HUF and not a company in order to submit Form 15G
• You must be below 60 years of age
• You must have zero/nil tax to be paid on the total income
• You must have the total interest income less than the exemption limit i.e. Rs.2.5 lakhs for the financial year

Form 15H

• You must be a citizen of the country
• You must be an individual
• You must be above 60 years of age, or you must have attained the age of 60 years in the year you submit the form
• You must have zero/ nil tax liability on the total income for the year under consideration
• You must have total interest income of less than the exemption limit i.e. Rs.3 lakhs for the financial year if you are between 60 and 80 years of age, or Rs.5 lakhs if you are over 80 years