Form 16 Explained: Part A, Part B and how to use it for your ITR

6 min read · Income Tax

Form 16 is the TDS certificate your employer issues on salary. It is your single most useful document when filing an income-tax return, because it summarises what you earned, what was deducted, and what was deposited with the government on your behalf. It comes in two parts — and knowing what each one proves is what makes filing painless.

What Form 16 is

Under the Income-tax Act, an employer who deducts TDS on your salary must issue Form 16 for the financial year, generally by 15 June following the end of the year (as of Sep 2026 — confirm the current due date). If no tax was deducted, your employer may not issue one at all, which is normal and not a problem.

Part A — the TDS proof (from TRACES)

Part A is generated and downloaded by the employer from the TRACES portal, so it carries a TRACES logo and a unique certificate number. It shows your and the employer's PAN and TAN, the period of employment, and a quarter-wise summary of the tax deducted and deposited. Because it comes from TRACES, Part A is the authoritative record that the TDS actually reached the government — cross-check its figures against your Form 26AS / AIS.

Part B — the salary breakup

Part B is the annexure prepared by the employer. It details your gross salary, exempt allowances, deductions under Chapter VI-A (such as 80C, 80D), the standard deduction, and the resulting taxable income and tax. Since two regimes exist, Part B reflects the regime under which your employer computed TDS — check that it matches the regime you intend to file under, because you can still switch at filing subject to the rules that apply to you.

How to read it for your ITR

Use Part B to fill the salary and deduction schedules of your return, and use Part A to fill the TDS/tax-paid schedule. Then reconcile the whole thing against your AIS and Form 26AS — if the numbers agree across all three, your return will process cleanly. Any gap between Form 16 and 26AS should be resolved before you file.

No Form 16? Use AIS and 26AS

If you changed jobs, were paid below the TDS threshold, or your employer simply did not issue one, you can still file. Your Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS on the income-tax portal capture salary credited and TDS deducted from all sources. Combine those with your salary slips and bank statements to reconstruct the same figures Form 16 would have given you.

General information, not tax advice. Rules and due dates change — confirm the current position with your CA.