Section 203 Income Tax Act, TRACES portal download, Part A/B salary breakdown, ITR filing & Form 26AS cross-check
Visit Official Portal →💡 Form 16 is an official statutory TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) certificate issued annually by employers to salaried employees under Section 203 of the Income Tax Act 1961 on or before June 15th. It consists of Part A (TRACES quarter-wise tax deposit summary) and Part B (salary breakdown and Chapter VI-A deductions) and serves as the primary document for filing annual ITR-1 and ITR-2 returns.
Employers are legally mandated to issue Form 16 on or before June 15th following the close of the financial year
100% Free (Employer is statutory obligated to provide it free of cost; late issuance attracts ₹100/day penalty on the employer under Section 272A(2)(g))
Any employee whose total estimated annual income exceeds the basic income tax exemption limit and whose employer has deducted TDS under Section 192 of the Income Tax Act 1961
All salaried individuals (private corporate, PSU, and government employees) whose employer has deducted Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from their salary to file their annual Income Tax Return (ITR-1 / ITR-2) and claim tax refunds
Download your signed Form 16 PDF from your company's HR portal (or receive via registered email) on or before the statutory June 15 deadline.
Ensure Part A carries the TRACES logo, employer's TAN and PAN, your PAN, and summary of tax deposited quarter-wise into the Central Government account.
Check the gross salary breakdown: Basic pay, Dearness Allowance (DA), HRA exemption under Section 10(13A), standard deduction of ₹50,000/₹75,000, and Chapter VI-A deductions (80C, 80D, 80CCD).
Log into incometax.gov.in, open Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS), and match the total TDS deducted in Part A with the tax ledger to ensure no discrepancy.
Use the pre-filled ITR utility on the e-Filing portal. Verify salary figures against Form 16 Part B, claim eligible deductions, and submit/e-verify your return before July 31.
How to request a corrected Form 16 from your employer for PAN errors or missing deductions:
Submit a formal written request citing the discrepancy in salary computation or incorrect PAN.
The employer submits a correction TDS return on the TRACES portal.
TRACES processes the correction and updates Form 26AS within 7–10 days.
Receive the freshly generated, digitally signed Form 16.
How to access your TDS details via Form 26AS and AIS on the e-Filing portal:
Sign in using your 10-digit PAN and e-Filing password.
Confirm the redirect to the TRACES TDS portal.
Choose the ongoing Assessment Year and download the complete tax credit ledger.
Under 'Services > Annual Information Statement', download the comprehensive AIS PDF containing all salary and interest summaries.
Verify your TDS credit and employer deposit status online:
Log into incometax.gov.in.
View quarterly TDS entries deposited by your employer's TAN.
Ensure the status is active and matches your salary deductions before submitting ITR.
Under Section 203 of the Income Tax Act 1961 read with Rule 31, every employer must issue Form 16 to employees on or before June 15th of the financial year immediately following the fiscal year in which tax was deducted. Failure to issue Form 16 within this deadline attracts a statutory penalty of ₹100 per day of delay under Section 272A(2)(g).
NO. Only employers (holding a Tax Deduction Account Number TAN) can log into the TRACES portal (tdscpc.gov.in) to generate and download Form 16 Part A and Part B for their employees. However, individual employees can directly download Form 26AS and their Annual Information Statement (AIS) from incometax.gov.in using their PAN, which contains all TDS credits.
1) Form 16: Issued by employers for TDS deducted on salary under Section 192. 2) Form 16A: Issued by banks and financial institutions for TDS deducted on non-salary income (fixed deposit interest, mutual funds, professional consulting fees) under Sections 194A/194J. 3) Form 16B: Issued by property buyers for TDS deducted on sale of immovable property valued over ₹50 Lakh under Section 194-IA.
YES. If your employer has not issued Form 16 or has delayed it, you can file your ITR using: 1) Monthly salary slips (to compute gross salary and allowances), 2) Form 26AS and AIS downloaded from incometax.gov.in (to verify actual tax deposited against your PAN), and 3) Bank statements to compute interest income.
If tax was deducted from your salary but does not appear in Form 26AS, your employer may have made an error in entering your PAN or has not filed their quarterly TDS return (Form 24Q). You must immediately notify your employer's payroll team to file a TDS correction statement on TRACES. You cannot claim TDS credit in your ITR until it reflects in Form 26AS.
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