ITR filing: How to file Income Tax Return without Form 16 - Explained

File ITR without Form 16: Form 16 is an important document that contains all information like the breakup of salary income, tax deducted at source (TDS) and more that are needed to file your Income Tax Return (ITR).

Form 16 is issued by employers to their employees at the end of the financial year to enable them to file ITR.

Form 16 is mainly used for computing tax that is either payable by that particular employee or refundable to them.

However, in case you are not provided with Form 16, you can still file ITR. Here, we will tell you how to file ITR without Form 16.

1. The very first thing that you should do is check your tax slab depending on your income.

2. Consolidate all of your pay slips and calculate your income that is taxable.

3. Find out the exact tax to be paid using the 26AS form

Online 26AS e-filing Website

What is the use of 26AS form: Form 26AS is a statement that provides details of any amount deducted as TDS or TCS from various sources of income of a taxpayer. It also reflects advance tax/self-assessment tax details and high-value transactions entered into by the taxpayer.

The 26AS will help you assess the TDS deducted by the employer over the period of the financial year. You only have to match the total TDS amount with the amount in 26AS to know whether there is any change in TDS cut by the employer and in 26AS.

- Furthermore, there are many investments and spending that are eligible to be claimed for deduction under various provisions such as 80C, 80D, 80E etc. (know about the deductions available here)

- Before filing the ITR, also make sure to include any non-salaried earnings you have made throughout the year. These earnings could be interest earned on Fixed Deposits (FD), income from rent on properties owned by you, and any other income which is taxable.

- Moreover, many times, employees get House Rent Allowance (HRA) from companies. To claim the HRA deduction, see that you add the rent receipts while filing the ITR.

- There is one last step to complete before you file the Income Tax Return.

If you are liable to pay more tax than the amount in your 26AS form, you have to pay the additional amount before filing ITR.  

- Lastly, when you are done with all these steps, file your income tax return.

ITR filing last date: This year's deadline to file the ITR without any fine or penalty is July 31.