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F-14/15, Orbit Mall, Civil Lines, Jaipur-302006 support@thetaxheaven.comBefore filing an Income Tax Return (ITR), taxpayers should check whether the income and tax-related details available with the Income Tax Department match their actual financial records. Two important documents for this purpose are the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS.
Sometimes, taxpayers notice that the figures in AIS and Form 26AS are different. For example, bank interest may appear in AIS but not in Form 26AS, or the TDS amount shown in one statement may not match the other. Such differences can create confusion during ITR filing.
However, every difference is not necessarily an error. AIS and Form 26AS serve different purposes and contain different types of information. Understanding these differences can help taxpayers avoid incorrect reporting, resolve genuine discrepancies, and respond appropriately to an income tax query.
In this guide, we explain how to check AIS and Form 26AS, why mismatches occur, how to submit feedback or request corrections, and what to do if the Income Tax Department sends a notice.
The Annual Information Statement, commonly known as AIS, is a comprehensive statement that displays financial information reported to the Income Tax Department by various sources. It helps taxpayers review information linked to their PAN before filing their income tax returns.
AIS may include information about:
Salary and other income reported by employers or other sources.
Interest earned from savings accounts, fixed deposits, and other deposits.
Dividend income.
Tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS).
Share and mutual fund transactions.
Property-related transactions.
Specified Financial Transactions (SFT).
Certain foreign remittances and other reportable transactions.
Tax payments, refunds, and other information available to the department.
AIS also provides a facility to submit feedback if a taxpayer believes that a reported transaction is incorrect, duplicated, belongs to another person, or requires clarification.
The statement is not a substitute for maintaining personal financial records. Taxpayers should verify the information shown in AIS against bank statements, salary slips, investment statements, and other relevant documents.
Form 26AS is an annual tax statement that taxpayers can use to verify tax-related information associated with their PAN. It is particularly important when checking TDS and TCS credits before filing an ITR.
Form 26AS generally helps taxpayers review:
Tax deducted at source by employers, banks, and other deductors.
Tax collected at source.
Tax payments and other tax-credit information available in the statement.
Certain transaction and tax-related details provided through the tax reporting system.
From Assessment Year 2023–24 onwards, Form 26AS available through TRACES primarily displays TDS and TCS-related information. Broader financial transaction information is available through AIS.
Taxpayers should use Form 26AS to verify tax credits and check whether the tax deducted or collected on their behalf has been properly reported.
Although AIS and Form 26AS contain some overlapping information, they are not identical documents.
| Basis | AIS | Form 26AS |
|---|---|---|
| Full form | Annual Information Statement | Annual Tax Statement |
| Main purpose | Review a wider range of financial information reported against PAN | Verify tax credits and related tax information |
| TDS and TCS | Displays reported TDS/TCS information | Primarily focuses on TDS/TCS information |
| Bank interest | May show interest information reported by banks | Generally not a comprehensive interest-income statement |
| Share and mutual fund transactions | May contain relevant transaction information | Not intended as a complete investment transaction statement |
| Feedback facility | Provides an online feedback facility for eligible information | No equivalent general transaction-feedback facility |
| Main use before ITR | Reconcile income and financial transactions | Verify TDS/TCS and tax-related credits |
The Income Tax Department explains that AIS provides a broader view of taxpayer information, while Form 26AS is focused on tax-related information. Therefore, a difference between the two statements may be completely normal.
Taxpayers can access AIS through the official Income Tax e-Filing portal. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Visit the Income Tax portal
Open the official website: https://www.incometax.gov.in/
Step 2: Log in to your account
Enter your PAN or other permitted login details and complete the authentication process.
Step 3: Open the AIS section
After logging in, navigate to the AIS option. Depending on the portal interface, it may be available through the Services menu or under the e-File section.
Step 4: Proceed to the AIS portal
Click the option to proceed to the AIS portal. You may be redirected to a separate AIS interface.
Step 5: Select the relevant financial year
Choose the financial year for which you want to review information. Make sure you select the correct year for the income tax return you are preparing.
