Two years are live at once right now, and they use different form numbers. If you are chasing a certificate for the year ended 31 March 2026, you want Form 16. If you run payroll, the statements you are filing today are the new ones. This page covers both, and says which name belongs to which year every time.
Which name applies to which year
| What it does | Salary earned up to 31 March 2026 | Salary earned from 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Year label | FY 2025-26, assessed in AY 2026-27 | Tax Year 2026-27 |
| Governing law | Income-tax Act, 1961 | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
| Salary TDS certificate | Form 16 | Form 130 |
| Certificate due date | 15 June 2026 | 15 June 2027 |
| Quarterly salary TDS statement | Form 24Q | Form 138 |
| Non-salary TDS certificate | Form 16A | Form 131 |
| Tax credit statement | Form 26AS | Form 168 |
The rule is the date of the payment, not the date you file. Quarters and payments falling up to 31 March 2026, including later corrections to them, stay on the old numbers. Payments from 1 April 2026 use the new ones. For the year concepts themselves, see how the tax year works.
What is Form 16
Form 16 is the TDS certificate for salary income. It is issued under section 203 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 31 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, and it certifies that your employer deducted tax from your salary and deposited it with the Central Government against your PAN.
In plain terms it states two things: what you were paid, and how much tax was withheld and paid on your behalf. Those figures are the backbone of your return.
Four terms, one line each:
- TDS, tax deducted at source: tax your employer withholds each month.
- TRACES, the TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System at tdscpc.gov.in, from which the authenticated part of the certificate is generated.
- Form 26AS and AIS: the tax credit statement and the Annual Information Statement that record every TDS entry against your PAN. From Tax Year 2026-27, the tax credit statement is Form 168.
- Deductor and deductee: your employer, and you.
Form 130 does the same job under the Income-tax Act, 2025. It is issued under section 395(4)(b) read with Rule 215(1) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, and it is due by 15 June following the end of the tax year. So the certificate for Tax Year 2026-27 is due by 15 June 2027.
Part A and Part B
Form 16 has two parts and a certificate is complete only when both travel together.
| Part | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Part A | Employer and employee details including PAN and TAN, the year, the period of employment, and a quarter-wise summary of TDS deducted and deposited. Generated and authenticated on TRACES with a unique certificate number. |
| Part B | The salary breakup: gross salary, exempt allowances, deductions claimed, taxable income and tax computed. Prepared by the employer. For FY 2025-26 the section references in Part B are those of the Income-tax Act, 1961. |
Part A is the machine-generated half that proves the money reached the government. Part B is the prepared half that explains how your taxable salary was arrived at. A file with no authentication is not a valid certificate, whatever it is called. Check the deductions in Part B against what you declared, including any deductions other than 80C.
The employer process
The sequence matters more than the forms. Skipping reconciliation is the reason employees report mismatches in July.
For FY 2025-26, which is now closed:
- All four quarters of Form 24Q filed, Q1 April to June 2025 through Q4 January to March 2026. Part A cannot be generated until every quarter is on record.
- TDS data reconciled on TRACES against the TAN: challan mapping, employee PANs, and total TDS matching each employee's Form 26AS. Mismatches fixed with a correction statement first.
- Part A downloaded from TRACES, with the unique certificate number carried into Part B.
- Part B prepared with the correct salary breakup and 1961 Act section references.
- Combined, digitally signed and issued to every employee who had TDS deducted, including leavers, by 15 June 2026.
For Tax Year 2026-27, which is running now:
The order is the same, with new numbers and the same calendar. The quarterly salary TDS statement is Form 138, filed under section 397(3)(b) read with Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, and the quarterly due dates are 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. The certificate, Form 130, follows by 15 June 2027.
Two consequences worth budgeting for:
- A late statement costs ₹200 for every day of delay, capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible, under section 234E of the 1961 Act and section 427(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It is payable before the statement can be filed, so it is not a bill that arrives later.
- A correction statement under the 2025 Act must be filed within two years from the end of the tax year in which the original statement was due. That is a real limit: an unfixed PAN error becomes permanent.
