Form 16 for Income Tax Filing _{Last Updated : 27 May 2020}

Form 16 is provided by employers to salaried individuals in the country. It contains all the information required by the employee at the time of filing his/her income tax returns with the Income Tax Department of India.

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Form 16 Components

Form 16 is basically a certificate that employers issue to their employees. It contains all the details required to prepare your income tax returns and file them. Employers are expected to issue Form 16 to their employees every year by the 15th of June of the following year. There are two components in Form 16 – Part A and Part B.

Part A of Form 16 can be generated and downloaded by employers from the TRACES portal (https://www.tdscpc.gov.in/app/login.xhtml). The contents of the certificate must be authenticated by the employer before issuing it to the employee. In case an individual changes jobs over the course of a financial year, the employer will only issue Part A of Form 16 for the period of employment. You can have as many of these certificates as many jobs you have held in a financial year.

Here are the Main components of Part A of Form 16:

• Employer’s name and address
• Employer’s PAN and TAN
• Employee’s PAN
• Details of the tax deducted and deposited on a quarterly basis

Form 16 – Part B and its components

An annexure to the first part of Form 16, Part B has the following components:

• Salary breakup in detail
• Breakup of exempted allowances under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act in detail
• Deductions allowed under Chapter VI A of the Income Tax Act*
• Relief under Section 89 of the Income Tax Act

*There are certain fields in the form that are notified for deductions. They are as follows:

• Deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act – contribution to PPF, premium payments towards life insurance, etc.
• Deductions under Section 80CCC of the Income Tax Act – contribution to PF
• Deductions under Section 80CCD(1) of the Income Tax Act – employee’s contribution towards the pension scheme
• Deductions under Section 80CCD(1B) of the Income Tax Act – self-contribution of the taxpayer towards the pension scheme
• Deductions under Section 80CCD(2) of the Income Tax Act – employer’s contribution towards the pension scheme
• Deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act – premium payments towards health insurance
• Deductions under Section 80E of the Income Tax Act – payment of interest on education loan
• Deductions under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act – donations or contributions towards charitable trusts
• Deductions under Section 80TTA of the Income Tax Act – income from interest on savings account

Steps to Download Form 16 Online:

The steps mentioned below are required to be followed in order to download the Form 16 from the Income Tax (IT) website:

• Step – 1: Visit the official Income Tax portal at https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in.
• Step – 2: Click on the ‘Forms/Downloads’ option from the top menu on the page and click on the ‘Income Tax Forms’ option.
• Step – 3: You will be redirected to new webpage with a list of Income Tax forms.
• Step – 4: From the list of forms, go to the row with ‘Form No.: 16’.
• Step – 5: The form is available in two formats – ‘PDF’ and ‘Fillable Form’. The ‘Fillable Form’ will be a ‘.tx’ format file.
• Step – 6: Download the format which is best suited for you.

Demystifying Form 16 for the Common Man

How to File ITR with Form 16

There are certain bits of information that are required when filing your ITR. These details can be found in Form 16. They include the following:

• Allowances that are exempt under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act
• Taxable salary
• A breakup of the deductions under Section 16 of the Income Tax Act
• Income from house property provided for TDS
• Income from other sources provided for TDS
• A breakup of the deductions under Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act covering the deductions under Section 80C, Section 80CCC, Section 80CCD(1), Section 80CCD(1B), Section 80CCD(2), Section 80D and Section 80E of the Income Tax Act
• Aggregate of deductible amount under Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act covering the deductions under Section 10(a), Section 10(b), Section 10(c), Section 10(d), Section 10(e), Section 10(f), Section 10(g), Section 10(h), Section 10(i), Section 10(j), and Section 10(l) of the Income Tax Act
• Refund due or net tax payable

Additional details from Form 16 required for filing your income tax returns

• Tax deducted at source by the employer
• Employer’s TAN
• Employer’s PAN
• Employer’s name as well as address
• Present assessment year
• Name and address of the taxpayer
• PAN of the taxpayer

Why you Require Form 16

Form 16 can be a crucial document for the following reasons:

• It works as a proof that your employer has deducted tax from your salary and deposited it with the government
• It helps in the income tax returns efiling process
• It is usually requested by banks and financial institutions when you approach them for loans

Lost your Form 16? Here’s what you can do

Form 16 is a highly important document that must be preserved carefully. However, in case you have lost your Form 16, you can go through your mail and find it (if you received it via mail). In case you received a hard copy from your employer and lost it, you can request your employer to issue another form.

How to calculate your salary income if you have not received Form 16 from your employer

Sometimes, employers do not provide Form 16 to employees whose annual salary is lower than the minimum taxable limit (Rs.2.5 lakh). In case you wish to file your income tax returns without Form 16, you will have to refer to your bank statements, payslips, home loan or education loan certificates, tax-saving investment proofs, Form 26AS, etc. Your payslips will contain information regarding your basic salary as well as allowances, while Form 26AS will have the information regarding all the taxes you have paid and the taxes that have been deducted.

For instance, Mr. Prabhu who works with ABC Ltd. didn’t receive Form 16 from his employer. He computed his income for the year using his monthly payslips according to which his basic pay was Rs.25,000. His payslips also showed that he had a transport allowance of Rs.1,500 per month. Moreover, he had a home loan certificate through which he was eligible for a deduction of Rs.40,000 from his income. Mr. Prabhu’s income for the financial year would be as follows:

Rs.25,000 x 12 months (Basic salary per month x no. of months per year) = Rs.3 lakh

Rs.1,500 x 12 months (Transport allowance per month x no. of months) = Rs.18,000 (Nil)

Since transport allowance is subject to an exemption of Rs.1,600 per month, Mr. Prabhu will not be taxed on it.

The total taxable income of Mr. Prabhu is Rs.3 lakh minus Rs.40,000 (deduction), which is basically Rs.2.6 lakh – Rs.2.5 lakh = Rs.10,000.

Know: Difference between Form 16 and Form 16A

Form 16 for Income Tax Filing FAQs

1. How is the Form 16 generated?

The TDS CPC is responsible for the generation of the Form 16 on the basis of the quarterly TDS and TCS statements processing. A deductor will be required to raise a request for the same on the TRACES website.

2. When are the due dates for the issuance of the Form 16 and Form 16A certificates?

The Form 16 is issued annually and is supposed to be issued by the 31st of May. On the other hand, Form 16A is issued quarterly and is issued within 15 days from the due date of furnishing the statement of tax deducted at source as per rule 31A.

3. Can I get a duplicate Form 16 certificate if I misplace the original one?

Yes, you have to get in touch with your deductor to get the duplicate certificate issued

4. If I am pensioner, who will issue my Form 16?

If you are a pensioner, the bank through which you are receiving you pension will issue the Form 16. Your previous employer will not be issuing the Form 16 in this case.

5. Can I download my Form 16 certificate without enrolling myself in the TRACES website?

No, you have to be a registered use on the TRACES website to be able to download your Form 16 and Form 16A.