How to read your Form 16

Form 16 is the TDS certificate for salary. Part A shows the tax your employer deducted and deposited against your PAN. Part B shows how your taxable salary was worked out: gross salary, exemptions, the standard deduction and the deductions you declared. When you file, use Part B for your salary and check Part A against your Form 26AS or Form 168.

The layout differs slightly between employers' software, so this guide describes the parts, not a fixed row-by-row template.

What you will see in Part A

Part A is a summary of the tax deducted and deposited:

• Your employer's name, address and TAN, and your name and PAN.
• The period of employment with that employer.
• A quarter-wise summary of tax deducted and deposited, with challan details.

The reporting-form crosswalk lists the quarterly salary TDS statement, Form 24Q, becoming Form 138 under the 2026 rules.

The TDS in Part A should appear in your Form 26AS (up to the tax year 2025-26) or Form 168 (from 2026-27), under the salary section. That statement is what the department uses for your tax credit.

What you will see in Part B

Part B follows the salary computation in your return:

The salary items in your return mirror this structure: gross salary, exempt allowances, net salary, deductions under section 16 and income from salary.

Which regime did your employer use?

Your employer works out TDS on the regime you declared. If you declared nothing, the TDS may follow the default regime. Check Part B: if it shows 80C and 80D, the old regime was used. If it shows only the standard deduction and employer NPS, it was the new regime. Your return can choose differently. See how to switch between old and new regime.

Checks before you file

1. Salary: compare gross salary in Part B with the salary in your AIS. They should be close.
2. TDS: compare Part A with Form 26AS or Form 168. The tax credit you can claim is what the statement shows.
3. Exemptions: check that claimed HRA or other exemptions match your proofs.
4. Deductions: check that the deductions listed are ones you can prove.
5. Other employers: if you changed jobs, you have more than one Form 16. See changed jobs this year? How to file.
6. Other income: Form 16 shows no interest or capital gains. Check the AIS. See what is the Annual Information Statement.

What if Form 16 does not match the AIS or Form 26AS?

Small timing differences happen. For bigger ones:

• Ask the employer to correct the TDS return if Part A TDS is not in Form 26AS or Form 168. See TDS not showing in Form 26AS or Form 168.
• If the AIS salary is wrong, you can give feedback on the AIS entry.
• Do not drop an income item just because Form 16 omits it.

Filing without Form 16

You can still file, using your AIS, TIS and salary slips. TaxCare first looks at the salary details the department holds. If the department shows salary but not its parts, you can upload your Form 16 PDF and TaxCare reads it, or enter the figures yourself. It reads a PDF Form 16, not a scan or a photo.

How TaxCare helps

TaxCare brings in your salary and TDS from the Income Tax portal, and offers the Form 16 upload only when the salary split is missing. It matches your salary against the AIS and the tax credit against Form 26AS or Form 168 and flags lines that disagree. A Tax Expert can help if your Form 16 looks wrong. See pricing and Tax Experts.

This guide gives general information and is not professional tax advice.