Form 16 is the certificate of tax deducted from salary. For FY 2025-26 it is issued under the Income-tax Act, 1961. CBDT’s transition note says the due date was 15 June 2026. It shows the salary paid and the tax the employer deposited against your PAN. It is the document you open when the return asks for salary and for tax already paid.
Use it when you file AY 2026-27. The salary and the tax on the return should match the certificate. If you changed jobs, you may have two certificates. Add them. Do not file only the second employer’s copy and hope the first job’s TDS appears by magic. It appears when you type it, and when the PAN in the department’s statement matches.
Tax deducted on interest and other non-salary payments is Form 16A, not Form 16. People download one and think the year is complete. Interest can be missing from Form 16 and still be taxable.
From FY 2026-27 the salary certificate changes name. It is Form No. 130 under the Income-tax Act, 2025, due 15 June 2027. Do not look for Form No. 130 while you are still filing FY 2025-26. The part of the certificate that shows the regime, the standard deduction and the tax is the part to read slowly. The employer’s computation can differ from yours if you had rent, a second house, or a capital gain the payroll team never saw.
A worked example
A new-regime salary of ₹15,00,000 has a standard deduction of ₹75,000 and a bill of ₹97,500 on the income tax calculator. If Form No. 130 for FY 2026-27 shows the same salary and tax close to ₹97,500, the year is consistent. If the certificate shows a much higher tax, look for a deduction the employer refused, or for income you did not type. If it shows less, look for a bonus paid outside the figure you used.
The income tax calculator can check the tax on a salary figure. It does not replace the certificate. The in-hand salary calculator is a planning view of CTC, not a copy of Form 16. The filing guide keeps the two years apart.
Mistakes people make
- Mixing Form 16 with Form 16A and missing the interest.
- Searching for Form No. 130 a year early.
- Filing one employer’s certificate in a two-job year.
- Treating the employer’s HRA figure as final if you paid a different rent.
- Assuming the certificate’s tax is the final bill when you also sold shares. Section 198 is outside payroll.
The section
Form 16 is the salary TDS certificate under the 1961 Act for FY 2025-26. Form No. 130 is the certificate under the Income-tax Act, 2025 for FY 2026-27. CBDT’s transition questions are the official crosswalk.
Questions
Is Form 16 the same as Form 16A?
No. Form 16 is the salary certificate. Form 16A is for tax deducted on payments that are not salary, such as bank interest. Both can belong on the same return. They are not substitutes.
When does Form 16 become Form No. 130?
Form No. 130 is the salary certificate for FY 2026-27, due 15 June 2027. Form 16 remains the certificate for FY 2025-26, which was due 15 June 2026.
Can I file without Form 16?
You can file from salary slips and Form 26AS if the employer is late, but the salary and the tax on the return should still match what was deposited against your PAN. The certificate is the tidy version of those figures, not a separate kind of income.
Sources
Figures checked 28 Oct 2026.