If you are planning to withdraw money from your PF (Provident Fund) account and your expected tax liability for the financial year is nil, then you can give a declaration under ‘Form 121’ under the Income Tax Act, 2025 to ensure that there is no (Tax Deducted at Source) on your eligible income. If you fail to do this, TDS will be deducted and the final amount you receive will be lower.
“The declarant, who is a resident, must ensure that their expected final tax liability for the year is NIL and duly fill all the rows in Part A of the Form No.121 and sign it. The details as required in Part B of the Form No.121 has to be filled by the office i.e. Payer. However, filing of Form No.121 is not mandatory and is meant to be used only by those taxpayers who do not want tax to be deducted at source,” EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) said in its recent communication to regional PF Commissioners.
“With the phasing out of the old , 1961, and the commencement of the Income-tax Act, 2025 effective from April 1, 2026, significant changes have been introduced regarding the declaration of income without deduction of tax,” it said.
What happens next? “The RO (as the payer) must allot a Unique Identification Number (UIN) to every Form 121 received. This UIN must include components such as a sequence number, the tax year, and the TAN of the payer,” EPFO said.
The consolidated statement of all ‘Forms 121’ received in a month is required to be uploaded on or before 7th of the following month through the e-filing Portal of the IT Department.
Online filing of the forms wherein members can digitally e-sign is not available now. “Till such time (enabling of online filing), the physical signed forms of Form No.121 which were uploaded by the declarant members in lieu of Form 15G/Form 15H can be used for preparing the consolidated statement for uploading in the e-filing portal of (the) IT Department monthly as well as in the quarterly TDS return,” said.
EPFO members, who are planning to withdraw their PF money and do not want TDS to be deducted, should file ‘Form 121’ before the scheduled transaction date. They can also file it at the start of the financial year (2026-27). They have to provide details such as PAN (Permanent Account Number) and their estimated income during the financial year.