How to Withdraw or Transfer EPF Online — UAN, Form 31/10C/19 & Tax Rules (India 2026)

1Before you start — UAN prerequisites

• Your UAN must be activated (epfindia.gov.in → Member → UAN Activation)
• Aadhaar must be linked and KYC-verified on the EPFO portal
• Mobile number linked to UAN must be active (OTP will be sent)
• Bank account must be seeded with UAN (IFSC + account number)
• Your employer must have approved the UAN KYC — if they haven't, the withdrawal will be stuck

2Types of EPF claims

• Form 19 — Full EPF withdrawal (Employee Provident Fund balance) on leaving employment after 2 months
• Form 10C — Pension withdrawal (EPS balance) — for those with less than 10 years service
• Form 10D — EPS pension (monthly) — for those with 10+ years service who are 58 years or older
• Form 31 — Partial withdrawal (advance) for house purchase/construction (up to 90%), marriage (50% of employee share), education (50%), medical emergency, or COVID-19 hardship
• Form 13 — Transfer EPF from old employer's trust to new employer or EPFO

3Step-by-step: how to claim online

• Log in at unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in with UAN and password
• Go to Online Services → Claim (Form 31, 19, 10C & 10D)
• Verify bank account (last 4 digits)
• Select the claim type (full settlement, partial, pension, transfer)
• For partial: choose the reason from the dropdown and enter the amount
• Submit — an OTP is sent to your registered mobile
• Enter the OTP to confirm
• Track claim status at Online Services → Track Claim Status

4Tax rules on EPF withdrawal

Withdrawal is tax-free if you have completed 5 continuous years of service (combined with the same or different employer, provided Form 13 transfer was done on job change). If you withdraw before 5 years: the entire withdrawal is taxable as 'Income from Salaries' in that year; TDS is deducted at 10% if PAN is provided (20% without PAN) and the balance is ₹50,000 or more; If employer contribution or interest was tax-exempt earlier, those amounts are also brought back to tax on premature withdrawal. After retirement (58 years), all withdrawals are fully tax-free.

5Transfer EPF instead of withdrawing — when it's better

• If you change jobs, always transfer (Form 13) rather than withdraw — you preserve the 5-year count, avoid TDS, and your pension contributions (EPS) accumulate toward the 10-year threshold for a monthly pension
• Transfer is fully online and takes 5–10 working days
• Your new employer's UAN carries over the service history
• Withdrawing loses EPS (pension) permanently — only the PF amount is refunded on premature exit