Step 6: Open AIS and TIS
You can review both the Annual Information Statement and the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS).
AIS contains more detailed information, while TIS provides category-wise summaries. Check the relevant categories and open individual entries to review transaction details.
Step 7: Download the statement
Download the AIS in a suitable format, such as PDF or CSV, if you want to compare the information with your own financial records.
Form 26AS can be accessed through the Income Tax portal or the relevant TRACES facility.
Follow these steps:
Visit the official Income Tax e-Filing portal.
Log in using your credentials.
Navigate to the option for viewing Form 26AS or tax-credit information.
Follow the link to the relevant tax statement facility, if prompted.
Select the appropriate assessment year.
View or download Form 26AS.
Compare the TDS, TCS, and other available tax-credit details with your records.
For tax deducted from salary, bank interest, or professional payments, compare the entries in Form 26AS with the relevant Form 16, Form 16A, salary slips, bank certificates, or payment records.
If a tax payment is missing, verify the challan details and PAN before assuming that the portal contains an error.
There are several reasons why AIS and Form 26AS may display different figures. Identifying the reason is the first step toward resolving a genuine discrepancy.
This is one of the most common reasons for an apparent mismatch.
AIS may display information about savings account interest, fixed deposit interest, dividends, securities transactions, and other financial activities. Form 26AS is not designed to provide the same comprehensive view.
For example, a taxpayer may see ₹18,000 of bank interest in AIS but no equivalent interest-income entry in Form 26AS. This does not automatically indicate an error.
The taxpayer should verify the interest against bank statements and report taxable income correctly in the ITR.
An employer, bank, or other deductor may deduct tax but fail to report it correctly or on time.
For example, a bank may deduct ₹4,000 as TDS on fixed deposit interest. However, the taxpayer may not find the expected entry in Form 26AS.
Possible reasons include:
The deductor has not filed the relevant TDS statement.
The TDS statement contains incorrect PAN details.
The deductor has filed a statement but has not corrected an error.
The tax information has not yet been processed or reflected in the statement.
In such cases, contact the deductor and request verification or correction of the TDS return.
The reporting date of a transaction and the period in which it appears in a statement may not always align as expected.
For example, a transaction may be reported by a financial institution after the end of a financial year. A statement downloaded earlier may therefore show incomplete information.
Check the date of the transaction, the financial year selected, and whether the reporting entity has completed its filing.
Sometimes, the same transaction or income may appear more than once in AIS due to reporting or processing differences.
For example, interest information may be reported in a way that appears duplicated when viewed alongside another entry.
Do not automatically remove or ignore an entry. First compare the information with the source documents and determine whether the entries genuinely represent the same transaction.
If the information is duplicated, use the AIS feedback facility where applicable.
A reporting entity may submit a transaction using an incorrect PAN. This can result in information appearing in the wrong taxpayer's AIS or failing to appear in the correct taxpayer's tax statement.
If a transaction does not belong to you, check the source information carefully. You can submit appropriate feedback in AIS and contact the reporting entity if necessary.
Banks, employers, brokers, and other reporting entities may submit incorrect amounts or transaction details.
For example, a bank may report interest of ₹32,000 when your records show ₹23,000. The difference should be investigated before filing your return.
Obtain the relevant statement or certificate from the reporting entity and compare it with the AIS entry.
Advance tax or self-assessment tax paid by a taxpayer may not appear as expected.
Check the challan details, including the PAN, assessment year, major and minor tax heads, and payment status. A mistake in these details may prevent the payment from being reflected correctly.
The Income Tax Department's tax-credit mismatch guidance also recommends validating challan details and PAN when tax payments are missing from the statement.
If you identify incorrect information in AIS, you may be able to submit feedback online.
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Log in to the Income Tax portal
Visit https://www.incometax.gov.in/ and sign in to your account.
Step 2: Open AIS
Navigate to the AIS section and select the relevant financial year.
