What is Form 12BB? How To Download & Fill out the Form

According to the recent 2025 budget, employees whose salary is higher than 12.75 lakh per annum are eligible to pay income tax. A nominal to average amount of money is deducted as income tax and submitted to the Government. However, some predefined loopholes tell us about tax-saving investments over a financial year. One is PPF (public provident fund), where you can invest up to 1.5 lakh per annum, and you don’t have to bear the taxable amount; the other is Form 12BB. The 12BB is a type of form that is filled out to inform employers about non-taxable investments. Many companies integrate their payroll management system and the add-on ESS assistance to reach out to Form 12BB through their TDS section directly.

Let’s have a transparent overview of the Form 12BB.

What is Form 12bb?

Form 12BB is a form that employees use to declare their investments or incomes that are eligible for tax deduction. The norm of the 12BB form is mentioned in section 192 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Every year, employee fill out the form to inform their employers about their tax benefits or a rebate for some predefined expenses. It applies to all salaried taxpayers and is submitted at the end of the financial year.

Form 12BB Sample PDF

Download the 12BB form by clicking the link below:

https://incometaxindia.gov.in/forms/income-tax%20rules/itrform12bb.pdf

What information is required to be filled in Form 12BB?

Form 12BB is essential for identifying non-taxable investments and keeping them aside during tax payments, it is also essential for the income tax return. Here is the information needed to fill out the form.

• Employees should appropriately input their good name, addresses and PAN number.
• The details of the employers and organization should also be included there.
• Employees should mention the financial year in which the declaration is being made.
• Employees must provide details on tax deductions and exemptions. It may include HRA details, LTA details, and numerous other loans, such as personal and home loans.

How to Fill out the Form 12BB?

Here are the details on how to complete Form 12BB. The following content helps you complete the form.

1. Personal Details

Write down the personal information like,

Full Name

Address

PAN (Permanent Account Number)

Financial Year (Current year: 2024-25)

2. Input Details of Claims

What kind of claim do the employees want to make for tax exemptions? The employees must fill out the form mentioning which types of deductions they wish to claim.

➔ House Rent Allowance

If you live in a rented place and have HRA as a part of your CTC, you can claim HRA exemption by submitting the following details –

• Amount of Rent paid to the landlord
• Name of your landlord
• Address of your landlord
• PAN No. of your landlord, in case your total rent paid during the year is more than Rs.1 lakh.

Point to be remembered:

• You can attach monthly rent receipts (Free Rent receipt generator) or a rental agreement for further proof.
• Often, many companies don’t include the HRA in your CTC, but if you live in a rented house, you can easily claim the tax deduction by filling out the 80GG. To get an HRA exemption, you must live in a rented house; the monthly rent should be above 3000.
• If you pay for your parents or relatives, you must report it as part of their income when filing the tax return.

➔ Leave Travel Concessions or Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)

The leave travel allowances include boarding passes, flight tickets, or travel agent invoices to your employer. To claim the leave travel allowance as tax-free, you should focus on whether you are eligible for that! Or is it part of your CTC? Now the question is, who will benefit? If you apply for the LTA, your spouse, children, dependent parents, and siblings will benefit.

Point to be remembered

• You can claim the LTA twice a four-year block, which is set as ‘2022-2025’.
• You can carry the rest to the next block if you claim only one LTA tax deduction for the previous block.
• The LTA tax deduction is available only for domestic-level travel, not international travel.

➔ Home loan interest

Home loan interest is not available for all employees. Some company policies must be in place to make this facility available. According to Section 24 of the Income Tax Act, the exemption policy applies to loans taken to rebuild, repair, or buy a house. While filling out the form,

Points to be remembered

• You must provide the lender’s full name, address, and PAN/Aadhaar number.
• You remember about the dedication up to 2 lakh from the interest amount for the self-employed property and the entire amount for the rented property.
• You have to prepare the following evidence before filling out the 12BB,
  1. Interest Certificate
  2. Possession or completion certificate
  3. Self-declaration certificate.

Points to be remembered for first-time buyers

• As per the 80C, you can also claim a fair deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakh, which is valid for both self-occupied and rented property.
• As per the 80EE, you can claim an extra Rs. 50,000 deduction for loans below Rs. 35 lakh, yet the properties should be under Rs. 50 lakh.
• As per the 80EEA, employees can claim additional deductions of 1.5 lakhs from the loan amount on properties below 45 lakh. ( valid for loans sanctioned between April 1st 2019, to March 31st, 2022).

2. Deductions under Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD,80D

While filling out the 12BB form, as per Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act, numerous deductions are covered, such as the investment-based deduction mentioned in 80C, the medical insurance-based deduction mentioned in 80D, and the donation-based deduction mentioned in 80G.

Here are the mentioned deduction types and investment proof

➔ Public Provident Fund   

For PPF, employees should collect a copy of the stamped deposit receipt paid during the financial year, or they can print the Passbook, which mentions the PPF details.

➔ ELSS mutual fund

The employee should have the investment certificate with her name on it, the date of investment, the type of investment, the investment amount, etc. When receiving the benefit, employees should also mention the months.

