Three documents circulate at filing time and they are routinely treated as interchangeable. They are not. Two are certificates issued by whoever deducted your tax; the third is generated by the tax system itself from what deductors actually filed. When they disagree, the third is the one the department reads.
What each one is
| Document | Covers | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Form 16 | Salary, and the tax deducted on it | Your employer, annually |
| Form 16A | Everything except salary — interest, professional fees, rent, commission | Each deductor, quarterly |
| Form 26AS | All tax credited against your PAN | The system, from filed TDS returns |
Form 16 has two parts and they come from different places. Part A is generated from the TRACES system and carries the quarterly deduction summary — your employer downloads it rather than typing it. Part B is the salary computation, prepared by the employer. That split is why Part A always agrees with 26AS and Part B sometimes surprises people.
When the numbers disagree
- Form 16 shows tax that 26AS does not. The employer deducted but has not filed, or filed against a wrong PAN. Chase the employer — the credit is not claimable until it appears.
- 26AS shows income you do not recognise. Often a joint account or a duplicate report. Investigate before adjusting anything; the AIS feedback mechanism is where you record the explanation.
- Two Form 16s after a job change. Both count. Failing to declare the earlier employment to the later employer is what produces the classic shortfall notice, because each employer allowed the basic exemption independently.
Claim credit for what appears in 26AS. A certificate in your hand is evidence, but it is the filed return behind it that produces the credit.
If you never receive one
An employer who deducted tax is required to issue Form 16, and one who did not deduct any may not issue it at all — which is normal for income below the threshold. Either way you can still file: use your payslips and 26AS. What you cannot do is claim a credit that no deductor has actually reported.
If your employer has treated you as a consultant, you will receive Form 16A rather than Form 16, and the classification question behind that is worth reading — see employee or consultant.
Where we come in
We reconcile Form 16, 16A and 26AS as a standard step before filing, and chase deductors where a credit is missing. See ITR-1 filing for salaried returns.
This article is general information, not professional advice. Limits, rates and dates change by notification — confirm the position for your own year before acting on it.