Form 16: What it is and How to Decode its Password

There are a variety of forms on the Income Tax Portal. While downloading these PDFs and forms from the portal, you can encounter a lot of issues. Most of the time, such PDFs and forms are password protected. One such document is Form 16. In this article, we will briefly discuss what is Form 16 and how to find out the Form 16 password.

Form16 is a certificate provided by the employer that is submitted by him/her to the IT department. Form 16A has information like the breakup of how much tax was deducted and when it was submitted to the income tax department. Form 16 is divided into two parts, namely - Part A and Part B. Part A of Form 16 has details of the employee and employer, such as name, address, details of TAN and PAN and the TDS deducted, while Part B of the Form 16 has details such as salary paid, other sources of income, tax payable, deductions allowed, etc.

To get  Form 16 as an employee, you can ask for it from your employer. You can not download Form 16 on your own. In case you are not currently working under an employer, you can still ask for Form 16 for the purpose of filing your Income tax return for the financial year.

Let us now look at how an employer can download Form 16 online. The full list of steps on how to download Form 16 online is listed below:

• Step 1: Visit the TRACES portal of the IT Department.

• Step 2: Login by keying in details such as your User ID,PAN details and password, then enter the captcha code. 

• Step 3: After logging in, select the ‘Downloads’ tab and click on ‘Form 16’.

• Step 4: Choose the year of assessment. 

• Step 5: Verify your name and PAN details.

• Step 6: Enter the number of TDS receipt.

• Step 7: Select the date of TDS before adding the total tax collected and deducted.

• Step 8: Submit Form 16 for download.

• Step 9: Click on Requested Downloads’ which is under the ‘Downloads’ tab.

• Step 10: Once the Form 16 Part A and Part B status turns ‘Available’, download the files in PDF or HTTP format.

Form 16 is a TDS certificate that is password protected. There is a fixed Form 16 password format. The Form 16 password is a combination of your date of birth and PAN card details. The password comprises the first five characters of your PAN number in uppercase and your date of birth in the format of DDMMYYYY. 

For example, if your PAN number is BAJAJ1234M and your date of birth is June 3rd, 1999, then the password for Form 16 will be BAJAJ03061999.

Form 16 is a very important document while filing your Income tax return as it helps to file your returns in a smooth way. Your income details and the rate at which the tax is deducted are also mentioned in Form 16. For any deduction of taxes that are done at the source, Form 16 is compulsory.