➔ Life Insurance policy

For the life insurance policy, employees should collect the premiums paid for life insurance for themselves, their spouse, and/or their children.

➔ Tax-saving FDs and NSC

Employees should maintain a copy of the deposit receipt or Passbook; in the case of NSC, a copy of the NSC certificate is mandatory.

➔ Post Office Term Deposit

Employees should carry a copy of the deposit receipt for 5 years for the post office term deposit.

➔ Health Checkups

1. According to section 80D, employees are entitled to the deduction only when they carry a copy of the premium receipt or if family members paid during the year.
2. Besides, according to section 80DD, handicapped attendees can avail of the deduction by collecting proof of the amount spent on medical treatment, training, rehabilitation, etc.
3. Moreover, as per the 80U, persons with disabilities get up to Rs . 75,000 (Rs . 1,25,000 for severe disability) by depositing a medical certificate from any Government Hospital.

3. Verification of Documents to be submitted

The final step is verifying the filled-out form before processing it for submission. You should check the basic details, such as name, address, phone number, Aadhaar number, PAN card IDs, etc.

What is the purpose of 12BB?

On June 1, 2016, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) introduced Form 12BB as a fixed process for declaring non-taxable investments. Without the 12BB, employers can deduct a sufficient amount of money as TDS, which may lead to employees’ random money outflow than expected. By filling out the 12BB form, the employees can save some cash by categorising the taxable income and separating the non-taxable amount for TDS calculation.

Here is a proper breakdown of the purpose of the Form 12BB,

➔ Claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA) Exemption

Employees receive a house rent allowance as part of their compensation. The employees can claim an exemption on the rent paid. It reduces the taxable income. To obtain the tax exemption, employees fill out the 12BB along with the documents, such as

• Rent receipts
• Landlord’s name and PAN (if rent exceeds ₹1 lakh per year)
• Rental agreement (if applicable)

The form ensures the correct HRA deduction is considered before TDS is deducted from the salary.

➔ Claiming Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)

Employees under the permanent salary structure can claim tax benefits on expenses incurred for travel within India under the Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) provision. The exemption is available only if:

• The employer provides LTA as part of the salary package.
• The employee submits proof of travel expenses (like tickets, boarding passes, and invoices).
• The self and the family undertake the travel.

Form 12BB By helping in the declaration of the acts as a declaration of this claim, the employer calculates the correct taxable income.

➔ Interest Paid for Home Loan (Section 24b)

Employees can easily claim a deduction of up to 2 lakhs per year for home loans on the interest they have to pay on their principal amount under Section 24(b) of the Income Tax Act. To get an adequate exemption, employees should fill out the 12BB form.

It is applicable for:

• Self-occupied property (maximum deduction ₹2 lakh).
• Let-out property (no upper limit, but set off against income restricted to ₹2 lakh).

To claim this offer,

• Employees should name the lender.
• Mention the interest amount during one financial year.
• Identify the loan sanction date.

➔ Acknowledgement of Chapter VI-A

Form 12BB ensures employees can claim the tax deduction under Chapter VI-A. The Chapter mentions four sections: Section 80C, Section 80D, Section 80E, and Section 80G.

• Section 80C covers investments in the Provident Fund (PF), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Life Insurance, ELSS, NSC, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, and other schemes declared by the PM (Limit: ₹1.5 lakh).
• Section 80D describes health insurance premiums paid for self and family (₹25,000 to ₹50,000).
• Section 80E ensures interest on education loan (no upper limit).
• Section 80G defines the donations to charitable institutions.

By declaring these deductions in Form 12BB, employees ensure that TDS is deducted only from the net taxable salary after considering eligible deductions.

Besides, by applying the 12BB, employees receive sufficient tax benefits on all tax-deductible investments and expenses and can claim them at the end of the financial year.

Take Aways

Form 12BB is a crucial document for salaried employees to claim tax benefits on deductions such as house rent allowance (HRA), home loan interest, life insurance premiums, and other investments under Section 80C, 80D, etc. Submitting this form timely ensures that the correct TDS is deducted from the salary, reducing tax liabilities. It is advisable to maintain proper documentation for all claims to avoid discrepancies during tax assessments.

FAQs on Form 12bb

1. Who needs to submit Form 12BB?

All taxable salaried employees should complete Form 12BB for tax deduction. By doing so, employees can claim tax exemption and benefits or rebates on investments and expenses at the end of the financial year.

2. When should Form 12BB be submitted?

The submission of Form 12BB should be at the end of the financial year.

3. Do I need to submit Form 12BB to the income tax department?

No, it should be submitted to your office, employers or your company’s finance team.

4. What happens if I don’t submit Form 12BB?

5. Can I submit Form 12BB without investment proofs?

No, you can’t submit Form 12BB without proof of investment. Without the investment proof submission, you may not be eligible to get the authority to deduct TDS from your salary.

6. What is the ITR form 12BB?

Form 12BB is a declaration submitted by salaried employees to their employers for claiming tax deductions on expenses like HRA, home loan interest, and investments under Section 80C, 80D, etc. It ensures accurate TDS deductions from salary, reducing tax liability. Proper documentation must be maintained to support the claims.