Form 12BB Is Now Form 124: Investment Proofs for Tax Year 2026-27

Sometime between now and March, your payroll team will ask for investment proofs: rent receipts, insurance premiums, home loan certificates. For salary paid from 1 April 2026, the declaration that carries them is no longer called Form 12BB. Rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 replaces it with Form 124. What you collect and why stays almost the same.

If your employer still sends you a Form 12BB template this year, ask whether its payroll software has been updated for the new Act. The proofs inside won't change, but the form and section references should.

What changed and what didn't

The Income Tax Department's help page for salaried individuals describes Form 12BB as the particulars an employee gives the employer, with evidence of HRA, LTC, home loan interest and tax-saving deductions, for computing TDS. That purpose carries over to the new form.

Form 124 keeps the same four claims (house rent, leave travel, interest on borrowing, and Chapter VIII deductions, now listed by new section numbers such as 123 and 124). It adds the tax year, your email and phone number, and for rent your relationship with the landlord and a field for the landlord's Aadhaar number. Its notes list the supporting documents as annexures: the rent agreement, leave travel documents, the loan agreement and deduction proofs.

Does it matter which regime you chose?

A lot. Under the new tax regime, which is the default, most of what this form exists for is not available: HRA exemption, leave travel, interest on a home loan for a self-occupied house, and the familiar investment deductions under the old 80C and 80D. If you are on the new regime, you will usually have very little to declare.

Under the old regime, every claim needs evidence, and the employer can only reduce TDS for what you prove. Old to new section numbers for deductions gives the new section numbers for each deduction.

Tell your employer your regime at the start of the year. Salaried people without business income have so far been able to choose the regime afresh in the return each year. If you do switch at filing time, TDS during the year won't match, and you settle the difference in the return.

What to collect, claim by claim

House rent allowance (old regime)

• Rent receipts or a rent agreement showing the monthly rent and the period.
• The landlord's name and address.
• The landlord's PAN where the rent paid in the tax year is more than ₹1 lakh, and your relationship with the landlord, if any (rule 205). Get the PAN early.

Leave travel concession or assistance (old regime)

• Tickets and boarding passes for the journey, for you and any eligible family members.
• Only travel within India counts, and only the fare, not hotels.

Interest on a home loan (old regime)

• The lender's interest certificate for the year, showing interest and principal separately.
• The lender's name, address and PAN, which Form 124 asks for.

Deductions (old regime)

• Life insurance premiums, PPF deposits, ELSS statements, children's tuition fee receipts, principal repaid on a home loan.
• Health insurance premium receipts, separately for yourself and family and for parents.
• Your own NPS contribution, if you claim it.

Worked example: how one HRA claim changes TDS

Riya works in Mumbai and has chosen the old regime for Tax Year 2026-27.

Using the long-standing method, the exempt HRA is the lowest of three figures:

1. HRA actually received: ₹2,40,000.
2. Rent paid minus 10% of salary: ₹2,40,000 − ₹60,000 = ₹1,80,000.
3. 50% of salary for a metro such as Mumbai: ₹3,00,000.

The lowest is ₹1,80,000. If Riya submits her rent receipts and the landlord's PAN, her employer reduces her taxable salary by ₹1,80,000 when computing TDS. If she submits nothing, her employer must deduct TDS as if the full ₹2,40,000 HRA were taxable, and she can only claim the exemption later in her return and wait for a refund. Outside the metros the third figure has been 40% of salary. Check salary rules from April 2026 for the city list that applies to Tax Year 2026-27 before you use it.

Deadlines and what happens if you miss them

The law does not set a date for this declaration. Employers set their own cut-off, usually in the last quarter of the financial year, so they can adjust TDS from January to March. If you miss it:

• your employer deducts more TDS for the rest of the year,
• your Form 130 (the new name for Form 16) for Tax Year 2026-27 won't show the claim, and
• you can still claim it in your return if the law allows it, and get the extra TDS back as a refund. Keep the proofs, since the department can ask for them.

Form 16 is now Form 130 explains the certificate you'll get in 2027.

If you changed jobs this year

Give your new employer the salary paid and TDS deducted by your previous employer for the same year, in the format they ask for. Without it, each employer computes tax as if it paid your whole salary, and the combined TDS falls short. Why two Form 16s can leave you with a tax demand shows how the shortfall builds up.

FAQ

Is Form 12BB still valid in 2026?

For declarations relating to FY 2025-26 salary, yes, because that year stays under the Income-tax Act, 1961. For salary paid from 1 April 2026, employers use Form 124 under rule 205 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

Do I need to submit Form 124 if I am on the new regime?

Usually very little, because HRA, leave travel, self-occupied home loan interest and most investment deductions are not available under the new regime. Your employer may still ask you to confirm your regime.

Is Form 124 filed on the income tax portal?

No. You give it to your employer, who uses it to compute TDS. It is not uploaded by you to the e-filing portal.

What if my employer rejected a proof?

Claim the deduction or exemption in your return if you are eligible, keep the evidence, and the excess TDS comes back as a refund after processing.

Do I need the landlord's PAN?

Yes, where the rent paid in the tax year exceeds ₹1 lakh. Rule 205 and Form 124 keep the same threshold that Form 12BB had.

Sources

• Income Tax Department: Salaried individuals, forms applicable (Form 12BB, Form 16)
• Income Tax Department: Form No. 130 FAQs
• Income-tax Rules, 2026: rule 205 and Form No. 124 (G.S.R. 198(E), 20 March 2026)
• Income-tax Act, 2025, sections 392 (TDS on salary) and 536 (repeal and savings), on the Income Tax Department website