Tax

Withdrawing EPF in 2026–27? Use Form 121, Not Forms 15G or 15H

October 9, 2026

Colourful doodle of an Indian employee preparing an EPF withdrawal, with Forms 15G and 15H crossed out and Form 121 checked. Text: EPF withdrawal? Use Form 121, not 15G/15H.

If you plan to withdraw money from your Employees’ Provident Fund during tax year 2026–27, an old habit could cause avoidable trouble: attaching Form 15G or Form 15H.

Those two declarations have been replaced by a single Form 121 under the Income-tax Act, 2025. EPFO instructed its offices to use Form 121 for eligible claims from 1 April 2026. The change is procedural—it does not create a new tax, and it does not automatically make an EPF withdrawal tax-free.

What has changed?

Until 31 March 2026, eligible residents commonly used Form 15G or Form 15H to request that tax not be deducted from specified income. From tax year 2026–27, the Income Tax Department says these declarations must be made in Form 121.

The EPFO circular dated 13 April 2026 tells field offices to collect Form 121 instead of Forms 15G and 15H. Claims filed with an old form from 1 April 2026 were not to be returned merely for that reason; the office was asked to obtain Form 121 from the member.

A Moneycontrol report published on 9 October 2026 brought this transition back into focus for members preparing an EPF claim.

What Form 121 actually does

Form 121 is a declaration that your estimated final tax liability for the tax year will be nil. If the declaration is valid and applies to the payment, the payer may release the specified income without deducting tax at source.

For EPF members, the relevant covered payment is the accumulated balance due from a recognised provident fund. The official Form 121 FAQ confirms that recognised provident-fund payments are within its scope.

But Form 121 does not:

It only prevents TDS when the member satisfies the declaration conditions. Your final tax position is still determined when your total income for the year is computed.

Who may submit Form 121?

The member must be a resident and must expect nil tax liability for the year. An operative PAN is mandatory.

For a person below 60, the official guidance adds another condition: the aggregate of the specified income covered by the declaration must not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. A person aged 60 or above has the relaxed condition of nil estimated tax liability without this additional income-limit test.

That means “my employer has stopped deducting tax” is not enough. You must estimate all relevant income for the year—salary, interest, capital gains, pension, rent and taxable parts of the EPF withdrawal—before signing the declaration.

When does EPF withdrawal normally face TDS?

The Income Tax Department’s EPF guidance states that TDS generally applies when a taxable EPF withdrawal exceeds ₹50,000 and the employee has not completed five years of continuous service. The stated TDS rate with PAN is 10%.

No TDS is normally required in certain cases, including completion of five years of continuous service, transfer of the balance to a recognised provident fund with the new employer, or eligible termination for reasons beyond the employee’s control. Previous service can count when the old balance was properly transferred.

These are separate rules. First ask whether the withdrawal is taxable and whether TDS applies. Only then ask whether Form 121 can prevent deduction because your estimated tax liability is nil.

A simple example

Assume Priya is 42 and wants to withdraw ₹1.20 lakh after four years of continuous service. The amount is above ₹50,000 and the five-year condition is not met, so the payment may face TDS if the withdrawal is taxable.

If Priya is a resident, has a valid PAN, expects her final tax liability for 2026–27 to be nil and satisfies the additional income-limit condition applicable below age 60, she may submit Form 121 before EPFO releases the money.

If her total estimated income creates a tax liability, she should not make a false nil-tax declaration. TDS may be deducted, and the tax payable or refundable will be settled through her income-tax return.

Before filing an EPF withdrawal claim

  1. Check your continuous service. Include earlier employment only where the previous EPF balance was transferred correctly.
  2. Identify why employment ended. Ill health, closure of the employer or another qualifying circumstance beyond your control can affect the TDS result.
  3. Estimate total income for the whole tax year. Do not look only at the EPF amount.
  4. Confirm Form 121 eligibility. Check residence, age, nil-tax liability, the applicable income condition and PAN status.
  5. Submit the declaration before payment. The official FAQ says it should ideally reach the payer before the income is credited or paid.
  6. Keep evidence. Save the submitted form, claim acknowledgement, service history, PAN record and any UIN or communication issued by EPFO.

What if TDS has already been deducted?

Submitting Form 121 after the payment may not reverse a completed deduction. If tax has already been deducted, check Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement, then claim any eligible refund through the income-tax return. A refund depends on the final tax calculation; it is not automatic merely because you intended to file Form 121.

The practical takeaway

For an EPF withdrawal in tax year 2026–27, do not reuse an old Form 15G or Form 15H. Check whether TDS applies, calculate your estimated total income, and use Form 121 only when every eligibility condition is met.

The paperwork has been consolidated. The responsibility to make a correct declaration has not.

Sources

This article is for education and general information. EPF tax treatment depends on service history, reason for withdrawal, residential status and the member’s complete income position. Obtain professional tax advice where the facts are unclear.