Our TDS return filing page sets out the quarterly cycle and the new form numbers in full, and our payroll services cover the monthly side.
The complete old-to-new map
This is what a payroll or accounts team needs pinned up. Left column for payments up to 31 March 2026, right column for payments from 1 April 2026.
| What it does | Up to FY 2025-26 | Tax Year 2026-27 onwards |
|---|---|---|
| Salary TDS certificate | Form 16 | Form 130 |
| Non-salary TDS certificate | Form 16A | Form 131 |
| Certificate for property, rent and similar TDS | Form 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E | Form 132 (all four merged) |
| Quarterly salary TDS statement | Form 24Q | Form 138 |
| Quarterly non-salary TDS statement | Form 26Q | Form 140 |
| Quarterly statement, payments to non-residents | Form 27Q | Form 144 |
| Quarterly TCS statement | Form 27EQ | Form 143 |
| Challan-cum-statement, property, rent and similar | Form 26QB, 26QC, 26QD, 26QE | Form 141 (all four merged) |
| Lower or nil deduction certificate | Form 13 | Form 128 |
| No-deduction declaration by the recipient | Form 15G and 15H | Form 121 (merged) |
| TAN application | Form 49B | Form 134 and Form 135 |
| Tax credit statement | Form 26AS | Form 168 |
Note the two mergers. Four certificates become one Form 132, and four challan-cum-statements become one Form 141. If you buy a flat and deduct TDS from the seller, the form you file is Form 141 and the certificate you hand over is Form 132. Our TDS on property page covers that transaction end to end.
Opening your certificate
You do not download Form 16 yourself. Your employer issues it. Opening it is the part people get stuck on.
- A certificate generated from TRACES is usually password-protected, and the common format is your PAN in capitals followed by your date of birth as DDMMYYYY. PAN ABCDE1234F with a date of birth of 15 August 1988 gives ABCDE1234F15081988.
- Confirm the format shown on the download screen. Password conventions can be changed by notification.
- Check for the authentication mark. A file prepared in a spreadsheet or in payroll software, with no authentication from the department's portal, is not a valid certificate for your return.
If your employer has not issued it
The obligation, and the penalty exposure, sit with the employer. You are not at fault, and you are not stuck.
- Ask in writing. An email creates the record you need if this escalates.
- File anyway if the deadline is close. You can compute salary income and TDS from your payslips, bank credits, Form 26AS and AIS. Form 16 makes it faster and safer; it is not a legal precondition to filing. Check the ITR due dates for AY 2026-27, and see salaried ITR filing if you want it done for you.
- Know what the employer is exposed to. Section 272A(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 imposes a penalty for failing to furnish a certificate under section 203 within the prescribed time, running for each day the failure continues and capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible. We do not quote a daily figure here, because the department's published material and the commonly cited figure do not agree. Separately, failing to deliver the quarterly statement at all can attract a penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 under section 271H. Under the 2025 Act, the Form 138 material refers to penal proceedings under sections 461 and 465(2)(g).
- If tax was deducted but not deposited, it will not appear in your Form 26AS. That is the serious case, and it is worth taking up with the employer in writing before you file.
Common mistakes
- Not reconciling against Form 26AS and AIS. A mismatch between the certificate and the department's records is flagged by the system. Reconcile before you file, not after a notice.
- Ignoring a second Form 16. Changed jobs during the year? Each employer that deducted TDS issues its own certificate, and all of them go into one return. Leaving one out is the most common cause of a demand.
- Treating a payslip as a certificate. A payslip is an accounting document. Form 16 is a statutory certificate.
- Filing Form 24Q for a quarter that falls after 31 March 2026. That quarter belongs on Form 138.
- Assuming only the certificate was renumbered. The statement, the property forms and the credit statement all changed too.
Key takeaways
- Form 16 for FY 2025-26 was due by 15 June 2026, issued under section 203 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
- From Tax Year 2026-27 the certificate is Form 130, due by 15 June following the tax year.
- Form 24Q becomes Form 138, with quarterly dates of 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May.
