The Complete Guide to the New Form 121 for FY 2026-27
Dated 03.04.2026 : If you rely on interest from fixed deposits or dividend payouts, submitting Form 15G or 15H to your bank at the start of the financial year has been a standard routine to avoid Tax Deducted at Source (TDS). However, starting April 1, 2026 (FY 2026-27), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has officially overhauled this process.
Under the new Income-tax Rules, 2026, the old age-based forms are officially retired. Welcome to the era of the unified Form 121.
Here is everything you need to know about the new rules, the mandatory details you must provide, and how to stay compliant this financial year.
What is the New Form 121?
Form 121 is the newly approved, single consolidated declaration form that replaces both Form 15G (for individuals under 60) and Form 15H (for senior citizens). Whether you are a young professional, a retiree, or representing an eligible HUF or Trust, everyone will now use this single form to declare zero tax liability and request non-deduction of TDS from their payers.The CBDT officially enacted this change under Notification 01/CPC(TDS)/2026, bringing a much stricter, digitally tracked compliance framework to the TDS process.
Who is Eligible to Submit Form 121?
While the form itself is unified, the eligibility criteria still distinguish between age groups:
Individuals Below 60 Years: Your estimated total income for the financial year must strictly not exceed the basic exemption limit (₹4 Lakhs under the new default regime). If your income is above ₹4 Lakhs but your tax drops to zero due to rebates, you cannot use this form.
Senior Citizens (60 Years & Above): You have a wider safety net. Your estimated total tax liability for the year must be zero. Even if your income crosses the basic exemption limit, as long as standard rebates bring your final calculated tax to zero, you are eligible to submit Form 121.
The New Mandatory Detail: Your ITR History
The most significant change for taxpayers filling out the physical paper version (Part A) of Form 121 is the mandatory disclosure of past tax filings.
15-digit ITR Acknowledgment Numbers
You must now provide the 15-digit ITR Acknowledgment Numbers and the returned income amounts for your last two Tax Years.
- Where to find it: You can locate this 15-digit number on your ITR-V acknowledgment receipt, by logging into the Income Tax e-Filing portal, or by checking the confirmation emails or SMS sent by the IT Department when you filed your returns.
(Note: A valid PAN remains strictly mandatory. If you fail to provide a valid PAN, the form is invalid, and TDS will be deducted at higher rates.)
With the new Form 121 making this detail mandatory, many taxpayers will be scrambling to find this information. Here are the three easiest ways to locate the 15-digit ITR Acknowledgment Number:
Method 1: The Income Tax e-Filing Portal (Most Reliable)
If a taxpayer cannot find their old documents, the official portal is the best place to check.
- Go to the official Income Tax e-Filing portal (incometax.gov.in).
- Log in using your PAN/Aadhaar and password.
- On the top menu, navigate to e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns.
- Scroll to the relevant Assessment Year / Tax Year.
- The 15-digit Acknowledgment Number will be displayed prominently right next to the date of filing for that specific year.
Method 2: The ITR-V Document (Acknowledgment Receipt)
Whenever an ITR is successfully filed, the system generates a PDF receipt called the ITR-V (Income Tax Return – Verification).
- Open the ITR-V PDF for the relevant year. (Note: If it is password-protected, the password is the taxpayer’s PAN in lowercase followed by their Date of Birth in DDMMYYYY format).
- Look near the top of the first page. The 15-digit number is printed clearly under the heading “Acknowledgment Number.”
Method 3: Via Email or SMS History
The Income Tax Department automatically sends this number via both email and SMS upon successful filing and verification.
- Email: Search the email inbox (the one registered with the e-filing portal) for the sender donotreply@incometax.gov.in or simply search the keyword “ITR-V”. The 15-digit number is usually stated right in the body of the confirmation email.
- SMS: Search text messages for senders like ITDEFL or ITD. The confirmation text will explicitly state: “Your Income Tax Return for AY [Year]… has been filed successfully. Your Acknowledgment Number is [15-digit number].”
Once you hand in your physical Form 121, the bank’s work begins. The bank is legally required to digitize your form and generate a 26-character Unique Identification Number (UIN).
This UIN links your specific declaration to the bank’s Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) and the current Tax Year. This ensures that the Income Tax Department can digitally track every single zero-tax declaration you make across the country, leaving no room for offline forms to slip through the cracks.
Can You Submit Form 121 Online?
Yes. While the rules have just taken effect, several institutions have already facilitated online submissions to save you a trip to the branch.
Private institutions like AU Small Finance Bank and Bajaj Finserv have already updated their net banking and customer portals to accept digital Form 121 submissions verified via OTP. Similarly, major public sector lenders like Indian Overseas Bank are currently updating their digital infrastructure to support the new UIN generation and online submissions ahead of the first interest payouts of the year. If you use internet banking, check your bank’s “Tax” or “Services” tab to see if the digital form is live.
Do You Need to Submit Form 121 to Every Bank?
Yes. For FY 2026-27, you must continue to submit a separate Form 121 to every single bank, mutual fund, or institution where you earn taxable interest or dividends. Because the newly generated UIN is payer-specific, one bank cannot use the UIN generated by another.
Relief is coming, though: The Union Budget 2026 announced a “Single Depository Submission” system, where you will only need to file once with a central depository (like NSDL or CDSL), which will then broadcast your status to all your banks. However, that system does not go live until April 1, 2027. Until then, individual submissions remain the law.
This article is for informational purposes only.Content for this article was developed with the assistance of Gemini, a large language model from Google
