Unable to complete your ITR filing?
What is Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is a consolidated tax-credit statement linked to your Permanent Account Number (PAN). It helps you verify the tax deducted or collected and reported against your PAN before filing your Income-tax Return.
Form 26AS primarily contains information such as:
- Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) reported by employers, banks and other deductors
- Tax Collected at Source (TCS) reported by collectors
- Details of the deductor or collector reporting the transaction
- Amount paid or credited on which TDS or TCS was reported
- Tax-credit status against your PAN
Important: Form 26AS should not be treated as a complete statement of all your income. Certain income and financial-transaction information may appear in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) instead. Review Form 26AS, AIS, Form 16, Form 16A, bank statements and other relevant records before filing your return.
Why should you check Form 26AS before filing your ITR?
The TDS or TCS credit claimed in your Income-tax Return should generally match the credit reported against your PAN. A mismatch may lead to a reduced tax credit, additional tax demand or delay in processing the return.
Checking Form 26AS helps you identify issues such as:
- TDS deducted but not reported by the deductor
- Incorrect PAN quoted in the TDS return
- Incorrect amount of income or tax reported
- Duplicate entries
- Tax credit reported for an incorrect Assessment Year
- Difference between Form 16/Form 16A and the tax credit appearing online
Steps to view or download Form 26AS
Step 1: Log in to the Income Tax e-Filing Portal
Visit the Income Tax e-Filing Portal and log in using your PAN or user ID and password.
Step 2: Select “View Form 26AS”
After logging in, go to:
e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Form 26AS
Step 3: Confirm redirection to the TRACES portal
You will be redirected from the Income Tax e-Filing Portal to the TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES) portal.
Read the message displayed on the screen and click Confirm to continue.
Step 4: Accept the TRACES usage terms
Select the checkbox confirming your agreement to the usage and acceptance terms displayed on the TRACES portal. Click Proceed.
Step 5: Open your tax-credit statement
Click View Tax Credit (Form 26AS).
Step 6: Select the relevant Assessment Year
Select the Assessment Year for which you want to check the tax credit. For example, select AY 2026-27 to review tax reported for FY 2025-26.
Choose the available viewing format, such as HTML or Text, and click View/Download.
Step 7: Download Form 26AS
After opening the statement in HTML format, use the Export as PDF option, where available, to save a copy for your records.
For statements containing a large number of transactions, TRACES may provide the statement only in text format. Follow the instructions displayed on the portal to download and convert the file.
Select the correct Assessment Year
The Assessment Year follows the Financial Year in which the income was earned. Income earned during FY 2025-26 is normally reported in the return for AY 2026-27.
Form 26AS and AIS: What is the difference?
| Particulars | Form 26AS | AIS |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Verification of TDS and TCS credit reported against the PAN | Broader reporting of income and specified financial transactions |
| Information generally covered | TDS, TCS and related tax-credit information | Interest, dividends, securities transactions and other reported information, as applicable |
| Use while filing ITR | Confirm the tax credit available for claim | Identify income and transactions that may need to be reported |
Form 26AS and AIS should be read together. The absence of income from either statement does not by itself mean that the income is not taxable or need not be reported.
What should you do if Form 26AS contains an error?
A taxpayer cannot ordinarily correct a TDS entry directly in Form 26AS. The person who filed the relevant TDS or TCS statement must generally submit a correction.
- Salary TDS mismatch: Contact your employer and request correction of the TDS return.
- Bank-interest TDS mismatch: Contact the bank or financial institution that deducted the tax.
- Other TDS mismatch: Contact the deductor mentioned in Form 16A or the relevant payment record.
- Incorrect PAN: Ask the deductor to revise the TDS statement using the correct PAN.
After the deductor files and the Department processes the correction statement, check Form 26AS again before claiming the revised credit.
Points to check before filing your return
- Match salary TDS with Form 16 and Form 26AS.
- Match non-salary TDS with Form 16A and Form 26AS.
- Review AIS and the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS).
- Verify that the PAN and Assessment Year are correct.
- Check whether any deductor has reported duplicate or incorrect entries.
- Do not omit taxable income merely because it is absent from Form 26AS or AIS.
- Keep downloaded statements and supporting records for future reference.
Practical takeaway: Form 26AS confirms the tax credit reported against your PAN. It does not replace your responsibility to disclose all taxable income correctly in the Income-tax Return.
For Assisted Service, please WhatsApp us on +91-9320546101 or raise a support ticket here
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.