Form 26AS

Form 26AS is also known as an Annual statement which shows a consolidated record of all tax-related information such as refund, TDS or TCS, etc. associated with a PAN. Form 26AS and its use by tax authorities are governed by Section 203AA, Rule 31AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The process to download Form 26AS from TRACES

You can download Form 26AS from the TRACES website or use the net banking facility of authorized banks.

Step 1

Log in to the E-filing Income tax website for download form 26AS.

Step 2

Enter your PAN number as User ID, password and the captcha code. Click on LOGIN

Step 3

After logging into your account, the following screen will appear. Go to ‘My Account and click on ‘View Form 26AS’ in the drop-down menu:

Step 4

Click on the ‘confirm’ and you will be redirected to the TRACES website.

Step 5

Agree to the usage or acceptance of Form 16/ Form 16A generated from TRACES and click on the ‘ Proceed’

Step 6

Click on ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS) to view your Form 26AS

Step 7

Select the Assessment Year and the format (HTML/Text) in which you want to see Form 26AS. You can also download your Form 26AS as well in PDF format. Post selection, click on the button ‘View/Download’

Step 8

To open the document, you will be required to enter a password. Your Form 26AS password is your DOB in the DDMMYYY format. For example: If your date of birth is 15th April 1985 then your Form26AS password would be 15041985.

Sample of Form 26AS

Structure of Form 26AS

Part A of Form 26AS contains details of the Tax Deducted at Source in Indian currency. This section of the form highlights the TDS deducted from salary or pension income. TDS is deducted by the banks on the interest generated from your investments.

Form 26AS: Part A1 

This section of the form shares details regarding tax deducted at source from Form 15G/15H. It shows transactions of financial institutions such as banks where an individual made a submission of Form 15G/15H. There is a zero TDS in these cases because an individual has already given Form 15G/ Form 15H to the institution concerned so they will not deduct any tax based on the information available in the form. This section also enables you to keep track of the earned interest that has not been taxed.

Form 26AS Part A2

This section of the form reflects details of TDS credit that applies to the sale of house property. Part 2 of Form 26AS would show a TDS credit on behalf of the seller of a property and can be adjusted against the total tax liability of the property seller. The rate of TDS is applicable to the proceeds on the sale of a property that is 1% as of FY 2019-20.

Form 26AS Part B

This section shows the details of Tax collected at Source. Tax collection is done by the seller from the buyer at the time of sale specified category of goods such as toll plaza, parking lot, liquor, etc. The deposit of the amount by the collector to the government is done every quarter.

Part C

Form 26AS Part C shows the details of tax paid other than TDS or TCS. If you had already made an Advance tax or Self-assessment tax, information about the same is listed here. Whenever you deposit advance tax /self-assessment tax directly to the bank, it will upload this information within three days after the cheque has been cleared.

Part D: 

This part of Form 26AS maintained the details of paid refunds. All the refunds that you have applied for and received will be listed under this section of the annual tax statement. Keeping track of this information proves to be helpful to check if you have been paid the tax refunds you have applied for.

Part E: 

Part E of Form 26AS is responsible for keeping the details of the Annual Information Return (AIR) transactions. If you make some high-value transactions, such as a purchase of property, investment in mutual funds, etc., these transactions are automatically reported to the Income Tax Department by banks and other authorities through the AIR.

Importance of Form 26AS

• Form 26AS is considered as an important financial document as it includes all the tax-related statements. The major purposes that form 26AS fulfill are as follows:
• It helps in checking whether the deductor has accurately filed the TDS statement or the collector has accurately filled the TCS giving details of Tax Deducted or collected on your behalf.
  
• It enables one to check that the tax collected or deducted by the collector or deductor is deposited to the account of the Government on time.
• It helps in the verification of the tax credits and computation of income before the filing of the Income Tax Return. It also reflects the information regarding the Annual Information Return which is filed by the different entities based on what an individual invested or spent, mostly for high-value transactions.
• If the total amount deposited in a savings account is more than Rs 10 Lakh, the bank will send an Annual Information Return, the same holds if an amount more than Rs. 2 lakhs are invested in a mutual fund or spent on a credit card.
• Form 26AS is used both by the government and citizens. If the person is having Form 26AS, then Income Taxpayer no longer needs to attach a copy of the TDS certificate along with the Income Tax Return.
• The Income Tax Department will allow a taxpayer to claim the credit of taxes as reflected in his or her Form 26AS if no other payments are due from him or her as income tax (or interest thereon) payable to the Government.

