Form 26AS: The Complete Guide to Income Tax Return Filing

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a tax credit statement that provides a detailed summary of all the tax-related information associated with your PAN (Permanent Account Number) for a particular Financial Year (FY). It contains details of any amount deducted as Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) or Tax Collected at Source (TCS) from your income source(s). Additionally, it reflects information regarding advance or self-assessment tax payments you made and the details of any refunds issued to you ^[1] .

Moreover, the scope of Form 26AS has now been expanded to incorporate details of high-value transactions such as mutual funds purchases, foreign remittances, dividends etc ^[1] . Since this document provides a comprehensive summary of every tax-related information linked to your PAN, it plays a crucial role in the accurate filing of income tax returns .

What kind of information will be available on Form 26AS?

Form 26AS or Tax Credit Statement contains the following information ^[1] :

• Details of TDS
• Details of TCS
• Advance tax payments
• Self-assessment tax payments
• Regular assessment tax payments made by taxpayers (PAN holders)
• Details of income tax refunds paid to you during the financial year
• Records of high-value transactions such as those related to mutual funds, shares etc.
• Data on tax deducted during the sale of immovable property
• Information on TDS defaults made during the FY (post-processing TDS returns)
• Turnover details as filed in GSTR-3B
• Records of specified financial transactions
• Information on pending and completed income tax proceedings

Latest additions to the Form 26AS include:

^[2]

• Details of foreign remittances are detailed in Form 15CC.
• Records of TDS on salary from last quarter’s Income Tax Form 24Q.
• Data from other taxpayers’ ITR
• Details regarding interest earned on income tax refunds
• PAN details from Form 61/61A
• Reports about off-market transactions from the Depository or Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA)
• Information about mutual fund dividends and purchases from Registrar and Transfer Agent

Structures and Different Parts of Form 26AS

The following is the breakdown of the structure and different parts of Form 26AS:

• Part- I: Details of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)

  ^[2]

  This section involves details regarding TDS on income from various sources including salary, profession, business, etc.

• Part- II: Details of Tax Deducted at Source for Form 15G/15H

  ^[2]

  Part II covers information about the TDS that is not being deducted due to the submission of Form 15G/15H. It is mainly applicable to senior citizens whose total annual income is less than the exemption limit.

• PART-III: Details of Transactions under Proviso to Section 194B/First Proviso to Sub-Section (1) of Section 194R/Proviso to Sub-Section (1) of Section 194S

  ^[2]

  This section lists the TDS on payments made in kind. For example, a car won in the lottery etc..

• Part- IV: Details of Tax Deducted at Source u/s 194IA/ 194IB / 194M/ 194S (For Seller/Landlord of Property/Contractors or Professionals/ Seller of Virtual Digital Asset)

  ^[2]

  Here, you will find information regarding the TDS applied on the sale of a house or property, rent payments beyond Rs.50,000 per month, and payments to contractors or professionals for services exceeding Rs.50 lakhs. Additionally, this involves sales of virtual digital assets like cryptocurrency.

• Part-V: Details of Transactions under Proviso to Sub-Section (1) of Section 194S as per Form-26QE

  ^[2]

  Details regarding TDS deductions for sellers of virtual digital assets under particular provisions can be viewed here.

• Part-VI: Details of Tax Collected at Source (TCS)

  ^[2]

  Tax Collected at Source deductions made under various sections of 206C of the Income Tax Act.

• Part-VII: Details of Paid Refund

  ^[2]

  This part includes details of refunds paid to you by CPC TDS. Check out the Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the e-filing portal for further details.

• Part-VIII: Details of Tax Deducted at Source u/s 194IA/194IB/194M/194S (For Buyer/Tenant of Property/Person making payment to Contractors or Professionals/Buyer of Virtual Digital Asset)

  ^[2]

  If you are purchasing a house or property, paying over ₹50,000 per month in rent, making payments exceeding ₹50 lakh to a contractor or professional, or buying virtual digital assets, you can find the relevant TDS details here.

• Part-IX: Details of Transactions/Demand Payments under Proviso to sub-section(1) of section 194S as per Form 26QE

  ^[2]

  This section pertains to buyers of virtual digital assets.

• Part-X: TDS/TCS Defaults (Processing of Statements)

  ^[2]

  You will find the TDS default value post-processing of TDS returns here. This section does not include the demands raised by the assessing officer.

FAQs:

1. How can you view and download Form 26AS?

   To view and download Form 26AS, you can follow the steps mentioned below^[1] :

   • Visit the income tax department’s official website.
   • Tap on the ‘Login’ option found on the top-right side of the screen.
   • You can log in using your PAN or Aadhar number. After entering the user ID and password, select ‘Continue’.
   • Once you have logged in, go to ‘e-file’ and click on the ‘Income Tax Returns’ option. Then, from the drop-down menu, select ‘View Form 26AS’.
   • Upon clicking ‘Confirm’ on the disclaimer, you will be redirected to the TRACES website.
   • When you land on the TRACES (TDS-CPC) website, tick the box on the screen and select ‘Proceed’.
   • After clicking on the link at the bottom of the page, press ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)’ to get access to Form 26AS.
   • Select the Assessment Year (AY) and the format in which you want to see the form. If you want to see it online, choose HTML format. Or else, you can choose to download the form as a PDF. Once you have made the choice, enter the ‘Verification Code’ and press on the ‘View/Download’ button.

2. What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?

   ^[3]

   AIS is the extended form of Form 26AS which includes details such as house/property purchases, Tax Deducted at Source/TCS transactions, high-value transactions, etc carried out during a financial year. AIS in addition includes savings account interest, dividend, rent received etc.