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How to e-File your Tax Returns without a Form-16

Updated on: Jul 3rd, 2023

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5 min read

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The first step to filing tax returns as a salaried individual is to obtain your Form 16 from your employer.  Before proceeding, it's essential to understand what Form 16 is - a TDS Certificate that outlines your Taxable Income and TDS. It is the employer's responsibility to provide Form 16 to all employees. In the unlikely event that your employer fails to provide you with Form 16, don’t worry; you can still e-File your return yourself. ClearTax shows you how!

  1. Collect your payslips and figure out your Taxable Income
  2. Your Tax Credit / 26-AS will help you find the exact Tax Deducted
  3. Renting? Don’t lose out on HRA if you’re eligible
  4. Claim your Deductions
  5. Income from other sources
  6. Pay additional tax if necessary
  7. Ultimately, file your Income Tax Return

Alternatively, just complete an OTP verification on Cleartax and have all your details pre-filled like name, contact, salary income etc.

Collect your payslips and figure out your Taxable Income

Add up the net salary from all the payslips you have received from your employer throughout the financial year. If you have switched one or more jobs in a financial year, make sure you include payslips from all employers you have worked for in the year.

Your Tax Credit / Form 26AS will help you find the exact tax deducted amount

Calculate the TDS deducted by your employer over the year and match the amount mentioned on your Form 26AS. Click here to learn how to download your Form 26AS. If you see a discrepancy in the TDS amount actually deducted and the amount that is supposed to be deducted, contact your employer immediately and ask them to rectify the error.

Renting? Don’t lose out on HRA if you’re eligible

Many employees have a House Rent Allowance (HRA) component in their salary. To claim the HRA deduction, you must submit your rent receipts to your payroll department in advance. If you haven’t submitted the receipts to your employer, you can always claim it while filing. If you are unsure how to calculate HRA, just contact ClearTax and our Tax Experts can help you out.

Claim your Deductions

A number of investments are tax deductible. Keep your investment documents handy and compute the amounts eligible for deduction under sections 80C (Life Insurance, Employee Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund etc.), 80D (Medical insurance premium), 80E (Interest on education loan) etc. While claiming deduction for Provident Fund, make sure you claim only your contribution to the PF, and not your employers’ contribution. Click here to read about the various deductions you can avail.

Income from other sources

If you earn an income from any source other than your salaried job, do not forget to include it under taxable income. Such sources of income can include interest earned on Fixed Deposits, income from rent on property owned by you etc.

Pay additional tax if necessary

If you find that the total tax paid by you in the financial year is less than what is actually payable as per the Form 26AS, pay the variance online. Learn how to pay tax online.

Finally, file your Income Tax Return

After you have ensured that the taxes paid by you match the taxes payable by you, go on to file your returns online. ClearTax is the easiest way to e-File your Tax Returns online.

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Clear offers taxation & financial solutions to individuals, businesses, organizations & chartered accountants in India. Clear serves 1.5+ Million happy customers, 20000+ CAs & tax experts & 10000+ businesses across India.

Efiling Income Tax Returns(ITR) is made easy with Clear platform. Just upload your form 16, claim your deductions and get your acknowledgment number online. You can efile income tax return on your income from salary, house property, capital gains, business & profession and income from other sources. Further you can also file TDS returns, generate Form-16, use our Tax Calculator software, claim HRA, check refund status and generate rent receipts for Income Tax Filing.

CAs, experts and businesses can get GST ready with Clear GST software & certification course. Our GST Software helps CAs, tax experts & business to manage returns & invoices in an easy manner. Our Goods & Services Tax course includes tutorial videos, guides and expert assistance to help you in mastering Goods and Services Tax. Clear can also help you in getting your business registered for Goods & Services Tax Law.

Save taxes with Clear by investing in tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) online. Our experts suggest the best funds and you can get high returns by investing directly or through SIP. Download Black by ClearTax App to file returns from your mobile phone.

Cleartax is a product by Defmacro Software Pvt. Ltd.

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