Quick answer: Check your Form 26AS and AIS on the income tax portal before filing, because these records help cross-check reported transactions but may be incomplete or incorrect. The commonest mismatch is TDS that your employer or bank deducted but never deposited or reported correctly, which means you should reconcile it and seek correction or grievance redress using evidence of deduction. You cannot edit Form 26AS yourself; the deductor must file a correction. AIS entries you disagree with can be flagged with feedback directly on the portal.
What each document is
| Form 26AS | AIS (Annual Information Statement) | TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it shows | TDS/TCS data from AY 2023-24; other tax-payment information is in AIS | A wider record: interest, dividends, securities transactions, property deals, foreign remittances | A condensed summary of AIS, category by category |
| Source | Deductor TDS returns and bank challans | Banks, registrars, mutual funds, employers, stock exchanges | Derived from AIS |
| Can you dispute it? | No, the deductor must correct it | Yes, submit feedback on the portal | Reflects AIS feedback |
| Used for | Claiming tax credit | Cross-checking income you report | Pre-filling your return |
In short: 26AS answers “what tax has already been paid on my behalf”, AIS answers “what income does the department already know I have”. Both must line up with your return.
How to view them
Both documents are reached from the same e-filing account, but by different routes. The menu names below follow the Income Tax Department’s published guidance; the portal layout can change, so use the on-screen labels if they differ.
Form 26AS
- Log in at incometax.gov.in with your PAN. If login fails, see our guide on portal login problems.
- Go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS.
- Read the disclaimer and click Confirm. You are redirected to the TDS-CPC (TRACES) site; allow pop-ups if nothing opens.
- Accept the usage terms and click Proceed, then View Tax Credit (Form 26AS).
- Choose the Assessment Year (the year after the financial year you are checking) and a view type, then click View / Download. To save a PDF, view it as HTML and use Export as PDF.
Annual Information Statement (AIS)
- From the e-filing dashboard, go to Services → Annual Information Statement (AIS).
- Continue to the AIS site and open the AIS tile for the relevant financial year.
- Download the PDF. It is password-protected: the password is your PAN in lowercase followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.
What to check, line by line
- Salary TDS matches the total in your Form 16.
- Bank interest in AIS matches your interest certificates. Banks often report interest you forgot, especially on old FDs and savings accounts.
- TDS on interest appears in 26AS. Banks deduct 10%, so if you are in the 30% slab you owe the balance.
- Dividends, now taxable in your hands, are reported by companies and mutual funds.
- Securities transactions, including mutual fund redemptions, which create capital gains you must report.
- Property transactions above the reporting threshold.
- Cash deposits, credit card payments and foreign remittances above specified limits.
The commonest mismatches and what to do
| Mismatch | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| TDS in Form 16 but not in 26AS | Employer deducted but did not deposit or filed a wrong PAN | Ask the employer to correct the TDS return; preserve deduction evidence and escalate unresolved credit mismatches |
| Interest in AIS higher than expected | Accrued interest on FDs reported annually, not just at maturity | Reconcile against the bank interest certificate; report accrued interest if that is your method |
| Income in AIS that is not yours | Wrong PAN quoted by a reporting entity, or a joint account attributed fully to you | Submit AIS feedback marking it as not yours or partly yours |
| Sale of shares showing gross value | AIS reports transaction value, not profit | Report actual capital gains; the AIS figure is not your income |
| Duplicate entries | Reported by two sources | Flag as duplicate in AIS feedback |
| Old employer TDS missing after a job change | Previous employer filed late | Follow up directly; check again after a few weeks |
How to submit AIS feedback
- Open the AIS and expand the category containing the entry.
- Click Optional under the Feedback column for that line.
- Choose the applicable option: information is correct, not fully correct, relates to another PAN or year, is a duplicate, is denied, or has customised figures.
- Enter the correct figure where asked and submit.
- The status changes and a modified AIS is generated. Download the acknowledgement.
Feedback does not automatically change your tax; it records your position. If the reporting entity confirms your version, the AIS is updated. If not, expect the department to ask about the difference later, so keep supporting documents.
Why this matters more than it used to
Returns are now largely pre-filled from AIS data, and the department cross-checks what you file against what it already holds. A mismatch is one of the most common triggers for an intimation under Section 143(1) or a notice asking you to explain. Fifteen minutes of checking before you file saves considerably more time later.
If you have income beyond salary, the same data also tells you whether you owe advance tax.
Troubleshooting
- The TRACES page does not open after you click Confirm. The redirect opens a new page, so a pop-up blocker can stop it. Allow pop-ups for the portal and try again.
- The AIS PDF will not open. Check the password format: PAN in lowercase, then date of birth as DDMMYYYY, with no spaces.
- TDS you know was deducted is missing. The deductor may not yet have filed its quarterly TDS statement, or may have used a wrong PAN. Ask the deductor to check and, if needed, file a correction statement. Only the deductor can fix its filing.
- You want to see gaps between your return and Form 26AS. The portal has a Tax Credit Mismatch service under Services → Tax Credit Mismatch.
- An AIS entry is wrong or not yours. Submit feedback on that entry (see “How to submit AIS feedback” above) rather than ignoring it.
Worked example (illustrative)
This is a made-up example to show how to read the two documents side by side. The names and amounts are invented and do not describe a real case.
- Your Form 16 shows ₹60,000 of TDS deducted by your employer for the year.
- Form 26AS for the same year shows ₹45,000 against your employer’s TAN, spread over three quarters. The fourth quarter is missing.
- The ₹15,000 gap points to the employer’s TDS return for that quarter: it may not be filed yet, or it may carry a wrong PAN. Your next step is to ask the employer to check that quarter’s filing.
- Until the credit appears in Form 26AS, a claim for the full ₹60,000 may not be matched when the return is processed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I correct Form 26AS myself?
No. Only the deductor can correct it by filing a revised TDS return. Your route is to chase the employer or bank.
What if my employer refuses to correct the TDS entry?
You can raise a grievance on the income tax portal against the deductor. Keep your salary slips and Form 16 as evidence that the deduction was made.
Do I have to report everything in AIS?
You report your actual taxable income. AIS is a cross-check, not a tax computation, and some entries such as gross sale values are not income at all.
How often is AIS updated?
Continuously through the year as reporting entities file. Always check it shortly before filing rather than months earlier.
Last updated September 2026. Portal menus, reporting thresholds and procedures change; verify on incometax.gov.in or with a qualified tax professional. General information, not tax advice.
Sources
The Form 26AS route follows the Income Tax Department’s Online 26AS page. The tax-credit mismatch service is described in the Tax Credit Mismatch user manual.
The AIS navigation path above follows the Income Tax Department’s published steps: Steps to access AIS information online (Services > Annual Information Statement, after login). Checked against: Income Tax Department — Annual Information Statement FAQ. Rules, fees and rates change — check the official page before you act on anything here.
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