Even as the online income tax return (ITR) filing has started with the income tax department recently enabling e-filing of ITR-1 and ITR-4. ITR-1, which is filed by salaried individuals, is filed using Form 16 provided by the employer. Know what is Form 16 and whether the ITR can be filed without this or not.
What is Form 16?
Form 16 is an important document for the ITR filing of salaried employees. It is the TDS certificate issued by your employer. It contains a detailed description of the salary paid to the employee and the tax deducted from it. Form 16 also provides details of deductions claimed by the employee.
Form 16: What Are Its Part A and Part B?
Part A contains the taxes deducted by your employer from your salary, also called as tax deducted at source (TDS).
Part B of Form 16 contains details of salary income and deductions claimed by the employee to reach the taxable income.
What Are Form 16A, 16B and 16C?
In case, you have bought/ sold a property or got rental income, these forms are issued.
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Form 16A is issued by the tax deductor, 16B by the buyer of immovable property, and 16C is issued by the individual or HUF paying rent.
When Does Employer Issue Form 16?
Section 203 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, has made it mandatory for employers to issue Form 16 to their employees. The employers issue Form 16 to the employees on or before June 15 of the assessment year.
According to an income tax expert, it is important to review and reconcile the information submitted in Form 16 as well as Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS)/ Tax Information Summary (TIS) before furnishing the return and in case of any discrepancies, take steps to correct the same. You must ensure that the credit for taxes paid by way of TDS, advance tax and TCS is duly reflected. This will reduce the chances of your return getting picked up for scrutiny or tax demands as well as expeditious processing of tax refunds.
Is It Necessary to Have Form 16 to File ITR?
No. Form 16 is not necessary to file the income tax return. ITR can be filed without Form 16 also.
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However, it is advisable to wait for Form 16 for the individual salaried individual as it contains all the necessary tax-related information that will be helpful in filing an ITR. Also, the Form 16 data is reflected as a pre-filled ITR form on the income tax portal.
