Income tax · TDS certificates

Form 16 and Form 16A, explained plainly.

Two TDS certificates that get confused often — one for salary, one for everything else. What each contains, who issues it, and how to use it when you file. Written by Chartered Accountants.

Reviewed July 2026
5 min read
CA Anil Agarwal & the TatvaBooks team

What is Form 16 (salary TDS certificate)

Form 16 is the certificate your employer issues each financial year confirming the tax deducted from your salary and deposited with the government. It has two parts:

Part A — a summary of the TDS deducted each quarter and deposited against your PAN, downloaded by your employer from the TRACES portal. It includes your employer's TAN, the assessment year, and quarter-wise deposit details.
Part B — the detailed annexure: your gross salary, exemptions (like HRA and LTA), deductions claimed under Chapter VI-A (Section 80C, 80D and similar), and the final tax computed and deducted.

Every employer that deducts TDS on salary must issue Form 16, typically by mid-June following the end of the financial year — verify the current due date on the income-tax portal before treating any date here as final.

Form 16A (TDS on non-salary payments)

Form 16A covers TDS deducted on payments that aren't salary — rent, professional or technical fees, contractor payments, commission, interest on fixed deposits, and similar. Unlike Form 16, it's issued quarterly, by whoever deducted the tax, and is generated through the TRACES portal.

If you're salaried but also earn consulting fees or rental income with TDS deducted, you'll typically hold one annual Form 16 from your employer alongside separate quarterly Form 16A certificates from each client, tenant or bank that deducted tax on your behalf. Our TDS guide covers deduction rates and thresholds for these non-salary payments.

Form 16 vs 16A vs 16B

The names are similar but the certificates serve different purposes. Here's the comparison side by side.

	Form 16	Form 16A	Form 16B
Issued for	Salary paid to an employee	Non-salary payments — rent, professional fees, contractor payments, interest, commission	Sale of immovable property (TDS on the buyer's side)
Issued by	Employer	Any person/entity deducting TDS on non-salary payments	Buyer of property, to the seller
Frequency	Annually, for the financial year	Quarterly, for each quarter TDS was deducted	Per property transaction
Structure	Part A (TDS summary) + Part B (salary breakup)	Single-part certificate per deductor per quarter	Single certificate for the transaction
Where you'd use it	Primary document for filing your salary-income ITR	Supporting proof of TDS credit for non-salary income in your ITR	Proof of TDS deducted on a property sale

How to use Form 16 to file your ITR

Form 16's Part B does most of the arithmetic for you — gross salary, exemptions, deductions and the tax already deducted all appear in one place, which you carry across into your return. Cross-check the TDS figure against your Form 26AS or AIS on the income-tax portal before filing, since the two should match. If you have other income — freelance fees, interest, capital gains — those get added separately, along with the corresponding Form 16A certificates for any TDS already deducted on them. Our full ITR filing guide walks through the return step by step, including which ITR form fits which income mix.

Frequently asked questions

What is Form 16 and who issues it?

Form 16 is the TDS certificate your employer issues for tax deducted on your salary during a financial year. It has two parts — Part A is a summary of tax deducted and deposited with the government (downloaded from the TRACES portal), and Part B is a detailed breakup of your salary, exemptions, deductions under Chapter VI-A, and the tax computed. Every employer that deducts TDS on salary is required to issue it.

What is the difference between Form 16 and Form 16A?

Form 16 covers TDS on salary and is issued once a year by your employer. Form 16A covers TDS on everything else — rent, professional fees, contractor payments, interest income and similar — and is issued quarterly by whoever deducted the tax. If you're a salaried employee with a side consulting income, you could receive one Form 16 from your employer and separate Form 16A certificates from each client who deducted TDS on your fees.

How do I download Form 16?

Your employer generates and issues Form 16 directly — you cannot download it yourself from the income-tax portal in the way you can view Form 26AS or AIS. If you haven't received it, ask your employer's payroll or HR team; they are required to issue it by a due date each year, typically mid-June following the financial year. Always verify the current due date on the income-tax portal.

Can I file my ITR without Form 16?

Yes — Form 16 makes it easier, but it isn't the only source. You can reconstruct the same information from your salary slips, Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income-tax portal, which show the TDS actually deposited against your PAN. It's still worth chasing your employer for Form 16, since it packages the computation in one place. Our full ITR filing guide covers the return-filing steps either way.

What is Form 16B and how is it different?

Form 16B is a TDS certificate specifically for the sale of immovable property, issued by the buyer to the seller after depositing TDS under Section 194-IA. It's unrelated to salary or the quarterly non-salary deductions covered by Form 16A — it exists for a single property transaction and is generated through a separate process on the TRACES portal.

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