Written by : Knowledge Centre Team

2024-08-02

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What is EPF Form 10C?

EPF (Employee Provident Fund) is one of the most popular retirement savings schemes for you if you are a salaried employee. Your employer’s EPF contribution is deposited in two parts – EPF and EPS (Employee Pension Scheme).

EPS is a pension account that receives a contribution from your employer only. Form 10C is a form that you will use for receiving your benefits from the EPS account. For this, you can either visit the nearest EPFO branch or visit their website to fill the form online.

When to Use Form 10C?

You can use form 10C to either withdraw the pension amount or commute your pension to the next employer. You can use the form to file a claim for the following:

i. Employer share refund
ii. Scheme certificate
iii. Withdrawal of EPS balance

Claiming Scheme Certificate

You should claim a Scheme Certificate when you want to carry forward your EPS benefits/balance from your previous employer to the next.

Withdrawal of EPS Balance

Withdrawal of EPS balance is usually not a good idea if you wish to continue salaried employment. However, this option is available when your overall contribution period is less than 9.5 years, and you are below 50 years of age. Still, commuting your pension to the next employer is the best thing to do.

How to Submit Form 10C Online?

Here’s a step by step process to submit Form 10C online:

1. Log in to your member account using your UAN (Universal Account Number)

2. Click on ‘Online Services’ on the menu and select ‘Claim Form 10C, 19 and 31’

3. The next page shows your member and KYC status. Click on ‘Proceed Online Claim’ on this page

4. Choose the type of claim you want to make:

- Withdraw PF only
- Withdraw Pension only

5. Fill the claim form

6. Upon completion you will receive an OTP at your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP on the website to start your withdrawal

You will receive an SMS of the status of withdrawal and the amount will be transferred directly to your bank account.

Documents Required to Submit with Form 10C

You will need to submit the form through the employer as the document needs signatures from both employee and employer. However, in the case where the employer no longer exists, you can get the form attested by a gazetted officer.

Submit the form along with the following documents at your nearest EPFO branch:

i. Blank passbook copy/cancelled cheque
ii. Date of birth certificates of children when applying for scheme certificate
iii. Death certificate if the member is deceased
iv. Succession certificate for legal heirs of member
v. Re 1 stamp in case applying for withdrawal benefit through a bank

FAQ

Income tax in India is based on incremental slab rates. The rate of tax is higher on higher income. You can also avail deductions from your taxable income if you invest in eligible instruments like PPF, NPS, ELSS, ULIPs, etc. Starting AY 2020-21 you have two tax regimes – old and new. The old tax regime has all the deductions from gross total income, while the new tax regime offers a lower rate of tax. So, if you are not investing in tax-saving instruments you can file your tax as per the new tax regime.

You can avail additional tax savings under the following sections other than section 80C:

a) Section 80D: Health insurance premium payments for family and parents up to Rs 75,000
b) Section 80CCD(1B): Self-contribution to NPS Tier-I account above 10% of salary or 20% of income if self-employed up to Rs 50,000
c) Section 80E: Education loan interest paid through the year
d) Section 80EE: Home loan interest paid up to Rs 50,000
e) Section 80G: Charitable contributions to non-profit organisations registered under section 12A up to 50% or 100% of the contribution
f) Section 24B: Interest paid on home loan

You have many tax-saving investment options. You can consider the following popular tax-saving schemes to save tax:

a) Term life insurance plan
b) Health and critical illness insurance plan
c) Life insurance plans such as endowment and moneyback plans
d) Pension plans from life insurance companies
e) Public Provident Fund (PPF)
f) National Pension System Tier-I account (NPS)
g) Employee Provident Fund (EPF)
h) Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs)
i) Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)
j) Senior Citizen Savings Scheme
k) Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
l) 5-Year Tax Saving Fixed Deposits
m) National Savings Certificate (NSC)

Deduction of Rs 1.5 or 2 Lakhs under section 80C is available when you make investments or spend money under the heads mentioned in the Chapter VI A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. All tax-saving investments like PPF, NPS, ULIP, ELSS, etc. and all tax-saving expenses like children’s tuition fees, and registration expenses of a house property are part of Chapter VI A.

You will need to pay taxes on the incomes and gains from your investments. For example, your salary income is Rs 10 lakhs in a year, out of which Rs 7.5 lakhs becomes taxable after deducting exempt perquisites. Out of your income of Rs 10 lakhs, you invest Rs 3 lakhs in various options.

Even if none of your investments is eligible for tax saving under section 80C, your taxable income will remain Rs 7.5 lakhs. However, returns from some of these investments will become taxable in the next financial year when you receive them.

Since AY 2020-21 you have two ways to lower your income tax outflow on higher income – tax-saving investments and a new tax regime. You can stick to the old tax regime and invest your savings into eligible tax saving options. Tax-saving investments can give you a deduction of up to Rs 2 lakhs under sections 80C and 80CCD(1B), and additional deductions of up to Rs 2 lakhs under section 24.

Your deductions will be higher with other sections like 80E and 80G. But these are specific outflows which are not investments.

The best way to reduce your tax outflow legally is to use tax-saving investments and plan your future taxes carefully. Tax-saving investments will help you reduce your taxable income in the present financial year. If you invest in options which enjoy tax exemptions on maturity values, you can also reduce your future tax outflow. For example, Invest 4G ULIP from Canara HSBC Life Insurance allows you to stay invested up to the age of 99. This means that you can start investing at 30, build a corpus by 60 and have a tax-free lifetime pension.

Usually, a receipt is a convenient document to produce while claiming your deductions for expenses. However, the following alternatives are available if you lose the receipt:

a) Avail fuel or petrol expenses with number of kilometres
b) Credit card statement for computer items
c) Credit/debit card statement for stationery items
d) Membership documents to show running membership to claim the fees amount

You can claim HRA exemption with your employer and declare the amount in your ITR-1 form while filing your tax return. You will need to submit your house rent receipts with your employer to reduce your TDS. Use the online calculator to estimate your HRA exemption and claim the amount directly in your ITR.

If you are self-employed or do not receive HRA from your employer but have been paying rent for residence, you can claim a deduction of up to Rs 60,000 under section 80GG.

You can calculate your HRA exemption based on the following conditions. The amount of exempt HRA will be the lowest of the three:

a) HRA you have received
b) 50% of salary (basic + DA + Commission paid as % of turnover) if you are staying in a metro city otherwise 40%
c) Rent paid over 10% of your salary (as defined in step 2)

Other than conventional methods, what are the ways to save tax in India?

Income Tax Refund

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