Form 26AS – What is Form 26AS? How to Download Form 26AS to File ITR

One of the most important documents every taxpayer should be familiar with is Form 26as. Also called the Annual Tax Statement, Form 26AS helps you file your Income Tax Return more accurately by giving you information about any tax amount deducted (TDS, TCS, advance tax, etc.) from your income in a financial year. But what is form 26as, what kind of information does it contain, and how can you download it? Let’s answer these questions. 

Understand What is Form 26AS?

First things first, what is form 26as exactly? Think of Form 26as as a consolidated tax statement issued by the Income Tax Department. It gives you a summary of all the tax-related activities associated with your PAN in a given financial year, such as Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS), self-assessment tax payments, advance tax payments, regular assessment tax deposited, and refund received. Form 26AS shows how much tax has already been paid on your behalf.

How to view and download Form 26AS

Form 26A can be downloaded in three ways:

Through the Income Tax e-Filing Portal

1. Go to the official e-filing website.
2. Enter your user ID (Aadhar, PAN, or any other ID), as well as your password.
3. On the top banner, find  ‘e-File’. Click on ‘Income Tax Returns’ and then ‘View Form 26AS’
4. When you press ‘Confirm’, you’ll be redirected to the TRACES website.
5. TRACES (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) is also a website made by the Income Tax Department. It helps deductors in the filing of TDS or TCS correction statements, view challan status, etc.
6. Near the bottom of the page, you will find a link ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)’. Click here.
7. Now you will be asked to select the Assessment Year and the format in which you would like to view Form 26AS (HTML, PDF, Excel, and more). Select your preferences, enter the captcha, and click the ‘View/Download’ button. 
8. After downloading, you’ll be able to view Form 25AS of the relevant Assessment Year anytime. If the file is password protected, the password is your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.

Through the TRACES Website

You can also register on the Traces website and directly complete your Form 26AS download. 

1. To complete registration, enter the relevant details such as name, PAN, date of birth, e-mail, phone number, and password. 
2. When you are done entering all the information, click ’Submit’. You’ll receive a confirmation email, where you’ll find an activation link. Click it to complete the process. 
3. Now you can easily complete Form 26AS and download it anytime.

Through Net Banking

If your bank provides the facility to view Form 26AS, you can use net banking to download it. 

1. Log in to your net banking account and find the option to ‘View 26AS’ or ‘View Tax Credit Statement’. 
2. This instruction is vague because every bank has a different website design, so you will simply have to navigate through the menus to locate the relevant section. 
3. Once you find the option, follow the prompts. Here too you will be redirected to the TRACES website, where you can view and download your Form 26AS.
4. This service is provided for free by the bank, so you don’t have to worry about any additional charges.

What does Form 26AS contain in It?

Form 26AS or your Annual Tax Statement contains a variety of information, such as:

• Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) details.
• Tax Collected at Source (TCS) details.
• Records of any advance tax you may have paid in the financial year.
• Details of self-assessment tax you’ve paid.
• If any tax refund was issued to you in the financial year, you’ll also find its record in Form 26AS.
• Details of regular assessment tax payments.
• Information on high-value transactions, like mutual funds or shares.
• Details of TDS defaults.
• Specified Financial Transactions (SFT) details if applicable.
• GSTR-3B turnover details.
• Information of tax deducted on the sale of an immovable property under Section 194IA.

Form 26AS was recently updated to also include information such as:

• Form 24Q TDS-related details.
• Foreign remittance details.
• Records of any interest you may have earned on your tax refund amount.
• Form 61/61A PAN information.
• Transfer Agent reports regarding off-market transactions.
• Mutual fund dividends details.

While filing your ITR, make sure that all the information you enter matches the details given in the Form 26AS document. Mismatching information can indicate that there are discrepancies, which means you might face errors or actions from the Income Tax Department.

