How to File Income Tax Return without Form 16?

31st July is just around the corner and everyone's in a rush to file their Income tax Return well in advance. If you are a salaried individual then you must have asked your employer to provide Form 16. It is mandatory for employers to give Form 16 but there can be some exceptions to it. Some reasons can be that your employer is closing operations or you’ve left your job without completing exit formalities etc. What to be done in that case or can you file income tax return without Form 16? Relax !! We are here to help you. Let us start with some of the basics.

What is Form 16?

Form 16 is a TDS certificate and the most important document for a salaried individual. It shows all the income received from your employer, the amount of TDS deducted and deposited to govt on your behalf. For detailed reading on Form 16, refer to our guide.

Follow these easy steps to file income tax return without Form 16.

• Step 1: Ask For Your Salary Slips & Determine Total Salary Income. A salary slip contains all the details about your salary like basic salary, allowances and the amount of TDS deducted. To file income tax return without Form 16, these slips help to compute your total salary income.
  ?Please note that, owing to recent amendment, salary income computation has been altered. From A.Y. 2018-19 on wards, break-up of salary in 4 components has to be provided. These are Salary/Pension, Allowances Not Exempt, Value of Perquisites and Profit in Lieu of Salary. Many companies do not provide amount of Value of Perquisites & Profit in lieu of salary in the salary slip. In that case, contact your HR for break-up details.
  ? Do not forget to claim any exemptions like conveyance allowance, medical allowances, HRA etc. Do note that from FY 2018-19, a standard deduction of Rs 40000 shall be given in place of medical and conveyance allowance exemption. At present you are eligible for exemption of Rs 19200 p.a. in case of conveyance and Rs 15000 p.a. for medical.
• Step 2: Add Other Incomes. If you have any income other than salary like income from house property, part time business, capital gains, interest income etc. then don't forget to include them. Do note that there are strict penalties for under reporting and misreporting of income.
• Step 3: Compute Net Taxable Income. Add both your incomes from Step 1 & Step 2; this becomes your gross taxable income. You can further claim deductions under various sections to lower your income as per their respective limits. For e.g – You can claim deduction u/s 80C (up to Rs 150000) or u/s 80E (interest on higher education loan) etc. Your gross income reduced by deductions under chapter VI-A gives you Net Taxable Income.
• Step 4: Don't Forget Form 26AS and Advance Tax. Form 26AS contains information of all the taxes paid to the government on your behalf. Like TDS on salary (Form 16) and TDS on other income (Form 16A). Your tax payable on net income computed in Step 3 shall be reduced by TDS and advance tax paid.
• Step 5: Pay Additional Tax, if required. In case your total tax liability is more than the combined amount of TDS & Advance Tax, then before filing income tax return without Form 16, you need to pay the additional tax. In vice-versa, you shall be eligible for refund.
• Step 6: E-File Your Income Tax Return. Now you've completed all the procedure, you can easily file income tax return without Form 16. You can further refer to our blog on E-filing for further reference. Caution!! Don't forget to e-verify your return within 120 days of filing. Otherwise your return would not be treated as a filed one.

So, even if your employer hasn't given your Form 16, just relax and follow the above given procedure. You can file income tax return without Form 16 in no time. Please make sure you do not miss the due date of ITR filing as it can lead you into many troubles like late fee u/s 234F . Also, we've previously shared some great benefits of filing income tax return on time.

At Tax2Win our sole purpose is to make you return filing life more easy and happy. Our eCAs are ready to serve you 24×7, get in touch with them now. And keep following our blog, social media pages for regular updates. Happy Filing ????