Every June, a PDF lands in your inbox and suddenly ITR season feels real. Form 16 looks straightforward, a few numbers, some TDS details, but it’s actually two documents in one. Part A is what your employer filed with the government. Part B is everything they considered while calculating your tax. If either part has an error, you won’t know until you’re mid-filing. This year, a few things have changed in the ITR forms themselves. ITR-1 now covers two house properties. Donations under 80G need a transaction reference number. Revised returns filed between January and March will attract a fee. And F&O traders have new dedicated fields in ITR-3. Beyond income, there’s a set of disclosures most people overlook: bank accounts, directorships, unlisted shares, foreign assets, and exempt incomes all need to be reported regardless of whether they attract tax. We’ve handpicked threads on these topics in today’s edition.
TOP THREADS
Card 1
Your employer had until 15 June to give you this document. Have you received it yet?
Form 16 is what stands between you and a clean ITR filing. It has two parts — one that captures the TDS your employer deposited with the government, and another that lists your salary breakup, HRA, LTA, and every deduction you claimed. Most people assume their employer will send it on time. But there’s a penalty for delay that most employees don’t know about, and if your Form 16 has an error, the way to catch it is…
Card 2
Been filing the same ITR form for years? This year, your form may have changed.
The ITR forms for AY 2026-27 were notified on 31 March 2026. The structure looks familiar, but several updates quietly shift who qualifies for which form. One change alone could move lakhs of taxpayers from ITR-2 back to the simpler ITR-1. There are also new mandatory fields for donations, revised fees if you file a revised return late, and dedicated reporting fields for F&O traders. File the wrong form and your return could be treated as…
Card 3
Your income is reported correctly. Your taxes are paid. Your ITR could still be defective.
There’s a set of disclosures in the ITR that have nothing to do with how much you earned or what you owe. All active bank accounts. Any directorship you hold. Unlisted shares sitting in your demat, even if never sold. Foreign assets. Exempt incomes. Miss even one of these and the department can flag your return as defective — and a defective return, if not corrected in time, is treated as…
FAQs
Q1. What is the deadline for my employer to issue Form 16? Employers must issue Form 16 by 15 June of the assessment year. If they miss this, they are liable to pay a penalty of ₹100 per day per employee, capped at the total TDS amount.
Q2. What if my employer hasn’t deducted any TDS, will I still get a Form 16? If your income is below the basic exemption limit and no TDS was deducted, your employer is not obligated to issue Form 16. However, you can still request Part B from your employer to get a detailed breakup of your salary and deductions.
Q3. I’ve been filing ITR-1 for years. Do I need to switch forms this year? Not necessarily and for some, it’s actually the opposite. From AY 2026-27, ITR-1 now covers individuals with income from up to two house properties. If you previously had to file ITR-2 only because of a second property, you can now file ITR-1 instead.