Here’s All You Need to Know About Form 26AS And How to Download It

While filing an Income Tax Return in India, there are several documents required to be submitted. The Government gives taxpayers a sufficient period of four months after the end of the Financial Year (on 31st March) to compile their documents. With the deadline for Income Tax Return (ITR) filing approaching on July 31st, every individual liable to file taxes is currently in a rush to keep such documents handy to ensure that the Income Tax Return filing process is hassle-free.

The Income Tax filing procedure and the documents required for tax filing vary depending on the income earned per year and the income source, such as business profit, salary, interest income, investment profit, etc. Don't delay filing your tax returns, you may consider to begin with the process of filing your Income Tax Return online today with the help of our articles from the ITR Filing series:

Easy ITR Filing Process: 10 Steps to File Your ITR Online for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24)

Income Tax Return for FY 2022-23: Which ITR Form Should You Choose?

ITR Filing Made Easy: Document Checklist for FY 2022-23 Tax Season

Types of Income Often Missed While Filing Income Tax Return (ITR FY 2022-23)

Sold Your Property? Know How the Capital Gains Will be Taxed

Earned Capital Gains in FY 2022-23? Here's the ITR Form Which Salaried Individuals Must Use

You see, amongst the list of documents required to be kept handy by taxpayers, including Form 16 and income/investment-related records, there is a crucial document, namely Form 26AS, which plays a significant role in the ITR filing process.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a tax credit statement, and it is one of the most important documents when it comes to filing your taxes. It provides a consolidated record of all tax-related information, such as Tax deducted at source (TDS), Tax collection at source (TCS), refund etc., associated with a PAN (Permanent Account Number). Section 203AA, Rule 31AB of the Income Tax Act of 1961, governs the use of this form by tax authorities and taxpayers.

If you have paid any tax on your income or tax has been deducted from it, then the Income Tax Department has these details in their Form 26AS database. The advance tax you paid, the self-assessment tax you paid, the details of any refunds you got over a financial year, the regular assessment tax that you have deposited, and information regarding high-value transactions so far as mutual funds, shares, etc., are concerned in this form.

With the use of this document, it is certain that the correct amount of tax was taken out of the taxpayer's income and deposited with the Government. If an NRI receives income in India that has TDS taken from it, such as interest from an NRO account or any salary income, they must register with the Income Tax Department and obtain a PAN to claim the tax credit and access Form 26AS.

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Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) Announcement Regarding New Form 26AS & AIS

To improve the information accessible for tax assessment and compliance reasons, the Income Tax Department has created an Annual Information Statement (AIS) that includes additional information. The Ministry of Finance has released a new avatar of Form 26AS, applicable from 1st June 2020. According to the announcement, Form 26AS will be split into Part A and Part B. Basic taxpayer information, such as the PAN, name, and residence, may be found on Form 26AS. This enables taxpayers to submit their ITRs with all the fundamental information found on Form 26AS.

Whereas the AIS (Annual Information Statement) now includes several additional components such as off-market transactions, interest on income tax refunds, mutual fund purchases, dividend details, foreign remittances, etc.

Form 26AS for each financial assessment year is divided into multiple parts as follows:

Here's Why you need Form 26AS while filing ITR for FY 2022-23

A taxpayer is required to confirm that Form 26AS and the income tax return, or ITR, are consistent. If there is a disparity between the income or TDS amounts on Form 26AS and the taxpayer's income tax return, the income tax department may issue a tax notice to request an explanation. For all of its analysis and verification, the IT department employs Form 26AS as the standard; if there is a discrepancy, notifications are given in accordance with that.

To prevent receiving a warning from the Income Tax Department, the taxpayer should generally make sure that the items appearing in Form 26AS belong to him and that any data mismatches are remedied before submitting an ITR.

There is another use for Form 26AS. A small number of transactions must be reported directly to the Income Tax Department by banks or other financial institutions using the mapped PAN number. For instance, the IT department is automatically notified when certain events occur, such as a bank deposit of money beyond a certain threshold or a real estate purchase. Only if the amount exceeds the threshold limit will these transactions appear in the AIR (Annual Information Return) column of your Form 26AS.

How to view and download Form 26AS?

You can now view and download Form 26AS from the TRACES website in a convenient and hassle-free manner. Follow this step-by-step process to get access to your From 26AS for tax credit information:

Step 1: Visit the e-filing website, log in with your credentials or register if you have not already.

Step 2: The following screen will appear. Go to 'e-file >> Income Tax Returns >> View Form 26AS' in the drop-down.

Step 3: Click on 'Confirm' to the disclaimer so that you are redirected to the TRACES website (it is completely safe since it is a government website).

Step 4: Now you have been navigated to the TRACES website. Select the box on the screen and click on 'Proceed'.

Step 5: Click on the link at the bottom of the page - Click 'View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)' to view your Form 26AS.

Step 6: Choose the Assessment Year and the format you want to see Form 26AS. If you want to view it online, leave the format as HTML. You can also choose to download it as a PDF. After you have made your choice, click on the 'View/Download' button and it will ask you to enter the 'Verification Code.'

Now the file will be downloaded to your respective device and you can access the same for tax credit information.

How to view Annual Information Statement (AIS)?

To check the AIS, taxpayers may log in to the Income Tax portal at: https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.

• Once you log in with your credential, you will see the AIS tab, click on the same.

  



• Now click on 'Proceed'.

  



• On this page, your Annual Information Statement (AIS) will appear and you can easily download it with a click.

  

To conclude...

To ensure accurate ITR filing for FY 2022-23, individuals should refer to both Form 26AS and AIS, as they contain distinct details vital for the process. Form 26AS outlines deducted TCS and TDS details, while AIS encompasses information on taxes deposited by the taxpayer, including advance tax and self-assessment tax.

Certain situations may arise in which TDS claimed by you in your Income Tax Return differs from Form 26AS or the information mismatches from the AIS. In either case, you must immediately take it up and get it rectified. As a result, taxpayers must verify all the information provided before submitting their ITR for AY 2023-24.

Disclaimer: *All the data collated is from PersonalFN Research

** All the above mentioned screenshots are from the Income tax portal

MITALI DHOKE is a Research Analyst at PersonalFN. She is an MBA (Finance) and a post-graduate in commerce (M. Com). She focuses primarily on covering articles around mutual funds including NFOs, financial planning and fixed-income products. Mitali holds an overall experience of 4 years in the financial services industry.

She also actively contributes towards content creation for PersonalFN’s social media platforms in the endeavour to educate investors and enhance their financial knowledge.

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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not meant to influence your investment decisions. It should not be treated as a mutual fund recommendation or advice to make an investment decision.