How to Read TDS Details in Form 26AS: Explainer and Step-by-Step Procedure

Form 26AS is an important document for checking whether tax deducted from your income has been correctly reported and deposited against your Permanent Account Number, or PAN.

Before filing an Income Tax Return, taxpayers should compare the TDS appearing in Form 26AS with Form 16, Form 16A, salary records, bank statements and other income documents. A mismatch may result in reduced tax credit, an additional tax demand or delayed return processing.

This article explains what Form 26AS contains, how to access it and how to read each TDS entry correctly.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a tax credit statement linked to a taxpayer’s PAN. It contains information reported to the Income Tax Department by employers, banks, companies, tenants, property buyers and other persons responsible for deducting or collecting tax.

From Assessment Year 2023–24 onwards, the Form 26AS available through the TRACES portal primarily displays TDS and TCS-related information. Broader financial information, such as specified financial transactions, interest, dividends, securities transactions and other reported information, is available separately in the Annual Information Statement, or AIS.

Therefore, taxpayers should check both:

• Form 26AS for TDS and TCS credit; and
• AIS and TIS for broader income and financial transaction information.

Why should Form 26AS be checked before filing an ITR?

TDS credit is generally granted on the basis of information furnished by the deductor to the Income Tax Department.

Under section 199 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, tax deducted and paid to the Central Government is treated as tax paid on behalf of the person from whose income it was deducted. Rule 37BA provides that the credit is given on the basis of information reported by the deductor and for the assessment year in which the corresponding income is assessable. 
 

Form 26AS should therefore be checked to confirm that:

• the deductor has quoted the correct PAN;
• the correct amount of income or payment has been reported;
• the correct amount of TDS has been deducted;
• the TDS has been deposited with the Central Government;
• the entry relates to the correct Financial Year and Assessment Year; and
• there is no duplicate, missing or incorrectly reported entry.

Form 26AS under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Act, 2025

The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into effect on 1 April 2026. However, the Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern Financial Year 2025–26 and the corresponding return for Assessment Year 2026–27.

The official transition guidance specifically states that returns for AY 2026–27 filed during 2026 will continue to use the forms prescribed under the 1961 Act. The new Act applies to Tax Year 2026–27 beginning on 1 April 2026.

The official Form 168 guidance maps section 285BB to section 510 and Rule 114-I to Rule 245. Form 168 is described as the form corresponding to the earlier Form 26AS under the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

Rule 245 provides that Form 168 may contain information relating to TDS and TCS, specified financial transactions, tax payments, demands, refunds, pending proceedings, completed proceedings and other authorised information. 

Which statement should be used for FY 2025–26?

For income and TDS relating to FY 2025–26, taxpayers should select AY 2026–27 while viewing Form 26AS.

TDS deducted on income relating to FY 2025–26 is to be claimed in the return for AY 2026–27 under the Income-tax Act, 1961. TDS relating to income from 1 April 2026 onwards falls under Tax Year 2026–27 and the Income-tax Act, 2025.

How to access and download Form 26AS

Step 1: Log in to the e-Filing portal

Visit the Income Tax e-Filing portal and log in using your PAN or user ID and password.

 

Step 2: Open the Form 26AS option

After logging in, go to:

e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS

Step 3: Confirm redirection to TRACES

Read the disclaimer and click Confirm. You will be redirected to the TDS-CPC or TRACES portal.

Step 4: Accept the terms of use

Select the acceptance checkbox and click Proceed.

Step 5: Open the tax credit statement

Click View Tax Credit — Form 26AS.

Step 6: Select the correct Assessment Year

Choose the applicable Assessment Year. For example:

Step 7: Select the view format

Select the available view type, such as HTML or text, and click View/Download. The Income Tax Department’s current guidance also permits exporting the HTML statement as a PDF. 

TRACES guidance also provides for viewing or downloading Form 26AS in HTML, PDF, text and, in certain cases, Excel formats. Excel may not be available when Form 26AS is accessed through the e-Filing portal or internet banking redirection. 

