Every return we’ve covered in this series says the same thing before you touch the ITR form: reconcile against AIS and Form 26AS. Here’s what that actually means, and how to do it in one sitting.
If you’ve read the rest of this series, you’ve seen the instruction repeated at least three times without ever being unpacked: “reconcile against Form 26AS and AIS before you file.” It’s the single most repeated piece of advice in Indian tax compliance, and also one of the least explained. AIS vs Form 26AS reconciliation isn’t a formality — it’s the reason most defective return notices, mismatch demands, and delayed refunds happen in the first place, because the department already knows what it expects your return to say before you’ve filed it.
Note on form numbers: Form 26AS is being renumbered Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 — but only from Tax Year 2026-27 onward (returns filed from July 2027). For your current FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) return, you continue to use Form 26AS exactly as described here.
AIS vs Form 26AS Reconciliation: What Each Document Actually Shows
These three sit on the same portal, get downloaded together, and get confused constantly — but they answer three different questions.
Form 26AS
“What tax has already been paid on my behalf?”
TDS, TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, refunds issued
AIS
“What income and transactions does the department know about?”
Salary, interest, dividends, MF/share transactions, property, foreign remittances
TIS
“What figure will pre-fill my return?”
Category-wise summary of AIS, drives auto-fill in your ITR
The critical rule that trips people up: TDS credit in your ITR can only be claimed based on Form 26AS, not AIS. If a bank or employer shows TDS in your AIS but it hasn’t yet reflected in Form 26AS, you cannot claim that credit — you need the deductor to correct their TDS filing first. This single rule explains most of the “why didn’t I get my full refund” questions that follow a return.
How to Download Form 26AS, AIS & TIS
- Form 26AS: Log in to the e-filing portal → e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS. You’ll be redirected to TRACES; select the assessment year and download as PDF.
- AIS: Log in → Services → Annual Information Statement. Select FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). Download Part A (general info) and Part B (the financial data you actually need to review) — available as PDF or JSON.
- TIS: Same AIS screen, under the “Taxpayer Information Summary” tab — download this alongside AIS, since it’s what actually feeds your pre-filled return.
- The password for the AIS/TIS PDF is your PAN in lowercase followed by date of birth in DDMMYYYY format — the same convention used across income tax notices.
How to Reconcile: A Practical Order of Operations
- Start with AIS, not Form 26AS — AIS carries the fuller income picture, and working backward from it surfaces gaps that a TDS-only document would never reveal.
- Go category by category — salary, interest, dividends, securities transactions, property — and match each entry against your own Form 16, bank interest certificates, broker statements, and sale deeds.
- Where AIS and TIS disagree on a figure for the same item, treat the TIS figure as the one that matters for your ITR comparison, since that’s what actually pre-fills the return.
- Separately reconcile TDS: every entry in Form 26AS should have a matching line in AIS. If TDS shows in AIS but is missing from Form 26AS, that’s a deductor-side filing gap — contact the employer or bank to correct their TDS return, since only Form 26AS credit is claimable.
- For anything incorrect, duplicated, or wrongly attributed to your PAN in AIS, submit AIS feedback directly on the portal — you can mark an entry as correct, a duplicate, belonging to another PAN, or reported at an incorrect amount. This doesn’t fix your return by itself, but it flags the entry for the reporting source to review and correct.
- Where AIS understates your actual income — say, interest your bank hasn’t fully reported yet — declare the full, correct amount in your ITR regardless of what AIS shows. AIS is a cross-check, not a ceiling on what you’re legally required to report.
Timing matters here more than most taxpayers expect: once you submit AIS feedback, the reporting entity has 30 days to confirm or reject the correction, and a deductor’s TDS correction can take even longer to show up in Form 26AS. Don’t wait for that resolution before filing, though — if your deadline is approaching and feedback is still pending, file with the figure supported by your own documents, and keep your feedback submission and underlying records on hand in case a query follows. Starting this reconciliation in the last week before your deadline leaves no room to actually act on anything you find.
