Where to download Form 16 in Traces?

Only TDS deductors or employee can download TDS certificate from TRACES site, not the employees or deductees.

So if employer won't give Form 16, what's the recourse?

Don't worry, file ITR based on form 26AS & AIS report.

In case of online filing you will get these data prefilled.

No, the option wasn't removed. Form 16 is available only to employers/deductors on TRACES. Employees or individual taxpayers cannot directly request or download Form 16 from the portal. Your employer must generate and issue it after filing TDS returns.

If your employer hasn't shared it yet, you can still verify your TDS details through Form 26AS or AIS (Annual Information Statement) on the Income Tax portal.

For those looking to understand how deductors download TDS certificates through TRACES, this guide may help: https://www.setindiabiz.com/blog/download-form-16a-traces-portal

For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), both Form 16 (salary) and Form 16A (non-salary TDS) are downloaded from TRACES portal at tdscpc.gov.in. Note: today June 15 is the due date for deductors to issue Form 16A for Q4 (January-March 2026).

DEDUCTOR (employer/company issuing the certificate):

1. Login to tdscpc.gov.in using TAN credentials
2. Go to Downloads > Form 16 (for salary / Part A) OR Form 16A (for non-salary TDS)
3. Select Financial Year, Quarter, and enter PAN of deductee
4. Submit request , certificate is generated within 24-48 hours
5. Download the ZIP file and convert to PDF using TRACES PDF Converter Utility
6. Password to open ZIP: first 5 characters of deductee PAN (uppercase) + date of birth in DDMMYYYY

DEDUCTEE (employee or vendor receiving the certificate):

1. Login to tdscpc.gov.in using PAN credentials
2. Go to View TDS/TCS Credit > Form 26AS is the primary record
3. Request for Form 16/16A is deductor's responsibility , deductee cannot directly generate it

IMPORTANT: Only TRACES-generated certificates are valid as per CBDT Circular 04/2013. Manually prepared certificates are NOT acceptable for TDS credit claims.

For complete step-by-step guide with screenshots: [Form 16A TDS Certificate: Download from TRACES Guide](https://taxgarden.in/blog/form-16a-tds-certificate-download-traces-india-2026)