How to read the TDS details in Form 26AS

1. Verify the basic taxpayer information

The header of Form 26AS generally displays:

• PAN;
• status of PAN;
• name of the taxpayer;
• address;
• Financial Year; and
• Assessment Year.

Check that the PAN is active and that the Financial Year and Assessment Year are correct.

A correct PAN is essential because TDS credit is mapped on the basis of the PAN quoted by the deductor.

2. Open Part I — Details of Tax Deducted at Source

For most taxpayers, Part I is the principal section for checking ordinary TDS entries.

It may contain TDS reported by:

• an employer on salary;
• a bank on interest;
• a company on interest, dividend or other payments;
• a client on professional or contractual payments;
• a tenant on rent, depending on the applicable provision; or
• any other regular deductor filing a TDS statement.

The deductor-wise summary normally contains the following columns.

The amount paid or credited is a reporting figure. It should not automatically be copied as taxable income in the ITR.

For example, the amount reported by an employer may not equal taxable salary after considering exemptions, deductions, valuation adjustments or other items. Similarly, a bank may report gross interest before any eligible deduction or tax treatment is applied.

3. Expand the deductor entry

In the HTML view, a deductor entry can generally be expanded to display transaction-level details.

The expanded view may show:

Do not check only the annual total. Review the individual entries where:

• there were multiple employers;
• interest was received from several bank accounts;
• quarterly amounts do not agree with Form 16 or Form 16A;
• a deductor revised its TDS statement;
• TDS was deducted near the end of the Financial Year; or
• the amount deducted and amount deposited are different.

4. Understand the other parts of Form 26AS

From AY 2023–24 onwards, TRACES identifies the following parts in Form 26AS

A salaried employee or depositor checking regular salary or bank-interest TDS will generally begin with Part I.

Form 26AS and AIS are not substitutes for income records

The absence of an income item from Form 26AS or AIS does not mean that the income is exempt or need not be reported.

AIS contains information available with the Income Tax Department, but the taxpayer remains responsible for reporting complete and accurate income in the ITR, including transactions not displayed in AIS. 

Taxpayers should therefore use:

• Form 26AS for tax-credit verification;
• AIS and TIS for reported financial information;
• Form 16 and Form 16A for deductor certificates;
• bank, investment and accounting records for actual income; and
• applicable tax law for determining the taxable amount.

Common mistakes while reading Form 26AS

Selecting the wrong Assessment Year

For FY 2025–26, select AY 2026–27. Selecting AY 2025–26 will display information relating to FY 2024–25.

Treating the amount paid or credited as final taxable income

The reported payment may not equal the taxable income to be entered in the ITR.

Checking tax deducted but not tax deposited

Both columns should be reviewed. A deduction shown in a certificate may not yet be fully reflected as deposited in Form 26AS.

Ignoring deductor-wise details

A correct overall total can conceal a missing entry from one employer or bank and a duplicate entry from another.

Claiming TDS in the wrong year

Credit ordinarily belongs to the year in which the related income is assessable, subject to Rule 37BA.

Relying only on Form 26AS

Form 26AS is now mainly TDS and TCS-focused. AIS, TIS and the taxpayer’s own financial records must also be reviewed.

Assuming AIS feedback will correct Form 26AS

An incorrect TDS entry generally requires the deductor to correct its TDS statement.

Filing without checking recent corrections

Where a deductor has recently filed or revised its TDS statement, the updated credit should be confirmed before relying on it.

Conclusion

Form 26AS should be treated as a tax-credit verification document, not as a complete computation of taxable income.

The most important columns are the deductor’s name and TAN, amount paid or credited, tax deducted and TDS deposited. These details should be reconciled with Form 16, Form 16A, salary records, bank certificates and other supporting documents.

For FY 2025–26 and AY 2026–27, the Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to apply. From Tax Year 2026–27 beginning on 1 April 2026, the corresponding provisions are contained in the Income-tax Act, 2025, Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Form 168.