Form 124 and legacy Form 12BB: salary TDS claims and filled sample
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 17 June 2026
Your payroll evidence form depends on the income period. Use Form 124 for Tax Year 2026-27 and Form 12BB for FY 2025-26. Both give the employer evidence for salary TDS; neither replaces the return or makes the statutory regime election.
Download the form for the right period
Download filled sample PDF - Form 124, Tax Year 2026-27
The three-page sample completes the two official field pages and adds a scenario annexure. It uses fictional data and synthetic identifiers, with no signature. The blank downloads below remain separate.
| Income period | Use | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) and earlier | Form 12BB under Rule 26C | Employee to employer/payroll |
| Tax Year 2026-27, beginning 1 April 2026 | Form 124 under Rule 205 | Employee to the person paying salary |
Complete the actual Form 124 fields
| Part / claim | What to enter | Evidence to reconcile |
|---|---|---|
| Part A: employee | Full name, full postal address, PAN, email, contact and tax year | Use the employee details held by payroll; an example identifier must never be copied. |
| Part B.1: HRA | Landlord name, address, PAN, Aadhaar field, relationship if any and rent actually paid; repeat for additional landlords | Rule 205 requires landlord particulars/PAN when aggregate tax-year rent exceeds ₹1 lakh; the form also includes relationship and Aadhaar particulars. Use genuine records, not a fabricated number. Annexure A-1 is the rent agreement. |
| Part B.2: leave travel | The eligible claim and expenditure details; mark not applicable if no claim | Annexure A-2: supporting journey/expenditure documents. |
| Part B.3: borrowing interest | Lender name, address, relevant PAN and interest paid/payable; repeat where needed | Annexure A-3: loan agreement; reconcile the interest certificate. A deduction must be permitted for the property and chosen regime. |
| Part B.4: Chapter VIII-A/B deductions | Use current section labels on the form: section 123 investment lines, section 124 and other applicable sections; enter only eligible amounts | Annexure A-4: investment/expenditure records. An amount in the form is a claim, not an automatic allowance. |
| Declaration | Name/PAN, place/date and employee signature on the real submission | The download is expressly unsigned; obtain your own genuine verification. |
Read the filled sample: rent paid is not the HRA exemption
Priya's fictional Pune tenancy runs for Tax Year 2026-27 at ₹15,000 a month. Annual rent ₹1,80,000 goes in the form. With annual basic salary ₹6,00,000, eligible DA nil and HRA received ₹2,40,000, the old-regime exemption is the lowest of ₹2,40,000; ₹1,80,000 − ₹60,000 = ₹1,20,000; and 50% × ₹6,00,000 = ₹3,00,000. Exempt HRA is therefore ₹1,20,000; taxable HRA is ₹1,20,000. Rule 279 includes Pune in the 50% list for this current period.
The section 123 sample entries are PPF ₹50,000, eligible ELSS ₹30,000 and employee EPF ₹40,000, totalling ₹1,20,000. Leave travel, borrowing interest and other deductions are marked not applicable or nil. No fictitious receipt or signed rental agreement is presented as genuine evidence.
Regime preference, evidence and the return are separate
Most personal HRA, leave-travel and investment deductions are unavailable in the default new regime. The treatment of borrowing interest depends on the property and regime; the new-regime restriction on self-occupied interest should not be described as a ban on all let-out-property interest.
Tell payroll the preference it should use for withholding and submit evidence for claims that are legally available. Form 124 itself does not elect the old regime. The statutory option follows section 202(4) and Rule 136 for Tax Year 2026-27; business-income continuity and switching restrictions still matter. Form 10-IEA is the legacy 1961 Act route, rather than the current form's purpose.
How to submit and check the result
- Choose the income period and download the matching blank form.
- Complete actual amounts and counterparties, using not applicable for claims you do not make. Match all totals to the relevant evidence.
- Provide the prescribed annexures through the employer's secure payroll/HR route. Do not send PAN, Aadhaar or account records through a public website comment form.
- Meet the employer's evidence cut-off and retain its acknowledgement. January/February is a common employer practice, not a universal statutory Form 124 filing deadline.
- Check subsequent payslips and the annual salary/TDS certificate. The employer may adjust excess or short deduction during the tax year where permitted; unresolved excess TDS can be claimed as credit/refund through the applicable return.
Frequently asked questions
Is Form 124 filed directly with the Income Tax Department?
No. The employee supplies it to the person responsible for salary payments under Rule 205. The annual return is a separate filing.
Does an employer's refusal permanently remove an eligible deduction?
No. Payroll withholding does not determine the final legal entitlement. Claim only deductions allowed by the law and regime, with genuine evidence, in the appropriate return. The employer may also be able to adjust withholding within the tax year.
Is a filled sample a substitute for supporting records?
No. It demonstrates the completed fields and arithmetic. Its people, addresses and identifiers are fictional; signature fields are not executed and it is not for filing.
Source and review trail
Use the current official instrument, portal or regulator publication before acting.
- Primary category
- Income Tax
- Official starting point
- www.incometax.gov.in
Primary sources & related provisions
Statutory provisions referenced in this guide:
- Form 124 (Employee statement of claims for tax deduction) - Income-tax Forms, 2026
- Form 130 (Certificate under section 395 for tax deducted; earlier Form 16) - Income-tax Forms, 2026
- Section 392 (Salary and accumulated balance due to an employee; earlier Section 192) - Income-tax Act
- Section 22 (Deductions from income from house property; earlier Section 24) - Income-tax Act
Form 12BB to Form 124 transition
| Period | Form and rule | Employee action |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2025-26 and earlier | Form 12BB under Rule 26C of the 1962 Rules | Give the employer the prescribed claim particulars and evidence for salary TDS. |
| Tax Year 2026-27 onward | Form 124 under Rule 205 of the 2026 Rules | Use the new form fields and Act references; retain the underlying evidence and employer acknowledgement. |
Actual form PDFs
Download official Form 12BBDownload Form 124 statutory extract
Form 12BB is the Income Tax Department's published two-page file. Form 124 is the exact two-page statutory form at Gazette printed pages 2251–2252 (full Rules PDF pages 719–720), including its declaration, notes and annexure categories. Read the separate Rule 205 source page.
Evidence workflow
- Use the form for the correct year and record employee PAN, address and tax year.
- For rent, preserve landlord identity, address, PAN/Aadhaar where prescribed, relationship disclosure, rent agreement and payment evidence.
- For travel, home-loan interest and Chapter VIII claims, attach the category-specific evidence listed in Form 124 and reconcile amounts to payroll.
- Submit by the employer's evidence cut-off, retain acknowledgement and check the year-end salary certificate.
- Claim only legally eligible amounts in the return; the employer's TDS treatment does not create or extinguish the underlying deduction.
Primary sources and answers
Income-tax Rules, 2026Income Tax Department Form 124 FAQ
Is Form 124 filed with the department? Rule 205 requires the employee to furnish the particulars and evidence to the person responsible for salary TDS. Follow the employer's controlled submission process. What if payroll ignores a valid claim? Reconcile the certificate and return position; a valid return claim still requires legal eligibility and evidence.
Finin2min summary: Form 124 replaces Form 12BB for Tax Year 2026-27; use the correct form and preserve claim-level proof.