How Can Employers & Salaried Employees Easily Download Form 130 (earlier Form 16)?
16 Jul, 2026
By Online Legal India
Published On 16 Jul 2026
Category TDS
The tax month of July is finally here. Whether you are a salaried employee or a first-time taxpayer, you need your Form 130 (earlier Form 16) to file your Income Tax Return (ITR), as certain banks, financial institutions or visa authorities may request Form 130 (earlier Form 16) as supporting income documentation, depending on their individual requirements. While Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) help you verify tax credits reflected against your PAN, they do not replace the employer-issued Form 16 wherever the latter is specifically required. In today’s blog, we will walk you through the process of downloading Form 130 so that employers can generate and download Form 16 data through the TRACES portal and prepare employee-wise Form 16 certificates using the prescribed utility before issuing them.
Note: Under the new framework, Form 16 has been renumbered as Form 130 for Tax Year 2026–27 onwards. However, Form 16 continues to apply for FY 2025–26 (AY 2026–27) under the transitional provisions because that period remains governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Before we get into the details of the Form 130 (Earlier Form 16), to obtain Form 130, you need to know what Form 130 is first.
This is an annual TDS certificate that your employer issues to salaried employees like you and serves as vital income proof that you need to file your ITR.
Earlier, Form 16 had 2 vital sections, Part A and Part B, that include the below-mentioned details.
This section contains the summary of your employer details and the exact amount of tax deducted that your employer has deposited with the Government.
It specifically includes:
This is an annexure prepared by your employer that includes a comprehensive breakdown of your salary and tax calculation.
It specifically includes:
Apart from this, if you need other information/clarification regarding the importance of Form 16 download, its standard password formats, eligibility criteria, and a detailed comparison between Form 16, 16A, 16B, check out this guide. However, the exact screens and utilities available on TRACES may change over time.
At present, Form 130 contains three parts that together provide details of the employer, employee, salary, TDS, deductions and tax computation. The exact format is prescribed under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and should be read as issued by the employer.
As promised, in this section we will talk about the process of Form 130 (Earlier Form 16) download.
We will start by explaining how, as an employee, you should proceed, as you cannot do it directly from the TRACES website because, under Section 203 of the Income-tax Act, employers are responsible for issuing the prescribed TDS certificate [Form 130 (earlier Form 16)] to eligible employees after complying with applicable TDS requirements. At present, Section 395 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 read with Rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, governs the issuance of Form 130 (earlier Form 16).
So, you can usually receive Form 16 through one of the following methods:
Since you cannot directly download Form 130, here is an alternative method you can try.
If you are unable to access your company’s portal or you find that your documents are not yet uploaded, you can retrieve your tax details directly from the official Income Tax e-Filing portal using your PAN.
Alternatively, you can email your employer’s HR/finance department, and once you get it, you can open the password-protected document using a standard combination of your PAN & date of birth. However, for a deeper insight into standard password formats, you can check out the previously linked guide.
Once you are done sending an official email to your company’s HR/Payroll department requesting your digitally signed Form 130 copy, mentioning the specific FY, the first thing you should do is to ensure that your employee ID, full name, and PAN are stated correctly in the email.
After the HR/Finance team processes your request, you will get the digitally signed PDF via email that contains both Part A and Part B.
Note: For enhanced financial/personal data protection, the PDF you will receive is password-protected, and you need to enter your password to open it.
If you are an employer, you must generate and download Form 130 using the TRACES portal and convert it into digitally signed PDFs using the official converter utility.
Below, we have explained the step-by-step process to do so with ease.
|
Now, check if the request status shows as Available. Initially, it might show Submitted, as the processing time may vary depending on TRACES system availability and request volume. Once it shows Available, you can navigate to Requested Downloads under the Download tab, locate your request number and click on Download. |
Now, you will get the zipped text files downloaded to your local system. However, the raw downloaded files are basically encrypted text files, and you must convert them to sign the documents digitally. To do so, you need to do a few things.
Note: If you find the PDFs not digitally signed using a DSC, you must manually sign the printed copies before issuing them to your employees (Where a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) has not been applied electronically, employers should ensure the certificate is issued in accordance with applicable TRACES and Income-tax requirements before sharing it with employees.)
Ultimately, downloading and reviewing your Form 130 (earlier Form 16) is the most critical step in avoiding errors during the tax filing season. So, obtain it from your employer as early as possible, cross-verify your Form 130 (Form 16) figures against your Form 26AS and AIS, and file your taxes on time to avoid unnecessary penalties. However, if you have worked for multiple employers, you need a Form 130 downloaded from each.
Also, if you need assistance with income tax return filing, TDS-related documentation, or business compliance processes, you may explore the facilitation services available on our official website.
Ans: Form No. 130 replaces Form 16 issued under the Income-tax Rules, 1962.
Ans: Form No. 130 is a certificate for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) which is issued annually by an employer to a salaried employee or a pensioner. It provides a detailed summary of the salary earned, tax deducted and deposited, and applicable deductions. It certifies and serves as proof that tax has been deducted from salary income and deposited with the Government. It also applies to interest income earned by specified senior citizens as per provisions of section 402(39) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Such certificate enables the deductee to claim credit of TDS deducted and deposited on their behalf by the deductor. Formerly, Form 16 has been replaced by Form 130.
Ans: Downloaded Form 130 applications are typically password-protected for security purposes. Many employers protect Form 130 (Earlier Form 16) PDFs using combinations of PAN, date of birth or employee details. Since password formats vary between organisations, employees should follow the instructions shared by their employer. Also, if you're unable to open the PDF, contact your employer or payroll administrator.
Ans: Yes, you can do it by logging in to your employer’s employee portal and accessing the Tax or Downloads section. However, you may also reach out to your HR/employer directly via email and request a duplicate digitally signed Form 130, subject to employer record retention and availability.
Ans: As soon as you download Form 130 from your employer’s payroll portal, make sure you cross-check the figures under Part A and Part B, which include-
Redirecting to payment page...
