Form 16 is a TDS Certificate issued by the employer deducting the TDS while making payment to an employee. Check here the step-by-step guide to file an income tax return without Form 16.

The government has again extended the deadline to file income tax returns (ITR) for individual taxpayers of the assessment year 2020-21 and (FY 2019-20) from the before the deadline of December 31, 2020, to January 10, 2021. The date for filing the tax audit report too has been extended to February 15, 2021.

Form 16 is a TDS Certificate issued by the employer deducting the TDS while making payment to an employee. If you are filing the income tax return, make sure that Form 16 you are using is valid and in an acceptable format. Once you have received a TDS certificate it is important to ensure its validity.

What is Form 16:

Form 16/ 16A is the certificate of deduction of tax at source. It is issued on deduction of tax by the employer on behalf of the employees. These certificates provide details of TDS / TCS for various transactions between deductor and deducted. It is mandatory to issue these certificates to Tax Payers.

Form 16 is a certificate, where the employer is certifying details regarding the salary you have earned during the year and how much TDS has been deducted. It has two parts, Part A and Part B.

Form 16 has two components: Part A and Part B

Part A includes components such as name and address of the employer, TAN, and PAN of an employer, PAN of the employee, summary of tax deducted and deposited quarterly, which is certified by the employer, according to ClearTax - an income tax e-filing website.

Part B contains detailed Salary particulars like House Rent Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Leave Encashment, Gratuity, Pension, Deductions claimed like PPF, Tax Saving FD, National Saving Certificate, etc.

Here is how to file your income tax return without Form 16:

Calculate income from salary: Put together the net salary from all the payslips you have received from your employer in the financial year. If you have switched one or more jobs in a financial year, make sure you include payslips from all employers you have worked for in the year. The details include gross salary along with the value of perquisites, professional tax, allowances exempted under Section 10, and entertainment allowance. Apart from these, the salary slip will also include details of the TDS and the amount deducted for the provident fund.

Calculate TDS deducted with Form 26AS: Calculate the TDS deducted by your employer over the year and match the amount mentioned on your Form 26AS. Form 26AS contains details regarding the TDS amount deducted from all income sources, which includes the income from salary.

Calculate income from house property: Employees who have a House Rent Allowance (HRA) component in their salary can claim the HRA deduction, you must submit your rent receipts to your payroll department in advance. If you have taken a home loan, and are paying interest on it, you will get a deduction of the same under the head.

Calculate income from other sources: You need to calculate the income earned from other sources such as interest on bank deposits and interest on an income tax refund. If you earn an income from any source other than your salaried job, do not forget to include it under taxable income. Such sources of income can include interest earned on Fixed Deposits, income from rent on property owned by you, etc.

Claim the deductions: You can claim deductions under Section 80C, 80D, and 80G, among other sections. Every deduction will have a specified limit. While claiming a deduction for Provident Fund, make sure you claim only your contribution to the PF and not your employers’ contribution.

Now you file your ITR after you have ensured that the taxes paid by you match the taxes payable by you, go on to file your returns online. Check here the step-by-step guide to file ITR online.