Where to Find Salary, Employer and TDS Details in Form 16?

What Is Form 16?

Form 16 is the annual TDS certificate issued by an employer to an employee where tax has been deducted from salary. It contains:

• Employer and employee identification details
• Salary and exemption information
• Taxable salary computation
• Tax deducted from salary
• Details showing whether the deducted tax was deposited with the Government

For AY 2026-27, Form 16 continues to be issued under section 203 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for tax deducted from salary under section 192. Form 16 for FY 2025-26 was required to be provided by 15 June 2026.

The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies to salary payments made on or after 1 April 2026. Therefore, this guide specifically covers the Form 16 issued for FY 2025-26 and AY 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

How Form 16 Is Arranged

Form 16 has two main parts:

Part A

Part A contains employer, employee and TDS-deposit information. It is generally generated through the TRACES system.

Part B—Annexure I

Part B contains the salary computation, exemptions, deductions, taxable income and tax calculation for an employee.

Note: Part B—Annexure II is intended for specified senior citizens covered by section 194P and should not be confused with the employee salary annexure.

Where to Find Employer Details

Open Part A and look at the upper portion of the certificate.

Employer’s Name and Address

The employer’s legal name and address appear under:

Name and address of the Employer/Specified Bank

Use this address where an ITR, tax-filing platform or document checklist asks for the employer’s address. It may be the employer’s registered, payroll or TDS-reporting address rather than the employee’s actual office location.

Employer’s PAN

The employer’s Permanent Account Number appears under:

PAN of the Deductor

The employer is described as the “deductor” because it deducted tax from the employee’s salary.

Employer’s TAN

The employer’s Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number appears under:

TAN of the Deductor

TAN is the main identifier used to match salary TDS with the employer’s TDS return and the employee’s Form 26AS. Do not enter the employer’s PAN where the ITR asks for its TAN.

Employee and Employment Details

The same section also contains:

• Employee’s name and address
• Employee’s PAN
• Assessment Year
• Period of employment
• Employee reference or personnel number, where provided

Rule 31 requires Form 16 to contain a valid PAN of the employee and a valid TAN of the deductor.

Where to Find Salary Details

Salary information is mainly available in Part B—Annexure I.

Salary Under Section 17(1)

Go to:

Item 1(a)—Salary as per provisions contained in section 17(1)

This is normally the consolidated salary figure considered by the employer. It can include taxable amounts such as basic salary, dearness allowance, bonus, commission and other salary payments.

However, the statutory Form 16 may not provide a separate breakup of every payroll component. For example, basic salary, bonus and gross HRA received may be combined within the section 17(1) amount.

For a detailed component-wise breakup, check:

• Monthly salary slips
• Annual salary statement
• Payroll annexure attached by the employer
• Full-and-final settlement statement, where applicable

Where to Find Exempt Allowances

Go to Part B, item 2, titled:

Less: Allowances to the extent exempt under section 10

The form contains separate lines for:

• Leave travel concession or assistance under section 10(5)
• Gratuity under section 10(10)
• Commuted pension under section 10(10A)
• Leave-salary encashment under section 10(10AA)
• House rent allowance under section 10(13A)
• Special allowances under section 10(14)
• Other exemptions under section 10

The total exemptions claimed are shown at item 2(i)—Total amount of exemption claimed under section 10.

Important Difference Between Allowance Received and Exemption Claimed

Form 16 may show only the exempt portion of an allowance in item 2.

For example:

• Gross HRA received may form part of salary under item 1(a).
• Only the HRA amount treated as exempt by the employer appears in item 2(e).

Therefore, the amount shown as HRA exemption should not automatically be treated as the employee’s total HRA received.

Where to Find Perquisites

Go to:

Part B, item 1(b)—Value of perquisites under section 17(2)

Perquisites may include taxable employer-provided benefits such as accommodation, motor-car facilities, concessional loans, employee stock benefits or other benefits valued under the applicable rules.

Form 16 ordinarily shows the total taxable value. Where applicable, the detailed nature and value of individual perquisites are provided separately in Form 12BA.

Do not search for perquisites under exempt allowances. Taxable perquisites form part of gross salary.

Where to Find Profits in Lieu of Salary

Go to:

Part B, item 1(c)—Profits in lieu of salary under section 17(3)

This field may include taxable amounts connected with employment, termination or modification of employment that are treated as profits in lieu of salary.

Where applicable, supporting details may also appear in Form 12BA or an employer-provided annexure.

