Need advice

The Section 10(16) scholarship exemption is a valid deduction. If the specific "Any Other" category is missing from the ITR portal, ensure the scholarship amount is excluded from your taxable salary calculation and verify your reporting against your Form 16. If the issue persists, consider using the latest offline utility or contacting the income tax helpdesk to report the missing field.

Is it the correct treatment if I report my stipend/scholarship under Exempt Income, remove it from the Salary section, and still claim the TDS deducted as shown in Form 16?

The portal updated its layout this year, which is why the "Any Other" option under salary is no longer visible.

For AY 2026-27, scholarship income exempt under Section 10(16) should go into Schedule EI (Exempt Income), not the salary section. Steps:

- In the ITR form, go to Schedule EI

- Under "Any Other Income Claimed as Exempt", enter the stipend amount

- In the descripttion field, mention "Section 10(16) - scholarship/stipend from university/hospital"

Your total salary in Schedule S should reflect only the taxable portion. If Form 16 includes the stipend in gross salary, reduce it by the exempt amount and show that amount in Schedule EI separately.

The document you need is a letter from your institution confirming the stipend is a scholarship (not professional fees or salary), which satisfies the Section 10(16) condition. This [ITR filing documents checklist for AY 2026-27](https://taxgarden.in/blog/documents-required-itr-filing-ay-2026-27-checklist-india) has the full list of what to keep ready before you file.

Thank you this is well explained and very informative to me

The exemption has not been removed. The 2026 income tax return form uses a revised layout, so the old “Any other income exempt under Section 10” option may not appear in the same place as before. Check the exemption schedules or the relevant income section for a specific entry related to Section 10(16), and verify the amount with the current ITR instructions.

If this scholarship is a postgraduate medical scholarship and you are referring to a government or institutional exemption, make sure the payment type and supporting documents still meet the conditions for Section 10(16).

If you are also managing attendance requirements alongside your studies, https://attendcalc.com is a useful attendance calculator for working out your current percentage and required classes.

For anyone looking for a quick way to calculate attendance percentages and required classes, this attendance calculator may be useful:

https://attendcalc.com