I Changed Jobs Mid-Year and Got Two Form 16s – How Do I File My ITR Without Paying Tax Twice?
“I left my old company in September and joined a new one in October. Both gave me a Form 16. When I added them up, the income tax site is showing a big tax due – but my employers already deducted TDS every month. Have I been taxed twice?” – a software engineer who switched jobs in FY 2025-26.
This is one of the most common panics I see every July. The good news: you are almost never taxed twice. But you very often end up with extra tax to pay at filing – and that is not a mistake, it is simply how the system works when two employers each calculate your tax in isolation.
Why a tax demand suddenly appears
Each employer deducts TDS as if they are your ONLY employer for the year. That means each one gives you the full basic exemption limit and the full benefit of the lower tax slabs. When you stitch both salaries together, your real income is higher, a bigger chunk falls into higher slabs, and the combined TDS falls short. The shortfall is not double tax – it is under-deduction by two employers who did not know about each other.
For Financial Year 2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27), the ITR you file now must combine income from both Form 16s into a single return.
A real example with numbers
Suppose Rahul earned the following in FY 2025-26 and opted for the new tax regime:
| Particulars | Employer A (Apr-Sep) | Employer B (Oct-Mar) | Combined |
| Salary paid | 6,00,000 | 7,50,000 | 13,50,000 |
| Standard deduction | claimed | claimed | 75,000 (once only) |
| Taxable salary | 5,25,000 | 6,75,000 | 12,75,000 |
| TDS (each as sole employer) | Nil | Nil | Nil deducted |
| Actual tax on 12,75,000 (new regime) | – | – | 74,100 (incl. 4% cess) |
| Balance payable at filing | – | – | 74,100 |
Notice two traps.
First, each employer gave a separate standard deduction of Rs 75,000 – but you are allowed it only once.
Second, and more painful under the new regime for FY 2025-26: each employer, looking only at the salary it paid you, saw a taxable income below Rs 12,00,000 and applied the Section 87A rebate – so neither deducted any TDS. Once both salaries are combined, your income crosses Rs 12,00,000, the 87A rebate is no longer available, and the full liability (including 4% Health & Education Cess) lands at filing.
How to file correctly – step by step
1. Collect BOTH Form 16s.
2. Open your Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS on the income tax portal and confirm total TDS from both employers is reflected.
3. Add both gross salaries, then subtract the standard deduction only once.
4. Claim Section 80C, 80D and HRA deductions only once each (if old regime).
5. Pay any balance tax as self-assessment tax before filing.
6. File ITR-1 (or ITR-2 if you have capital gains or other complications).
The honest truth about the extra payment
Paying Rs 74,100 at filing feels brutal, but you did receive that money in your salary through the year – it was simply not deducted at all, because each employer in isolation saw you as eligible for the Section 87A rebate. To avoid the shock next time, tell your new employer about your previous salary using Form 12B when you join. They will then deduct TDS on your combined income from day one, and there will be little or nothing to pay in July.
File before the due date (usually 31 July 2026 for salaried individuals) to avoid interest under Section 234A and a late fee under Section 234F.
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About the Author
Sonia Dawar is a practising Chartered Accountant and the founder of Dawar & Co. With years of hands-on experience helping salaried professionals, business owners, and NRIs untangle real tax problems, she is known for explaining complex tax rules in plain, practical language. Have a burning tax question? Reach her at sonia@dawarandco.com or visit dawarandco.com.
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