There is big news for pensioners retiring from defense services. This time there has been an important change in filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for those taking pensions through the SPARSH portal. Now there is no need to wander here and there to download Form 16. The Ministry of Defense has made Form 16 available on the SPARSH portal for the financial year 2024-25. So, let's know what is this Form 16, how to download it, and how to check your tax details.

Now tax filing will be easy.
The Ministry of Defense has recently released Form 16 for the financial year 2024-25 on the SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha) portal. This Form 16 is an important document, which gives complete information about the tax details (TDS i.e. Tax Deducted at Source) deducted from your pension. If you are preparing to file an income tax return, then this form is very important for you. You can easily download it by logging on to the SPARSH portal.

What is the SPARSH portal?

SPARSH i.e. System for Pension Administration Defence is a digital platform of the Ministry of Defence, which manages all the pension-related services of defense pensioners. Be it pension disbursement, checking tax details, or any other pension-related work, everything is done on this portal.

General government pensioners get Form 16 from their pension disbursing authority, but for defense pensioners, SPARSH is the only place from where this important document can be downloaded.

Why is it necessary to download Form 16?

TDS accounting: Form 16 tells you how much tax has been deducted from your pension. If there is any mistake, you can correct it beforehand.

Proof of income and tax: While filing ITR, Form 16 is the proof of your income and tax payment. Without it, there may be a problem in tax filing.

Timely Correction: If there is any mistake in TDS, then by checking Form 16, you can get it corrected immediately so that there is no tension of tax notice later.

How to download Form 16 from the SPARSH portal?

Now let's come to the real issue. How to download Form 16? So for this, just follow some easy steps, and your work will be done.

Go to the SPARSH website: First of all type https://sparsh.defencepension.gov.in in your browser and open the site.

Login: Login to the portal using your SPARSH ID and password. If you have forgotten the password, then recover it from the 'Forgot Password' option.

Go to My Documents section: After logging in, the 'My Documents' option will appear on the dashboard. Click on it.

Download Form 16: Here you will get Form 16 for the financial year 2024-25. Download it and save it in your system.

How to check tax details?
Form 16 is fine, but there is another great feature on the SPARSH portal, which makes your tax planning even easier. That is the Projected Tax Summary. This feature gives you an estimate of your tax liability based on the entire year's pension. Meaning, you will know in advance how much tax you may have to pay. With this, you can plan deductions or advance tax in a better way.

How to check the Projected Tax Summary?

Login to the SPARSH portal: Login to your account as mentioned above.

Go to the Services section: Click on the 'Services' tab on the dashboard and select the 'Projected Tax Summary' option there.

Check tax details: Here you will see the estimate of tax according to your pension. Look at it carefully and consult your CA or tax advisor if needed.

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