Form 16 reader: your salary certificate, ready for the ITR
Form 16 is the TDS certificate your employer issues for the salary it paid you and the tax it deducted. This Form 16 reader opens the PDF in your browser, finds the numbers you need for your income-tax return — gross salary under sections 17(1), 17(2) and 17(3), exemptions such as HRA, the standard deduction, professional tax, Chapter VI-A deductions, taxable income, tax and the TDS deposited each quarter — and lays them out with a copy button next to each.
It also cross-checks the certificate: do the quarterly TDS figures add up to the Part A total, does the total TDS match the net tax payable in Part B, and do gross salary and taxable income add up? Mismatches are worth raising with your employer before you file.
Nothing is uploaded — the file is read with pdf.js on your device, and a password, if the PDF has one, is used only locally. It works with text PDFs (TRACES downloads and most employer copies); a scanned paper copy needs OCR first. This is an informational tool, not tax advice.
How to use the Form 16 Reader
- Click the box or drop your Form 16 — Part A, Part B, or both as separate PDFs.
- If it is password-protected, type the password (often your PAN in lower case plus date of birth) and press Unlock.
- Check the summary: employer, TAN, PANs, assessment year, regime, gross salary and TDS.
- Read the Checks list and resolve anything marked “Check”.
- Copy each value into the ITR form, or use Copy all or JSON to keep them.
Form 16 Reader features
Everything stays local
pdf.js reads the PDF in your browser; no server sees your salary or PAN.
Part A and Part B together
Add both PDFs and the values merge into one summary.
Password-protected PDFs
Unlock in place with the password; wrong passwords are reported.
Consistency checks
Quarterly TDS vs totals, TDS vs net tax payable, salary components vs gross salary, taxable income vs deductions.
ITR-friendly output
Copy buttons per value, a plain-text summary and a JSON download.
Where Form 16 values go in your ITR
| Form 16 | ITR (salary schedule) |
|---|---|
| 1(a) Salary under 17(1) | Salary as per section 17(1) |
| 1(b) Perquisites under 17(2) | Value of perquisites |
| 1(c) Profits in lieu of salary 17(3) | Profits in lieu of salary |
| 2 Exempt allowances (HRA, LTA…) | Allowances exempt under section 10, by type |
| 4(a) Standard deduction, 4(c) professional tax | Deductions under section 16 |
| 10 Chapter VI-A (80C, 80D, 80CCD…) | Deductions schedule (old regime; new regime mainly 80CCD(2)) |
| Part A quarterly TDS, TAN | TDS on salary — check against Form 26AS / AIS |
How the reader works
pdf.js returns every piece of text with its position. The reader groups text into lines, matches standard Form 16 labels such as “Standard deduction” or “Gross total income”, and takes the right-most amount on the line — the column where Form 16 prints totals. Identifiers are found by position: the value printed under “TAN of the Deductor” is the TAN. A PAN must look like five letters, four digits and a letter.
Example: a certificate with ₹15,50,000 under 17(1) and ₹50,000 of perquisites gives gross salary ₹16,00,000; after the ₹75,000 standard deduction and ₹60,000 of employer NPS under 80CCD(2), taxable income is ₹14,65,000 and new-regime tax with cess ₹1,03,740 — four quarterly deductions of ₹25,935. Recompute it with the income tax calculator.
Limits
- Scanned or photographed certificates have no text layer — run them through PDF OCR first.
- Unusual layouts from payroll software may place amounts differently; anything the reader cannot find is marked “not found”, never guessed.
- From tax year 2026-27, the Income-tax Rules, 2026 may renumber the form and its sections; the reader looks for the labels, so check each value against the PDF.
- To remove a password permanently, use Unlock PDF.
Form 16 Reader FAQ
How do I read my Form 16 for filing ITR?
Open it in this Form 16 reader: it pulls out salary, exemptions, deductions and TDS, shows where each goes in the ITR and flags inconsistencies.
What is the password of a Form 16 PDF?
Employers set it; commonly your PAN in lower case followed by your date of birth (DDMMYYYY). TRACES Part A downloads are usually not protected.
Is it safe to upload Form 16 here?
Nothing is uploaded. The PDF is read by your browser and disappears when you close the page.
What is the difference between Part A and Part B?
Part A, from TRACES, has the employer’s TAN, your PAN and the TDS deposited each quarter. Part B, prepared by the employer, details salary, exemptions, deductions and the tax computation.
Why does TDS in Form 16 not match my 26AS?
The employer may have deposited late, quoted a wrong PAN, or revised a return. Raise it with the employer; the tax credit you can claim is what appears in 26AS / AIS — open it with the Form 26AS reader to compare quarter by quarter.
Can it read a scanned Form 16?
Not directly — it needs text. OCR it first, then open the searchable PDF here.