Form 16

Form 16 contains information of your salary details earned during a particular year which you need for preparing and filing your tax return and is a certificate granted by an employer. Form 16 is a deducted income tax certificate issued by an employer and submitted to the Department of Income Tax in accordance with section 203.

It is one of the most frequently found financial records when your ITR is filed which contain details on the deduction by the employer of the tax and when it was submitted to IT.

In order to acquire the necessary tax deduction, a person must end up receiving Form 16 from his or her employer in case of a transfer of work profile. Sometimes the employer may not issue Form16, which takes into consideration your income under the tax exemption margin for the year.

Who is eligible for Form 16?

Form 16 is readily accessible to all income earners whose annual income falls inside the taxable slabs. Unless an employee has deducted tax from his or her salary at the source, he or she must present Form 16. The mentioned form is useful for salaried individuals who have no other source of income than their wage and need to file an ITR.

Why is it required ?

It is documentation that your company submitted the money it deducted as TDS from your salary to the authorities. It comprises all the specifics of the investment declarations you made, allowances your firm offered, and any other details essential that may influence the tax amount, such as house rent, medical expenditures, loans, and so on, at the start of the financial year

When will Form 16 be available?

Form 16 must be issued by your employer by May 31 of the assessment year, so you have ample time to file your income tax returns before the deadline. To clarify, a financial year (FY) is the time period from April 1 to March 31 during which you received funds.

What is Part A of Form 16?

It primarily contains the fundamental information about the employee and employer listed below, and also statistics on how much tax was withheld, the periods when the revenue was submitted with the Central Government Account, and documentation about the government's Challan issued as a result.

• Employee's name
• Employee's address
• The employee's personal identification card (PAN)
• Employer's name (tax deductor)
• Employer's address (tax deductor)
• Employer's identification card (PAN)
• Employer's address

What is Part B of Form 16?

The splitting of your tax is generated in Part B of Form 16 using the capital declaration and proof of investment submitted simultaneously.-

It also contains information about any other allowances supplied by your employer that may be essential for tax purposes, and just about every other information you may have awarded to the employer, such as house rent, medical expenses, home mortgages, and tax-exempt gifts. The following are the specifics:

• Your annual wage
• Allowances exempt under Section 10
• Tax on employment
• Deductions under Section 80C, which include (but are not limited to) details such as Provident Fund (EPF/PPF) Housing Loan, National Saving Certificate, Life Insurance Plans, tax-saving mutual funds (ELSS), and any other investments in tax-saving schemes.
• Deductions allowed under other sections (80E, 80G, 80TTA), such as the National Pension Scheme, mediclaims, donations exempted under section 80-G, and others.
• Tax on total income
• Any cess levied (such as education cess, Swachh Bharat cess, levy implemented by the government from time to time)
• Any tax rebate
• Any surcharges

Here's a synopsis of the various elements of Form 16:

FORM 16	FORM 16A	FORM 16B
Issued for payroll taxes deducted at source.	Issued for tax deducted at source on all non-salary income, such as rent and investment interest.	Issued for revenue from the sale of property ownership that has been taxed at source.
Issued by employer.	Financial institutions, tenants, and other entities issue them.	Issued to the seller by the property buyer.

Added Value of Form 16

Form 16 serves as proof to the Central Government Account that your employer or deductor submitted the TDS amount and did not commit any fraud or divert the funds for any other purpose. It also functions as a declaration of your "earnings from salary," which can be provided to various authorities/companies upon request. It has a variety of applications, including:

• Facilitate with Income Tax Return Filing.
• Evidence of income.
• Keep a record of how your tax was calculated and look for any discrepancies.
• A single document with all of your tax-saving assets in one spot.
• Loan evaluation and approval.
• The process of obtaining a visa.
• When changing jobs: Assists your new employer in calculating your tax responsibilities based on what your prior employer has already deducted.
• As it is a tax credit certificate, you can check for any excess taxes, which can assist you in obtaining reimbursements.

Implementing Form 16 to File Income Tax Returns

When it comes to submitting your IT taxes, Form 16 is one of the most key barriers you'll require. It's critical to understand the methods for submitting Form 16 returns, whether you're doing it on your own or with the guidance of a Chartered Accountant.

The following is a rundown of the online and offline steps for filing Form 16 returns.

Online Procedure

Taxpayers with an annual income of Rs. 5 lakh must file their forms online at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. You can either execute your returns yourself or have them filed for you by your Chartered Accountant or some other qualified individual.

You can also use authorized third-party digital services that provide streamlined documents which thus allow you to prepare your own returns. Alternatively, you can upload your Form 16 to these websites and have their experts accomplish the work on your behalf.

Offline Procedure

If your income is less than Rs. 5 lakh for the fiscal year, you have two alternatives for preparing your return offline: either download the relevant ITR application from the website - www.incometaxindia.gov.in or get one from the local Income Tax office. These documents must be filled out and presented to the local ‘Aaykar Sampark Kendra'. The accessing officer will also require you to complete an acknowledgement form, which will be stamped and returned to you.