A beginner guide to the salary TDS certificate issued by employers.
What Is In It
Part A shows the employer's TAN, your PAN, the period of employment and the tax deducted and deposited each quarter. Part B shows the salary breakup, exempt allowances, the standard deduction, deductions claimed through payroll, the regime used and the tax computed.
From Tax Year 2026–27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 and its rules apply, so the certificate's form number and layout may differ from older years. Its purpose stays the same.
Why It Matters
It helps reconcile salary, exemptions, deductions and TDS while filing the return.
It should be checked against payslips, AIS/TIS and bank records.
What To Verify
PAN, employer TAN, salary figures, deductions and TDS should match your records.
If you changed jobs, collect Form 16 from each employer.
Check that the TDS in Part A matches the TDS shown against the employer's TAN in your Annual Information Statement. If it doesn't, ask the employer to correct its TDS return, or the credit may not be allowed when your return is processed.
Changing Jobs Mid-Year
Each employer computes TDS as if its salary were your only income, so each may apply the full standard deduction and the lower slabs. When the two are combined, total tax is often higher than the TDS deducted.
Example: two employers each pay ₹7 lakh. Under the new regime, each sees taxable income well under ₹12 lakh and deducts no tax. Combined, salary is ₹14 lakh, taxable income is ₹13.25 lakh after one standard deduction, and tax with cess is ₹81,900, payable before filing.
Share your previous employer's salary and TDS details with the new employer so TDS can be adjusted for the rest of the year.
If You Don't Receive One
An employer that deducted TDS from your salary has to issue the certificate. If no tax was deducted, for example because your income was below the taxable limit, you may not get one, and payslips and the AIS can still be used to prepare the return.
If an employer delays, follow up in writing and work from your payslips and the TDS shown in the AIS in the meantime.
Before Filing
Use it as a source document, but do not ignore other income or tax credits.
Add savings and deposit interest, dividends, capital gains and rent that Form 16 doesn't include. You can still choose a different regime in the return from the one payroll used, within the rules.
Use the ITR Return Calculator to estimate the refund or balance due, and the TDS Calculator to plan next year's deductions.