What Is Form 16?
Form 16 is a certificate your employer is legally required to issue, confirming the tax they deducted from your salary and deposited with the government on your behalf, under Section 203 of the Income Tax Act. It's the single most important document for filing your income tax return as a salaried employee.
It's issued once a year, covering the full financial year (April to March), and must be provided by 15 June following the year-end. So Form 16 for FY2025-26 (ending 31 March 2026) is due by 15 June 2026.
Part A — The TDS Summary
Part A is generated directly from the TRACES portal (the government's TDS reconciliation system) and contains:
- Your employer's TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number) and PAN
- Your own PAN
- A quarter-wise summary of tax deducted and deposited (Q1-Q4)
- The assessment year and period of employment covered
Because it's system-generated, Part A is essentially tamper-proof — the numbers should always match what's reflected in your Form 26AS.
Part B — The Salary and Deduction Breakup
Part B is prepared manually by your employer (usually via payroll software) and is the more detailed, and more error-prone, part of the certificate. It includes:
- Gross salary — basic, HRA, special allowance, and other components
- Exemptions under Section 10 — HRA exemption, LTA, etc.
- Standard deduction (₹75,000 under the new regime for FY2024-25 onward)
- Chapter VI-A deductions — 80C, 80D, 80CCD(1B) and others, if you're on the old regime
- Net taxable income and the final tax computed
Form 16 vs Form 26AS vs AIS — What's the Difference?
| Document | Issued by | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Form 16 | Your employer | Salary TDS only, for this one employer |
| Form 26AS | Income Tax Department | All TDS/TCS across all sources (salary, bank interest, etc.), advance tax, self-assessment tax |
| AIS (Annual Information Statement) | Income Tax Department | Broader financial footprint — TDS, interest, dividends, mutual fund transactions, property purchases, and more |
Always download and cross-check Form 26AS (and ideally AIS) against your Form 16 before filing. Mismatches between them are one of the most common reasons for delayed refunds or a tax notice.
How to Use Form 16 to File Your ITR
- Match gross salary and TDS from Form 16 Part B to the pre-filled data in your ITR form (usually ITR-1 or ITR-2 for salaried individuals)
- Verify exemptions and deductions claimed in Part B actually reflect your investments — add any missing 80C/80D proofs you submitted late to HR
- Cross-check TDS figures against Form 26AS — the total tax deducted should match exactly
- If you switched jobs mid-year, you'll have a Form 16 from each employer — combine both when computing your total income and deductions, since each employer only sees the taxable salary they paid you
If you're unsure whether you're better off under the old or new tax regime for the year covered, use the Tax Regime Picker to compare — Form 16 will show which one your employer applied by default.
What If Your Employer Doesn't Issue Form 16?
You can still file your ITR without it. Reconstruct your salary and tax details using:
- Your monthly payslips (use the Payslip Decoder to verify each component)
- Form 26AS, which shows TDS actually deposited against your PAN
- Your bank statements, to confirm net salary credited
If TDS was deducted from your salary but Form 16 wasn't issued, this is a compliance lapse on the employer's part — you can escalate it to the Income Tax Department. It does not, however, exempt you from filing your own return on time using the alternative documents above.
4 Things to Verify on Your Form 16
- Do the PAN and TAN details match your own PAN card and the employer's registered TAN? Errors here can cause TDS credit mismatches.
- Does the TDS total in Part A match Form 26AS exactly? Any gap usually means TDS was deducted but not deposited correctly — worth raising with HR/payroll immediately.
- Are all your declared exemptions reflected? HRA, LTA, and 80C investments you submitted proofs for should appear in Part B — if they're missing, you may be able to claim them directly while filing instead.
- Does the tax regime shown match what you intended? If your employer defaulted you into the new regime but you wanted the old regime (or vice versa), you can still choose differently at the time of filing your ITR.