The short answer
Form 16 is a certificate your employer gives you once a year. It tells you, and the income tax department, how much salary you were paid and how much tax was deducted from that salary on your behalf.
The formal name is a TDS certificate under Section 203 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. TDS stands for Tax Deducted at Source. When your employer pays your salary, they are legally required to deduct a portion of it as tax and remit it to the government. Form 16 is the written confirmation that this happened, and it also tells you exactly what that tax was computed on.
Who gets Form 16, and who issues it
Any employer who deducts TDS from an employee's salary must issue Form 16. If your salary falls below the basic exemption limit and no TDS was deducted, your employer is not obligated to issue it, though many do so anyway as a courtesy.
The certificate is issued to individual salaried employees. If you changed jobs during the financial year, each employer issues a separate Form 16 for the period you worked with them.
Part A and Part B: what they contain
Form 16 has two distinct sections. They serve different purposes, and both are needed when you file your income tax return.
TDS Deposit Details
- Employer's TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number)
- Employer's PAN
- Employee's PAN
- Quarter-wise TDS deducted and deposited
- BSR codes and challan details
- Employer's name and address
Salary Breakdown
- Gross salary paid
- Allowances exempt under Section 10 (like HRA)
- Deductions under Chapter VI-A (80C, 80D, etc.)
- Standard deduction
- Net taxable income
- Total tax payable and tax already deducted
Part A is generated directly from TRACES (the government's TDS portal) and carries a TRACES watermark. Part B is prepared by the employer and annexed to Part A.
When is Form 16 issued
Employers are required to issue Form 16 by June 15 after the close of the relevant financial year. India's financial year runs from April 1 to March 31.
So for FY 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025), the deadline to issue Form 16 is June 15, 2025. This gives employees enough time to use it while filing their ITR before the July 31 deadline.
How Form 16 connects to your ITR
When you file your income tax return, you need to declare your total income, claim your deductions, and compute your tax liability. Form 16 already contains most of this information in one place.
The figures in Part B map almost directly onto ITR-1 (the most common return form for salaried individuals). Your gross salary, allowable exemptions, deductions under Section 80C and others, and total TDS deducted are all there.
The TDS amount reflected in Part A should also appear in your Form 26AS and your Annual Information Statement. If there is any discrepancy, it is worth resolving before you file your return, since the income tax department reconciles these records.
What if your employer has not issued Form 16
If TDS was deducted from your salary but you have not received Form 16 by mid-June, the first step is to request it from your HR or accounts team in writing. There is no provision under the law that excuses an employer from issuing it if TDS was deducted.
In the interim, you can download your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement from the income tax portal (incometax.gov.in) to verify what TDS credits are standing against your PAN. These can serve as a reference when you file, even though they do not substitute for a properly issued Form 16.
If no TDS was deducted because your salary fell below the taxable threshold, you are not legally entitled to a Form 16. In that case, your salary slips and bank statements are what you rely on when filing your ITR.