What are the Benefits of Form 26AS

Form 26 AS can help taxpayers in many ways:

• It provides information on the TDS or TCS on your income, which is crucial for verification purposes. You can match these details with your records to confirm that the taxes have been correctly deducted and deposited by the correct deductors.
• Form 26AS gives information on any tax refunds that you may have received. You can track and verify the receipt of these refunds and make sure that you have received all the refunds you are entitled to.
• Form 26AS also provides other tax-related details such as self-assessment tax and advance tax, which you can use to verify that these amounts are accurately recorded towards your total tax liability.
• It helps you minimise mistakes while filing ITR, as you can easily cross-check what you input with the information provided in Form 26AS. This overview can prevent fines or issues with the Income Tax Department.
• Overall, Form 26AS helps you verify all tax payments made against your PAN in the financial year.
• Form 26AS helps you calculate income and claim credits when filing ITR. A tax planner can assist you in understanding and utilizing Form 26AS effectively, ensuring accurate income calculation and maximizing credit claims

Also Read: Tax Saving Options and Planning Tips For Salaried Professionals 

Components of Form 26AS

Take a look at the various components form 26as has:

• PART-I (Details of Tax Deducted at Source) – This part includes information on TDS deducted on salary, business, profession, interest, or any other income sources.
• PART-II (Details of Tax Deducted at Source for 15G/15H) – This part is mostly relevant for senior citizens, as it contains information on TDS on which no deduction is made due to the submission of Form 15G/15H, as the income is below the basic 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) – Includes details about TDS deducted on payments made in kind.
• 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)) – If the landlord or seller had TDS deducted on the sale of house property or rent payments exceeding Rs. 50,000 per month, or TDS on payments to contractors or professional services exceeded Rs. 50 lakh, the information will be provided in this section. It also includes TDS details on sales of virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrency.
• PART-V (Details of Transactions under Proviso to sub section (1) of Section 194S as per Form 26QE (For Seller of Virtual Digital Asset)) – TDS details about sellers of virtual digital assets as per specific provisions are provided in this part.
• PART-VI (Details of Tax Collected at Source) – Includes TDS details under the Sections of 206C.
• PART-VII (Details of Paid Refund (For which source is CPC TDS)) – If CPC TDS paid you a refund, this section will contain the relevant details.
• PART-VIII (Details of Tax Deducted at Source under Sections 194IA/ 194IB /194M/194S (For Buyer/Tenant of Property /Person making payment to contractors or Professionals / Buyer of Virtual Digital Asset)) – TDS details about property buyers, tenants with rent exceeding Rs. 50,000, payment to a contractor or professional services over Rs. 50 lakh and buyers of virtual digital assets like cryptocurrency are included here.
• PART-IX (Details of Transactions/Demand Payments under Proviso to sub-section(1) of section 194S as per Form 26QE (For Buyer of Virtual Digital Asset)) – This section provides transaction and demand details for purchasers of virtual digital assets under Section 194S.
• PART-X (TDS/TCS Defaults (Processing of Statements)) – Here you will find details about TDS defaults after the TDS returns have been processed (demands raised by the assessing officer are not included).

Also Read: Common Mistakes to Avoid While Filing Income Tax Returns

FAQ on Form 26AS

How CAN I download the Tax Credit Statement or Form 26AS?

Form 26AS can be downloaded from the official Income Tax e-Filing Portal, TRACES (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) website, or through net banking (if your bank provides this facility).

How to view Form 26AS from net banking?

Firstly, make sure that your bank’s net banking facility allows you to view and download Form 26AS. If so, you’re going to have to find where the option to view the statement is on the bank’s website. This differs from bank to bank. For example, if you are an SBI account holder, you can navigate to ‘e-Services’ and then click ‘My Certificates’ to find the link. Similarly, if you’re using HDFC’s net banking facilities, you can click ‘Enquire’ and then ‘View Tax Credit Statement’ to get to Form 26AS. In any case, you will be redirected to the TRACES website for downloading the document.

How can one check Form 26AS online without logging in it?

You’re going to have to log in to either your bank’s website or the official e-filing portal to view or download Form 26AS. If for some reason you can’t access the income tax e-filing portal, you can use your bank’s services to download the document or download it directly through the TRACES website.

When does Form 26AS get regularly updated?

Whenever the income tax department processes any tax deductions, collections, or payments made against your PAN, Form 26AS gets updated. The processing generally happens every quarter, and TDS returns can take a further seven days to reflect in your Form 26AS.

What is the password of Form 26AS in pdf format?

Enter your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format to open Form 26AS pdf.

What do you mean by date of booking, and transaction in Form 26AS?

Transaction date refers to the date on which the tax was deducted, whereas the date of booking means when the TDS was processed and credited to the government’s account.

What is Form 26AS used for?

Form 26AS provides an overview of all the tax-related activities associated with your PAN during the financial year, such as TDS, TCS, self-assessment tax payments, advance tax payments, regular assessment tax deposits, and refunds received. You can use this document to verify the tax credits claimed in your tax returns and file your ITR accurately.