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Learn · Your first salary

Reading your Form 16

The certificate your employer gives you every June, and how to use it to file.

3 min read

Proof of the tax taken from your salary

Form 16 is a certificate from your employer showing your salary for the year and the tax (TDS) they deducted and paid to the government. You should get it by 15 June after the financial year ends.

Side by side

The two parts of Form 16

Part A

  • Employer's TAN and your PAN
  • TDS deposited each quarter
  • Comes from TRACES, so it should match Form 26AS

Part B

  • Gross salary and exemptions like HRA
  • Standard deduction and declared deductions
  • Tax on what's left. Check the regime it used

In order

Before you file

  1. Get Form 16Your employer should give it to you by 15 June.
  2. Match the TDSCheck it against Form 26AS and your Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income tax portal.
  3. Two employers? Add bothYou'll have two Form 16s. Neither employer knows about the other, so add them up yourself.
  4. File by 31 JulyLate filing means a fee of up to ₹5,000.

Myth

If my employer deducted TDS, I don't need to file a return.

Fact

If your income is above the basic exemption limit, you still need to file. Filing is also how you claim a refund if too much was deducted.

Words from this lesson

  • AIS: Annual Information Statement: what the tax department already knows about your income.
  • Form 16: Your employer's yearly certificate of salary paid and tax deducted.
  • Form 26AS: Your tax credit statement on the income tax portal.
  • ITR: Income tax return: the yearly form where you report income and settle tax.
  • TDS: Tax deducted at source: income tax your employer takes from each month's salary.

Next in Your first salary: Your first salary: a simple order of things