How to Avoid TDS on FD Interest India
Every March and April, without fail, the same pattern repeats itself in my inbox at FingTaj. People open their Form 26AS or their bank's interest certificate, see a chunk of money missing under "TDS deducted," and write to me with some version of the same panicked question: "Ashutosh, why did my bank cut money from my FD interest without telling me?" In my three years as an Equity Dealer and Quality Analyst working closely with financial operations teams, I have reviewed hundreds of client accounts, and I can tell you this with confidence — the vast majority of TDS deductions on fixed deposit interest are completely avoidable, or at the very least, recoverable. Yet most middle-class Indians never learn this, because banks are not exactly in a hurry to explain it to you. Fixed deposits remain the single most trusted investment for Indian households. We grew up watching our parents open FDs at the local bank branch, and that trust hasn't gone anywhere. But her…
