The investments declaration must be made at the start of each fiscal year. In order to properly deduct taxes from your monthly salary, your employer requests that you submit all of your tax-saving investments for the year. You should declare your investments because doing so could increase your take-home pay.
At the beginning of the financial year, you have to just make an estimate of the investments that you intend to make. You don’t need to submit actual proofs until the end of the financial year. You can actually invest less or more. The eventual investments don’t have to be exactly as declared.
What is Form 12BB
Form 12BB is a statement of claims by an employee for deduction of tax. With effect from 1st June 2016, a salaried employee is required to submit Form 12BB to his or her employee to claim tax benefits or rebates on investments and expenses. Form 12BB has to be submitted at the end of the financial year. Form 12BB applies to all salaried taxpayers.
Using Form 12BB, an employee has to declare the investments that they have made during the year. Documentary evidence of these investments and expenses has to be provided at the end of the financial year as well.
Things to be Done Before Filling Form 12BB
The following are the things to be done before filling Form 12BB:
- Figure whether HRA and LTA are part of your package or not by studying your CTC structure
- These can be claimed, if these allowances are a part of your CTC structure
- Download the interest certificate and loan repayment schedule of your home loan and bank account statement by either visiting the bank in person or through online modes
- Collect all the receipts for all the expenses and investments that are taxable, such as tuition fees, LIC premium receipts, receipts for rent, donations, etc.
Form 12BB Sample PDF
Click here to download the pdf version of the form
How to Fill Form 12BB?
Filling out Form 12BB isn't as daunting as it seems. This guide will walk you through each section, explaining what information to include and how to claim maximum tax benefits.
Part I: Personal Details
- Full Name
- Address
- PAN (Permanent Account Number)
- Financial Year (Current year: 2024-25)
Part II: Details of Claims and Evidence
1. House rent allowance
If you live in a rented accommodation and have HRA as a part of your CTC, you can claim HRA exemption by submitting the following details -
- Amount of Rent paid to landlord
- Name of your landlord
- Address of your landlord
- PAN No. of your landlord if the total rent paid during the year is more than Rs.1 lakh.
- Submit proof: Monthly rent receipts (Free Rent receipt generator) or rental agreement
Find out the HRA tax-exempt amount with our free HRA calculator.
Note:
- If HRA is not part of your CTC and you live in a rented house, you can claim a similar tax deduction under section 80GG.
- You only need a rent receipt if your monthly rent is more than Rs.3,000.
- You can’t claim HRA exemption if you are living in your own house.
- If you're paying rent to your parents, it's advisable for them to report it as part of their income when filing their Income Tax Return.
- Avoid submitting fake rent receipts; doing so could land you in trouble with tax authorities.
- It is advisable to print a formal rent agreement on stamp paper.
Know more about how to claim a house rent allowance.
2. Leave Travel Concessions or Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)
To claim LTA benefit, you will have to submit travel documents like boarding passes, flight tickets, or travel agent invoices to your employer.
- Eligibility: LTA is only available if it's part of your CTC.
- Who Can Benefit: You, your spouse, children, dependent parents, and dependent siblings.
- Frequency: You can claim LTA twice within a four-year block (current block: 2022-2025).
- Carry-Forward Option: If you claimed only one LTA in the previous block, you can carry it forward and use it in the next block's first calendar year.
- Domestic Travel Only: LTA applies only to domestic travel, not international trips. No exemption for accommodation expenses.
3. Home loan interest
You're eligible to deduct the interest on your home loan as per Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. This deduction applies to the interest paid on a loan taken for building, rebuilding, repairing, buying, or renovating your home.
When filling out Form 12BB, you need to provide the following details:
- The interest you paid or payable to the lender during the financial year along with name, address and PAN/Aadhaar number of the lender
There are various other tax saving benefits of a home loan:
- Interest Payment: Deduct interest paid on loans for purchase, construction, renovation, or repair (up to Rs. 2 lakh for self-occupied property, entire amount for rented property).
- Principal Repayment: Deduct up to Rs. 1.5 lakh under Section 80C (valid for both self-occupied and rented property).
- Deduction for First-Time Buyers:
- Section 80EE: Up to Rs. 50,000 additional deduction for loans below Rs. 35 lakh on properties under Rs. 50 lakh (valid for loans sanctioned till March 31st, 2017).
- Section 80EEA: Up to Rs. 1.5 lakh additional deduction for loans on properties with stamp duty value below Rs. 45 lakh (valid for loans sanctioned between April 1st, 2019, to March 31st, 2022).
Evidence Required to be Submitted:
- Interest Certificate: From your lender, showing interest paid and loan type.
- Possession/Completion Certificate: For new or renovated properties.
- Self-Declaration: Whether the property is self-occupied or rented.
Know more about deduction on home loan interest.
4. Deductions under Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD,80D
Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act covers deductions under various sections like 80C (investments), 80D (medical insurance), and 80G (donations). To claim these deductions, you can submit following proof of your investments or expenses:
| Deduction Type | Investment Proof |
| Public Provident Fund | - Copy of the stamped deposit receipt paid during the current financial year, or, - Copy of passbook clearly mentioning the PPF account. |
| ELSS mutual fund | Copy of investment certificate in your name with date of investment, investment amount, type of investment, etc. If you are submitting the proofs in Jan and plan to continue the SIP for FEB and March, you can declare it for those months as well. |
| Life insurance policy | Premiums paid towards life insurance for self, spouse and/or children |
| Tax-saving FDs | Copy of the deposit receipt, or passbook |
| NSC | Copy of NSC Certificate in the name of the employee |
| Tuition Fees of children | Copy of tuition fees receipt paid to educational institutions along with the nature of payment (donation fees, capitation fees, sports fees, transport fees, uniform and stationery fees, etc. |
| Post Office Term Deposit | Copy of deposit receipt (qualifying deposits are deposits over 5 years) |
| Preventive Health check-ups under section 80D | Copy of premium receipt paid during the year. Copy of the bills of preventive health check-ups in the name of employee or family |
| Medical expenses under section 80DD (for handicapped dependent) | Proof of amount spent for medical treatment, training and rehabilitation of handicapped dependent, or, Amount paid towards or deposited in any scheme of LIC, UTI or any other Board approved insurer for maintenance of handicapped dependent. Form 10-1A |
| Interest paid on higher education loan | Copy of the bank certificate mentioning the principal and the interest amount paid and the amount payable |
| Deduction under section 80U | Deduction for disability up to Rs.75,000 (Rs.1,25,000 for severe disability) can be availed after providing a medical certificate from any Government Hospital. A copy of certificate in Form 10-1A issued by a competent medical authority stating the percentage of disability should be submitted as proof |
| Donations under section 80G | Valid receipts for the donations made that qualify for deduction under this section. Receipts should be in the name of the employee. |
Know more about deduction under sections 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD.
Part III: Verification
The final step in Form 12BB is verifying the details you've provided. Simply fill in your name, your parent's name, city, and the date along with your signature.