What is a Form 16 tax review?

It is a second look at your Form 16 to catch deductions, exemptions and regime choices you may have missed — before you file your ITR. The goal is to make sure you are not paying more tax than the law requires, and that your filing matches your AIS.

Why would my CA or employer miss deductions on Form 16?

Form 16 only reflects what you declared to your employer during the year (your investment proofs, rent, etc.). Anything you invested after the declaration window, paid outside payroll, or simply forgot to declare will not appear. Those can still be claimed at filing — but only if someone catches them.

Which deductions are most commonly missed by salaried filers?

The usual gaps are the extra ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B) for NPS, health-insurance premiums for parents under 80D, HRA that was under-claimed, home-loan interest under Section 24(b), and 80D preventive health check-up. The right regime choice is the biggest one of all.

Does a Form 16 review help if I am on the new tax regime?

Yes. The first thing a review checks is whether the new or old regime is actually cheaper for your numbers. For FY 2025-26 the new regime is the default and is often the better choice, but not always — if you have a home loan and high 80C/80D, old can still win.

Is my Form 16 safe when I upload it to DrishtiTax?

Your document is processed in memory to extract the tax figures and is not written to disk, sold, or used to train models. See our Data Security page for the details.

Form 16 · FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

Form 16 tax review: find the deductions you missed

Your Form 16 shows what your employer deducted — not what you could still claim. A focused review catches the regime choice, deductions and refund opportunities most salaried filers leave on the table.

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What a Form 16 review actually checks

A Form 16 is a TDS certificate. It is accurate about what your employer withheld, but it is built from the proofs you submitted during the year — so it quietly understates what you can claim when you file. A proper review goes line by line and asks where the gaps are.

Regime choice — is the old or new regime actually cheaper on your numbers for FY 2025-26?
Section 80C (up to ₹1.5 lakh) — EPF, PPF, ELSS, life insurance, principal repayment, tuition fees
Section 80CCD(1B) — the additional ₹50,000 for NPS that most people never claim
Section 80D — health insurance for self, family and senior-citizen parents, plus preventive check-ups
HRA — recomputed against rent actually paid, not just what payroll assumed
Section 24(b) — home-loan interest up to ₹2 lakh for a self-occupied house
TDS vs actual liability — whether you are due a refund
AIS reconciliation — does your Form 16 match the income the department already sees?

What your Form 16 does not tell you

Part B of your Form 16 summarises salary, exemptions and the tax computed under whichever regime your employer applied. It does not tell you whether the other regime would have been cheaper, it does not include investments you made after your proof-submission deadline, and it does not know about income sitting in your AIS from interest, dividends or a second employer. Each of those is a place where money is commonly lost.

The single biggest lever: regime choice

For FY 2025-26 the new regime gives salaried taxpayers a ₹75,000 standard deduction and zero tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income (via the Section 87A rebate). The old regime rewards deductions instead. Picking the wrong one can cost tens of thousands — and it is the easiest thing to get right.

Common ways salaried filers overpay

Staying on the regime payroll defaulted to, without checking the alternative
Claiming only the 80C that ran through salary, ignoring post-deadline investments
Missing the ₹50,000 NPS deduction under 80CCD(1B)
Forgetting parents' health-insurance premium under 80D
Under-claiming HRA because rent receipts were never recomputed
Not reconciling Form 16 with AIS — which can trigger a notice later

How DrishtiTax reviews your Form 16

Upload your Form 16 (the TRACES-issued PDF works best). DrishtiTax reads it, reconstructs your filing, and checks dozens of rules under the Income-tax Act with the latest Finance Act amendments. You get a clear, section-by-section view of what you may have missed and the rupee impact of each — for the year just finished and, if you choose the Combo, a plan for the year ahead. Filing itself stays on the income-tax portal or with your CA; DrishtiTax is the second pair of eyes before you submit.

Frequently asked questions

Educational information

This page is general information for salaried taxpayers in India, not legal, financial or chartered-accountancy advice. Tax outcomes depend on your full, individual circumstances. Figures use FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) rules and may change. Verify against official sources or a qualified professional before acting.

See what your Form 16 left behind

Upload one document — Form 16, AIS or ITR. See your estimated savings opportunity in under a minute. The preview is free; pay only if the report is worth it to you.

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₹249 Audit · ₹399 Combo · No signup · Under 60 seconds