What Is Form 26AS? The Tax Form That Can Save You From Notices

Last Updated:June 04, 2025, 11:51 IST

ITR Filing 2025: Form 26AS helps in avoiding tax notices by ensuring that TDS and TCS are correctly reflected in your tax returns.

ITR Filing 2025: The income tax filing season 2025 has started, with the Excel Utilities for ITR-1 and ITR-4 already available for download on the e-filing portal. So far, a total of 1,23,075 ITRs have been filed. Those planning to file ITR need to carefully check their incomes to file their returns to avoid any future tax notices. One document can prevent costly mistakes — Form 26AS.

Every year, thousands of taxpayers get IT notices due to mismatches in their reported income. In most cases, it could’ve been avoided by just checking this one document: Form 26AS. Here’s how:

What Is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a consolidated tax statement issued by the income tax department that provides details of tax credits against your PAN. It contains details like TDS deducted by employers, banks, etc; advance tax paid; high-value transactions; and refunds issue.

Why Is Form 26AS Important, How It Helps Avoid Tax Notices?

It helps taxpayers in many ways like ensuring that you don’t under-report income, ensures refunds don’t get delayed, and reduces chances of being picked for scrutiny.

Also Read: How To Report Your Stock Market Income In ITR? An Income Tax Expert Explains

Aditya Bhattacharya, partner at King Stubb & Kasiva, Advocates and Attorneys, said, “Form 26AS is a consolidated tax statement that provides details of tax credits against your PAN. It helps in avoiding tax notices by ensuring that the tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) are correctly reflected in your tax returns.”

If there are discrepancies between Form 26AS and your tax return, it could lead to notices from the tax department. By reviewing Form 26AS, you can ensure all your tax credits are accounted for, thus preventing potential issues with tax authorities, he added.

According to Rajarshi Dasgupta, executive director (tax) of AQUILAW, Form 26AS helps avoid income tax notice in the following ways:

• Form 26AS has details of the TDS deducted from different sources during the year. Proper scrutiny of Form 26AS will enable taxpayer to claim refund for any excess TDS so paid and any discrepancy in the TDS details reflected in 26AS and that disclosed in ITR may attract you income tax notice.
• In the event, the taxpayer has made any payments during the financial year towards advance tax, the same can be traced through Form 26AS and proper disclosure of the same while furnishing return of income can lessen the chances of receiving income tax notice.
• Banks and financial institutions send periodic information related to any high-value transaction and, this information needs to be reported in annual ITR and non-disclosure of the same will lead to discrepancy in your Form 26AS and ITR filed, which can consequently result in inviting a income tax notice.
• Other important information include interest earned on last year’s refund, which actually forms part of your other sources income.

“To avoid chances of receiving income tax notice taxpayer must take all necessary steps to review form 26AS appropriately,” Dasgupta said.

How To Download Form 26AS: A Step-By-Step Guide

• Step 1: Log in to www.incometax.gov.in
• Step 2: Login using your credentials
• Step 3: Go to ‘Income Tax Returns’ → ‘View Form 26AS’
• Step 4: Choose redirect to TRACES portal
• Step 5: Select AY and download PDF or HTML

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Ignoring TDS on FD interest
• Relying only on Form 16
• Missing advance tax or self-assessment tax
• Not matching with AIS

Form 26AS: What To Do If There’s A Mismatch?

• Contact deductor (employer/bank) to revise TDS return
• File a grievance via e-portal
• Use updated Form 26AS/AIS before final ITR submission

AIS Vs Form 26AS: What’s The Difference?

In recent years, the income tax department introduced the Annual Information Statement (AIS) as a more comprehensive version of Form 26AS. While AIS covers a wider range of financial information, it doesn’t replace Form 26AS entirely — both documents still coexist, and each serves its own purpose.

What is AIS?

The Annual Information Statement provides a detailed snapshot of your financial transactions as reported by various entities (like banks, mutual fund houses, registrars, etc.) to the income tax department. It includes TDS and TCS data, interest income from savings and FDs, mutual fund purchases and redemptions, share trading activity (scrip-wise), credit card bill payments, high-value purchases, and property transactions, among others.

What Is Form 16, When Will You Get It?

Form 16 is an income tax certificate issued by your employer. It shows a detailed summary of your salary paid, TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) deducted by the employer, and deposited with the Income Tax Department on your behalf.

In simple terms, it is your proof of tax deducted and is used while filing your Income Tax Return (ITR). Employers must issue Form 16 by June 15 of the next financial year after deducting TDS.

So, for FY 2024-25, your employer must provide Form 16 by June 15, 2025.

Mohammad Haris

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso…Read More

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso… Read More

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