The Mismatches That Actually Show Up, and How to Handle Them
| What You See | Likely Cause | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| TDS in AIS, absent from Form 26AS | Deductor hasn’t filed or corrected their TDS return | Contact deductor for a correction; claim only what’s in 26AS |
| AIS shows gross interest, 26AS shows only the TDS-deducted portion | Different reporting bases between the two statements | Cross-check the gross figure against your bank interest certificate |
| Same income appears twice in AIS | Duplicate reporting by two entities, or wrong PAN mapping | File AIS feedback marking the entry as duplicate/incorrect |
| FD interest timing doesn’t match your return | Bank reports on accrual basis; you may be reporting on receipt basis | Pick one method consistently and reconcile the difference |
| AIS shows an income you never reported at all | A transaction genuinely missed while filing | Declare it — don’t just leave it out because AIS “already knows” |
| Property sale: AIS value differs from your actual sale price | AIS shows the stamp duty/registered value, not necessarily your transaction value | Under Section 50C, use whichever is higher — actual consideration or stamp duty value — for your computation |
- AIS is not a guarantee of completeness — it’s a strong cross-check, not the final word; your return should be based on your own records and disclosures, not “whatever AIS shows”
- A clean AIS doesn’t mean a clean return — genuine income you know about must be reported even if no entry appears in AIS at all
- Filing AIS feedback isn’t the same as correcting your ITR — feedback flags an entry for the department’s review; it doesn’t change what you must report on your own return
- A wrong PAN linkage anywhere is a red flag worth chasing immediately — income attributed to your PAN that isn’t yours can create tax demands that take real effort to reverse
Kavita’s Form 26AS shows ₹18,000 TDS deducted by her bank on fixed deposit interest. Her AIS shows the same entry, but at a gross interest figure of ₹1,80,000 rather than the net amount. She initially reports only the TDS-adjusted figure in her draft return — a common instinct, but the wrong one. The correct approach: report the full gross interest of ₹1,80,000 as income under “Other Sources,” and separately claim the ₹18,000 as TDS credit, exactly as it appears in Form 26AS. Reporting net-of-TDS as her income would understate her income and trigger an automated mismatch against AIS.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is a tax-credit statement — it shows TDS, TCS, advance tax, and self-assessment tax linked to your PAN. AIS is much broader — it captures salary, interest, dividends, securities and mutual fund transactions, property deals, and foreign remittances reported to the department by various institutions. Since AY 2023-24, income data has largely moved to AIS, while Form 26AS has narrowed to tax-credit information specifically.
Can I claim TDS shown in AIS if it’s missing from Form 26AS?
No. TDS credit in your ITR can only be claimed based on what appears in Form 26AS. If AIS shows TDS that Form 26AS doesn’t reflect, the deductor’s TDS return likely needs correction — contact your employer or the bank directly, since the department’s system won’t grant credit for an amount that isn’t confirmed in Form 26AS.
What happens if I ignore a mismatch and file anyway?
Unresolved mismatches between your return and AIS/Form 26AS commonly trigger an automated intimation or adjustment under Section 143(1), delayed refund processing, or in more significant cases, a scrutiny notice. Reconciling before filing is meaningfully cheaper, in time and stress, than responding to a notice afterward.
Does filing AIS feedback correct my tax return automatically?
No. AIS feedback only flags an entry as incorrect, duplicate, or not belonging to you, for the department’s internal review — it doesn’t change your ITR. You still need to report your income correctly in your actual return based on your own records, regardless of what feedback you’ve submitted.
Is Form 26AS being renamed, and does that affect my filing this year?
Form 26AS is being renumbered as Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, but this applies only from Tax Year 2026-27 onward. For your current FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) return, you continue to use Form 26AS exactly as it exists today — the renaming has no bearing on this filing season.
ITR Filing & Return Correction — Complete Guide Series
ITR Filing FY 2025-26: Due Dates, Penalties & AY 2026-27 Return Guide
Every due date by taxpayer category, Section 234F penalty and ITR forms overview.
Part 2ITR Forms AY 2026-27: Key Changes in ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3 & ITR-4
Capital gains disclosures, F&O reporting and what changed this year.
Part 3Belated Return Under Section 139(4): Rules, Penalty & How to File
234F penalty, 234A interest, regime lock-in and loss carry-forward rules.
Part 4Revised Return Under Section 139(5): How to Correct ITR Mistakes
Missed deductions or wrong figures? Here’s how to fix a filed return.
Part 5Updated Return (ITR-U) Under Section 139(8A): Complete Guide
Your last resort after missing every other filing window.
Part 6Defective Return Notice Under Section 139(9): How to Respond
Received a “defective return” email? Here’s exactly what to do within 15 days.
Part 7Which ITR to File for AY 2026-27? Form-Wise Guide & Conditions
The right form the first time, so you never see a defective return notice at all.
AIS vs Form 26AS: Reconciling Before You File or Revise
The prerequisite every other part in this series told you to do — explained in full.
Every correction mechanism in this series — belated, revised, updated, even the defective return response — exists to fix something after the fact. Reconciliation is the only step in the entire filing process that prevents the problem instead of curing it. Twenty minutes spent matching your AIS and Form 26AS against your own records, done three weeks before your deadline rather than the night before, is the single highest-leverage action in this entire series — because it’s the one that keeps you out of Parts 3 through 6 altogether.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax laws and portal procedures are subject to change based on CBDT notifications. Please consult a qualified Chartered Accountant for advice specific to your situation.
