Got Your Form 16? Things You Should Do Next: A Step-By-Step Guide

Tax season has arrived in India, and employees have started getting their Form-16 from their employers. This form is a vital document for salaried employees as it carries the details of your salary structure and tax deducted at source (TDS). One needs this information to be able to claim deductions and refunds while submitting their income tax return form.

The Form-16 has two parts: Part A shows TDS details, and Part B shows the salary breakup. This form is proof that tax has been deducted and deposited on your behalf. Without this form, filing ITR becomes harder. 

How To Proceed After Getting Form 16:

1. Check your details: From Part ‘A', check the details of your PAN, salary paid and TDS deducted. Details of TDS will be available in a section titled - ‘Summary of amount paid/credited and tax deducted at source thereon in respect of the employee'.

2. Check Part B: In part B, one must check the details of their salary breakup as it will be helpful in claiming applicable deductions. This section will contain the details of the allowances such as commute, travel and house rent. If one reports their other income to the employer, those details will also be available in this form. This part also contains a deduction section where the employees can see what deductions they are eligible for under sections such as 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD(1) of the income tax rules.

3. Compare With Form 26AS: From the tax portal, one can download the Form 26AS which is a consolidated tax statement from the government showing all tax credits. One must match the details of both the forms to ensure correct tax filing and avoid discrepancies in ITR.

4. Check Taxable Income: In part B of Form 16, one can find their taxable income details towards the end. Make sure all the deductions are accounted for and the amount accurately reflects your tax liability.

5. In case of any discrepancies, one must reach out to their employer to get the issue fixed. A revised TDS will need to be filed by the employer in this case to accurately reflect the tax records.

6. File ITR: One all the steps have been carefully reviewed, one can use the details provided in Form 16 to easily fill their tax forms and submit for review by the tax department.