- Form 16A becomes Form 131; Form 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E become a single Form 132; Form 26QB and its siblings become Form 141.
- Payments up to 31 March 2026, and corrections to them, stay on the old form numbers.
- A late TDS statement costs ₹200 per day, capped at the tax deductible, and is paid before filing.
- You can file your return without Form 16, using payslips, Form 26AS and AIS.
Running payroll across the changeover, or filing a return without a certificate? We file salary TDS statements under both Acts and reconcile before certificates go out. Talk to a CA on +91 70444 94804, WhatsApp the same number, or see TDS return filing and income tax return filing.
Frequently asked questions
When was Form 16 due for FY 2025-26?
15 June 2026. An employer that deducted TDS on your salary during FY 2025-26 had to issue the complete certificate, Part A and Part B together, by that date under section 203 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 read with Rule 31. That includes employees who left during the year.
Is Form 16 still called Form 16?
For FY 2025-26 and earlier, yes. For salary earned from 1 April 2026, which is Tax Year 2026-27, the same certificate is Form 130 under the Income-tax Act, 2025, issued under section 395(4)(b) read with Rule 215(1) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. It certifies exactly the same thing. Only the number and the governing law change.
When is Form 130 due?
By 15 June following the end of the tax year. For Tax Year 2026-27, which runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, the certificate is due by 15 June 2027. The quarterly statement behind it, Form 138, is due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May.
What replaced Form 24Q?
Form 138. The quarterly salary TDS statement is Form 138 under section 397(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, read with Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, for payments from 1 April 2026. Form 24Q remains the correct form for quarters up to 31 March 2026 and for corrections to those quarters.
What replaced Form 16B and Form 26QB?
Form 132 and Form 141. The certificates previously issued as Form 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E are merged into a single Form 132, and the challan-cum-statements previously filed as Form 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE are merged into a single Form 141. So a property buyer deducting TDS files Form 141 and issues Form 132.
Can I file my ITR without Form 16?
Yes. Form 16 is not a legal precondition to filing. Compile your payslips, bank credits, investment proofs, Form 26AS and AIS, and compute salary income and TDS from those. Check that the TDS you are claiming actually appears in Form 26AS, because a credit that is not there will not be allowed.
What is the password to open Form 16?
Commonly your PAN in capital letters followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format, so PAN ABCDE1234F with a date of birth of 15 August 1988 gives ABCDE1234F15081988. Confirm the exact format on the download screen, because the convention can be changed by notification.
I changed jobs during the year. How many certificates will I get?
One from each employer that deducted TDS from your salary, so two employers means two certificates, and all of them go into a single return. Missing one out understates your income and usually produces a demand later, because the department already has both employers' statements against your PAN.
What if there is an error in my Form 16?
Check the figures against your payslips first. If the certificate is wrong, ask your employer to file a correction statement, which corrects the quarterly statement and the certificate together. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 a correction statement must be filed within two years from the end of the tax year in which the original statement was due, so do not let it drift.
What is the penalty on an employer who does not issue Form 16 on time?
Section 272A(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 imposes a penalty for failure to furnish a certificate under section 203 within the prescribed time, running for each day the failure continues and capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible. We do not publish a daily figure because the department's material and the commonly quoted figure do not agree. A separate penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 applies under section 271H where the quarterly statement itself is not delivered.
Form 16 aur Form 130 me kya farak hai?
Kaam dono ka same hai: salary par kaata gaya TDS certify karna. Farak sirf saal aur kanoon ka hai. FY 2025-26 tak certificate ka naam Form 16 hai, Income-tax Act, 1961 ke section 203 ke tehat, aur due date 15 June 2026 thi. 1 April 2026 se, matlab Tax Year 2026-27 se, wahi certificate Form 130 kehlata hai, Income-tax Act, 2025 ke tehat, aur 15 June 2027 tak milna chahiye. Quarterly statement bhi Form 24Q se Form 138 ho gaya hai.
About the author
CA Deepak Jaiswal
Founding Partner, FCA at Regikart. Want to discuss this in the context of your business?