Step 3: Find the incorrect transaction
Open the appropriate category, such as TDS/TCS Information, SFT Information, or Other Information. Review the transaction details and identify the entry that needs attention.
Step 4: Select the feedback option
Use the feedback option available against the relevant transaction.
Depending on the type of information, the available feedback choices may include:
Information is correct.
Information is not fully correct.
Information relates to another PAN or year.
Information is duplicate or included in other information.
Information is denied.
Other applicable or customized feedback options.
Select the option that accurately describes the issue. Do not submit incorrect feedback simply to make a figure match your records.
Step 5: Provide the required details
Where the portal requests additional information, enter the relevant details and submit your feedback.
Step 6: Save the acknowledgement
After successful submission, check the confirmation message and save the acknowledgement receipt. You can also review your activity history and download the consolidated feedback information where available.
Your feedback may be shared with the reporting source for confirmation. Submitting feedback does not necessarily mean that the original information will immediately disappear or that the source record has been corrected.
If the original reporting entity made the error, contact that entity and request a correction at its end as well.
Form 26AS does not provide the same general feedback facility as AIS. If a TDS or TCS entry is incorrect or missing, the correction generally needs to be made by the deductor or reporting entity.
For example:
Salary TDS mismatch: Contact your employer's payroll or finance department.
Bank TDS mismatch: Contact the bank and request verification of the TDS statement.
Professional fee TDS mismatch: Contact the client or business that deducted the tax.
Missing tax payment: Verify your challan and PAN details and follow the applicable tax-credit mismatch process.
Incorrect PAN: Ask the deductor to correct the PAN details in the relevant statement.
After the deductor files a correction statement and it is processed, check Form 26AS again.
Keep copies of Form 16, Form 16A, bank certificates, challans, and correspondence with the deductor. These documents can help explain the mismatch if a question arises during return processing.
A mismatch should be investigated before you submit your income tax return. However, taxpayers should not blindly copy every figure from AIS or Form 26AS.
Use the following reconciliation process:
Check the correct financial year and assessment year. Make sure you are comparing documents for the same period.
Review your AIS and TIS. Identify the income and transaction categories relevant to your return.
Check Form 26AS. Verify TDS, TCS, and other available tax-credit information.
Compare salary details. Match salary information with Form 16, payslips, and employer records.
Verify interest income. Check savings account and fixed deposit interest using bank statements or interest certificates.
Review investment transactions. Compare share and mutual fund information with broker statements and capital gains reports.
Check tax payments. Verify advance tax and self-assessment tax challans.
Investigate unusual entries. Review transactions that are duplicated, unfamiliar, or reported under an incorrect amount.
Submit feedback where appropriate. Use the AIS feedback facility for incorrect or duplicate information.
Report income accurately. Prepare your return using the applicable tax rules and your actual records, rather than changing genuine income figures merely to match a statement.
Remember that an AIS entry is not automatically proof that the entire reported amount is taxable. The tax treatment depends on the nature of the transaction and the applicable provisions.
Similarly, the absence of an entry in AIS does not automatically mean that an income item can be omitted from your ITR.
A mismatch may lead to a query or communication from the Income Tax Department, but a difference between AIS and Form 26AS does not automatically mean that a notice will be issued.
The department may use reported information to identify differences between financial transactions and the income disclosed in an ITR. For example, a significant interest amount, property transaction, or securities transaction that is not properly explained may require clarification.
The nature of any communication depends on the facts, the information available to the department, and the applicable tax procedure.
If you receive a communication:
Read the communication carefully and identify the financial year or assessment year involved.
Check whether it is an informational message, a compliance request, a notice, or an order.
Compare the reported information with your ITR and supporting records.
Prepare a clear explanation for any genuine difference.
Submit the response through the official portal where required.
Follow the deadline and instructions mentioned in the communication.
Consult a qualified tax professional if the matter involves a substantial amount, complex transactions, or a formal proceeding.
Do not ignore a formal notice simply because you believe the information in AIS is incorrect. Respond with relevant evidence and use the appropriate correction or appeal process where applicable.