Where to Find Salary From a Previous Employer

Go to:

Part B, item 1(e)—Reported total amount of salary received from other employer(s)

This field is generally populated when the employee disclosed previous-employer salary details to the current employer for TDS calculation.

It does not replace the separate Form 16 issued by the previous employer. Keep Form 16 from every employer and ensure that the complete salary from all employers is reported in the ITR.

Where to Find Taxable Salary

The salary computation continues after the gross salary and exemption sections.

Important lines include:

• Item 3: Salary received from the current employer after exemptions
• Item 4: Deductions under section 16
• Item 5: Total deductions under section 16
• Item 6: Income chargeable under the head “Salaries”

Item 6 is the taxable salary computed by the employer before adding any house-property or other income reported by the employee for TDS purposes.

Where to Find TDS Details

The principal TDS figures are available in Part A, not in the salary-computation section of Part B.

Quarterly TDS Summary

Look for:

Summary of amount paid/credited and tax deducted at source thereon in respect of the employee

The table normally contains quarter-wise information for:

• Amount paid or credited
• Tax deducted
• Tax deposited or remitted
• Receipt number of the employer’s quarterly TDS statement

Use the Total row to locate the total salary TDS deducted and deposited for that Form 16.

Challan or Book-Adjustment Details

Below the quarterly summary, Part A contains either:

• Book Identification Number details for certain Government deductors; or
• Challan Identification Number details for tax deposited through a bank

Challan details can include:

• BSR code of the bank branch
• Date of deposit
• Challan serial number
• OLTAS matching status

These fields help establish whether the employer deposited the deducted tax in the Government account.

Do Not Confuse Net Tax Payable With TDS Deducted

Part B ends with the employer’s tax computation, including:

• Tax on total income
• Rebate
• Surcharge
• Health and education cess
• Relief under section 89
• Net tax payable

The net tax payable shown in Part B is the calculated tax liability. It is not the field from which salary TDS credit should be copied.

For the TDS credit, use the tax-deducted and tax-deposited figures in Part A and reconcile them with Form 26AS.

How to Check Form 16 Before Filing the ITR

Check the following:

• Your name and PAN are correct.
• The employer’s PAN and TAN are present.
• The Financial Year and Assessment Year are correct.
• The period of employment is accurate.
• Salary agrees with salary slips and the annual payroll statement.
• Exempt allowances agree with the declarations accepted by the employer.
• Perquisites agree with Form 12BA, where issued.
• TDS deducted agrees with the total in Part A.
• TDS credit appears against the same employer TAN in Form 26AS.
• Salary and TDS from every employer have been included.

Where the TDS in Form 16 does not match Form 26AS, the Income Tax Department advises the employee to inform the employer or deductor. The employer may need to file a correction statement. Tax credit allowed in the ITR is ordinarily restricted to the credit available in Form 26AS.

Form 16 Where You Had Multiple Employers

Where an employee worked for more than one employer during the financial year:

• Each employer must issue Part A for the period during which the employee worked with it.
• Part B may be issued by each employer or by the last employer, depending on the employee’s option.
• The ITR must include the complete salary and eligible TDS from all employers.

Do not report only the figures from the last employer’s Form 16 unless that Form 16 clearly includes the salary received from previous employers.

Common Form 16 Mistakes

Entering Employer PAN Instead of TAN

Use the TAN shown under TAN of the Deductor when entering salary TDS details.

Treating Exempt HRA as Gross HRA

The amount under item 2(e) is the HRA exemption allowed, not necessarily the full HRA received.

Copying Net Tax Payable as TDS

Salary TDS must be taken from Part A. The net tax payable in Part B is part of the tax computation.

Ignoring Perquisites

Taxable perquisites under item 1(b) are salary income even where they were not paid in cash.

Missing Previous-Employer Salary

Check item 1(e) and retain the separate Form 16 issued by every employer.

Assuming Form 16 Contains Every Payroll Component

The prescribed form may consolidate several salary components under section 17(1). Use salary slips or employer annexures where a detailed breakup is required.

Conclusion

Form 16 should be read in two stages:

• Use Part A for employer PAN, TAN, address, employment period and TDS information.
• Use Part B—Annexure I for salary, exempt allowances, perquisites, profits in lieu of salary, taxable salary and the employer’s tax computation.

Before filing the ITR, compare Form 16 with salary slips, Form 12BA, Form 26AS, AIS and the ITR pre-filled information. Any difference in salary or TDS should be resolved before the return is submitted.