Form 26AS: Availability

It is easy to access and download Form 26AS. Here are a few ways to do so:

• Download Form 26AS by login into your income tax filing account directly on the Income Tax Department e-filing website at https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/
• Once you log in, click on the ‘View Form 26AS (Tax Credit)’ button, either under the ‘My Account’ or ‘Quick Links’ section. You will be redirected to the TDS-CPC website to view and download your Form 26AS. 
• You need to select the relevant Assessment Year (AY) for which you want to download the statement. It is issued on behalf of the Income Tax Department and has the heading ‘TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System.’ This is the best way to find Form 26AS and all information related to it.
• Another easy way to download Form 26AS is by registering at the TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES) of the Income Tax Department. It comes in the right format and is easy to read.
• You can also get this form through authorized banks using their net banking facility. However, Tax Credit Statement (Form 26AS) is available only if the PAN is mapped to the bank account that is going to be used to download the form. The facility is available free of cost. The list of authorized banks that provide the form is given below:

Allahabad Bank

ICICI Bank

Yes Bank

Andhra Bank

IDBI Bank

State Bank of India

Axis Bank

Indian Bank

HDFC Bank

Bank of Baroda

Indian Overseas Bank

Syndicate Bank

Bank of India

IndusInd Bank

Federal Bank

Bank of Maharashtra

Karnataka Bank

Karur Vysya Bank

Canara Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank

UCO Bank

Central Bank of India

Oriental Bank of Commerce

Union Bank of India

City Union Bank

Punjab National Bank

South Indian Bank

Corporation Bank

Punjab & Sind Bank

This form not only helps in doing cross-checking of the Income Tax related to data serves another purpose as well as you need it to do filing of Income Tax Return.

Importance and Utility of Form 26AS

• Most people are already aware of the importance of Form 26AS. Here are a few reasons why you need it:
• Form 26AS provides key information about tax deducted or collected by authorized deductors/collectors as has been deposited with the government tax authorities.
• This form enables you to get access to all the financial transactions involving TDS/TCS during the relevant financial year at once.
• The form also helps in claiming the tax credits and computation of income at the time of filing of return on income. It can help you in doing verification of your income tax returns easily.
• Form 26AS helps in speedy processing of income tax return and doing speedy credit of funds.
• Verification of refunds at the time of applicable Assessment Year/Financial Year can also be confirmed using Form 26AS.

Things to verify in your TDS certificate with Form 26AS

Form 26AS must be cross-checked and verified with the details of the TDS certificate i.e. Form 16 and Form 16A. It is a way to give surety that all TDS deducted from the payee’s income get deposited with the Income Tax Department.

Other things that must be verified in the TDS certificate with Form 26AS are discussed here:

• Never forget to check your name, PAN details, Deductor’s TAN details, TDS amount reflected on form 26AS, and refund amount paid. It is considered as the most important taxation information. Confirmation of the same is important before you accept the certificate. If there is a mismatch in any, it will result in creating problems at the time of filing the Income Tax Return.
• Do verification of Tax Deducted at Source as shown in the TDS certificate which has been received by the government. It becomes possible by making a comparison of TDS Data on your payslips with the data available in Form 26AS.
• If the deductor has failed in filing TDS or doing tax submission on your behalf, it can issue for both of you. Contact the deductor and ask him to file the TDS return and submit the tax amount at the earliest.
• It is a must to check that the TDS mentioned in the Form 16/16A reflects in the Form 26AS correctly. If the TDS shown in the TDS certificate is not reflecting in Form 26AS, it means deductor has not deposited the tax deducted to the Income Tax Department. You need to act promptly by contacting the concerned deductor if you face this issue.
• If you find any form of discrepancy between Form 26AS and TDS certificates, inform your deductor and ask for the reasons for the same. As soon as possible get the correction.
• You must ensure that the deductor filed the TDS using your PAN number and other required details. There are many cases where TDS was filed under an incorrect PAN, it can result in a lot of problems for both the deductor and the income tax assessee.

TDS Certificate (Form 16/16A) vs. Form 26AS

You think that what is the need for a TDS certificate or Form 16/ Form 16A when information is there in Form 26AS. One needs to understand that both serve a unique purpose. You cannot doubt the importance of the TDS certificate. Reasons are as follows:

The objective behind introducing Form 26AS is to enable the taxpayer to cross-check and thoroughly does verification of the details mentioned in his TDS certificates with those mentioned in Form 26AS and maintain transparency of information.

If you are not having a TDS certificate or Form 26AS then it becomes difficult to verify the details and trace out any mismatch that might have occurred. If you have both, you can compare the details and cross-check. In the case of a discrepancy, you can easily get it corrected.

In the case of salaried persons, Form 26AS is not enough to file Income Tax Return. The problem with Form 26AS is that it does not reflect the breakup of your income and details of deductions claimed under Section 80C to Section 80U which are available in Form 16 i.e. TDS certificate. Therefore, you need a TDS certificate in addition to Form 26AS.