AIS may contain information about transactions that are not fully taxable or that do not represent taxable income in the way the reported amount might suggest.
For example, a reported transaction may relate to a transfer of funds between your own accounts, a purchase rather than income, or a transaction that requires a separate tax calculation.
The correct tax treatment depends on the nature of the transaction. A securities sale, for example, may require calculation of capital gains or losses rather than treating the gross sale value as taxable income.
If an AIS entry is incorrect, submit suitable feedback. If the transaction is correctly reported but its tax treatment is different from what the reported amount might suggest, retain supporting documents and report the correct taxable amount in your return.
A few simple practices can reduce the chances of errors and last-minute confusion:
Review AIS and Form 26AS before filing your ITR, rather than waiting until the last day.
Download and retain copies of the statements for your records.
Check Form 16 and Form 16A against the tax-credit information available online.
Keep bank interest certificates and investment statements for the relevant financial year.
Verify that your PAN details are correct with your employer, bank, and other deductors.
Review high-value transactions and income from multiple sources.
Check whether any AIS entries are duplicated or relate to another person or year.
Save acknowledgements for AIS feedback and retain relevant correspondence.
Recheck the statements after a reporting entity has filed a correction.
Do not omit genuine taxable income merely because it is missing from AIS or Form 26AS.
These steps can help taxpayers prepare a more accurate return and respond more confidently if the department asks for clarification.
No. AIS provides a wider view of financial information reported against a taxpayer's PAN, including certain income and financial transactions. Form 26AS primarily helps taxpayers verify TDS, TCS, and other tax-related information available in the statement.
AIS may contain bank interest information reported by financial institutions. Form 26AS is not a comprehensive statement of all income. Therefore, bank interest appearing in AIS but not as an equivalent income entry in Form 26AS may be normal.
Check the relevant TDS details and supporting documents, such as Form 16 or Form 16A. Contact the deductor and ask them to verify whether the TDS statement was filed correctly. If a correction is required, the deductor may need to file a correction statement.
Yes. AIS provides an online feedback facility for eligible information. You can select the relevant transaction, choose an appropriate feedback option, provide additional details where required, and submit the feedback.
No. AIS feedback and corrections to TDS statements are separate processes. If the underlying issue relates to a TDS or TCS reporting error, the deductor may need to correct the relevant statement.
A difference does not automatically prevent you from filing your ITR. First, identify the reason for the mismatch and verify the figures using your financial records. Report income and claim tax credits according to the applicable rules. If a correction is pending, retain the supporting documents and follow up with the relevant reporting entity.
An incorrect entry may lead to a query or communication if it creates a difference that requires clarification. However, a mismatch alone does not automatically mean that a notice will be issued. Review the entry, submit feedback where appropriate, and retain evidence supporting your explanation.
AIS contains detailed information reported against a taxpayer's PAN. TIS, or Taxpayer Information Summary, presents a category-wise summary of information available in AIS. It can show values processed by the system and values accepted after feedback or source confirmation.
It is useful to review both statements before filing your ITR. Taxpayers with multiple income sources, frequent investments, or significant TDS transactions may benefit from checking their information periodically during the financial year as well.
No. You do not need to submit feedback for every entry. Submit feedback when you identify information that is incorrect, duplicated, related to another PAN or year, or otherwise requires a response. If the information is correct, no correction feedback is necessary.
Checking AIS and Form 26AS is an important part of preparing an accurate income tax return. While AIS provides a broader view of financial information, Form 26AS is particularly useful for verifying TDS and TCS details.
A mismatch between the two statements does not always indicate an error. Differences may arise because the documents serve different purposes, reporting entities submit information at different times, or a transaction has been reported incorrectly.
Taxpayers should compare both statements with their actual financial records, submit AIS feedback when necessary, and contact the relevant deductor or reporting entity to correct errors in source reporting.
By reviewing these details before filing an ITR, taxpayers can reduce avoidable mistakes, keep proper documentation, and handle income tax queries more effectively.
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