Form 26AS Download: How to View Tax Credit Statement

Form 26AS is one of the most important documents for every taxpayer in India. It is an annual consolidated tax credit statement issued by the Income Tax Department that reflects all taxes deducted or collected against your PAN, advance tax paid by you, self-assessment tax payments, and refunds received. Before filing your Income Tax Return (ITR), it is essential to download and verify your Form 26AS to ensure that all tax credits are correctly reflected. In this guide, we explain how to download Form 26AS from both the TRACES portal and the e-Filing portal, how to read it, and how to resolve any discrepancies.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a consolidated annual tax statement that contains a summary of all tax-related transactions linked to your PAN during a financial year. It is maintained by the Income Tax Department and is auto-populated based on reports filed by deductors (employers, banks, companies) and your own tax payments.

Think of Form 26AS as your tax passbook — it shows every rupee of tax that has been paid on your behalf or by you. Key details included in Form 26AS are:

• Part A — TDS on Salary: Tax deducted by your employer on salary income, along with the employer's TAN and the amount paid.
• Part A1 — TDS on Non-Salary Income: Tax deducted by banks on interest income, by companies on professional fees, rent, and other payments.
• Part A2 — TDS on Property: Tax deducted on sale of immovable property under Section 194IA.
• Part B — TCS (Tax Collected at Source): Tax collected by sellers on specific goods like alcohol, tendu leaves, scrap, and foreign remittances under LRS.
• Part C — Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax: Details of advance tax instalments paid during the year and any self-assessment tax paid before filing ITR.
• Part D — Refunds: Details of income tax refunds received, including the mode of payment and amount.
• Part E — SFT (Statement of Financial Transactions): High-value transactions reported by banks and financial institutions, such as large cash deposits, property purchases, and mutual fund investments.

Form 26AS is available for each Assessment Year (AY). For example, for income earned during FY 2025-26 (April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026), the corresponding Assessment Year is AY 2026-27.

How to Download Form 26AS from TRACES

TRACES (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) is the official portal for downloading Form 26AS. Here is the step-by-step process:

1. Visit the TRACES portal at tdscpc.gov.in
2. Click on "Login" and enter your PAN as the user ID
3. Enter your password and CAPTCHA code, then click "Login"
4. If you are a first-time user, click on "Register" and complete the registration process using your PAN, date of birth, and contact details
5. After logging in, navigate to "View/Verify Tax Credit → Form 26AS"
6. Select the Assessment Year for which you want to download the statement
7. Choose the view type — HTML (for online viewing), PDF (for download), or TXT (for data import)
8. Click "View/Download"
9. For PDF download, a verification code will be sent to your registered mobile number or email. Enter the code to proceed
10. The Form 26AS PDF will be generated and available for download

The TRACES portal also allows you to view Form 26AS for up to 10 previous financial years, which is useful for verifying past tax credits or responding to old notices.

How to Download from e-Filing Portal

You can also download Form 26AS directly from the Income Tax e-Filing portal. This method is simpler and does not require a separate TRACES registration:

1. Visit the Income Tax e-Filing portal at incometax.gov.in
2. Log in using your PAN (user ID) and password
3. After logging in, click on "e-File" in the top menu
4. Select "Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS"
5. You will be redirected to the TRACES portal. Click "Confirm" to proceed
6. Select the Assessment Year and format (PDF or HTML)
7. Click "View/Download" and enter the verification code sent to your mobile/email
8. Download the Form 26AS PDF

The e-Filing portal method is preferred by most taxpayers because it uses the same login credentials and does not require a separate TRACES account. The data shown is identical regardless of which portal you use.

What Information Form 26AS Contains

Form 26AS is divided into multiple parts, each capturing different types of tax information:

Part	Content	Source
Part A	TDS on salary, interest, rent, professional fees	Employer, banks, companies (via TDS returns)
Part B	TCS on sale of goods, foreign remittances	Sellers, authorized dealers (via TCS returns)
Part C	Advance tax, self-assessment tax, demand paid	Income Tax Department (via tax challans)
Part D	Refunds paid by the IT Department	Income Tax Department
Part E	SFT — high-value transactions (cash deposits, property, MF)	Banks, registrars, mutual fund companies

Each entry in Form 26AS includes the deductor's name, TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number), the date of deduction/collection, the amount paid/credited, and the tax amount. This makes it easy to cross-verify with your Form 16 (for salary) or Form 16A (for non-salary income).

How to Read Form 26AS

Reading Form 26AS is straightforward once you understand the structure. Here are the key things to check:

• Verify your PAN and name: Ensure the PAN and name at the top of the form match your records. Any discrepancy should be corrected immediately.
• Check TDS entries: Verify that the TDS shown against your employer (Part A) matches the TDS certificate (Form 16) issued by your employer. Similarly, check bank TDS (Part A1) against Form 16A from your bank.
• Match advance tax payments: If you paid advance tax during the year, verify that all instalments are reflected in Part C. Cross-check with your tax payment challans.
• Review SFT entries: Part E shows high-value transactions reported by third parties. Check that these are accurate — any transaction not reported by you could indicate a mismatch that needs correction.
• Verify refund details: If you received a refund, check Part D for the refund amount, mode of payment (cheche/ECS), and the bank account to which it was credited.

The total TDS and TCS shown in Form 26AS can be directly claimed as tax credits in your ITR under the "Taxes Paid" section. This reduces your tax liability or increases your refund.

Form 26AS vs AIS — Key Differences

In recent years, the Income Tax Department introduced the Annual Information Statement (AIS), which provides more comprehensive information than Form 26AS. Here is how they differ:

Feature	Form 26AS	AIS
Scope	Tax credits only (TDS, TCS, advance tax, refunds)	Tax credits + salary, interest, dividends, securities, foreign remittances
Transaction details	Limited to TDS/TCS entries	Detailed transaction-level data from multiple sources
Feedback mechanism	No feedback option	Taxpayers can provide feedback on incorrect entries
Source	TDS/TCS returns filed by deductors	TDS returns, SFT, banks, stock exchanges, mutual funds, registrars
Use for ITR	Claim TDS/TCS credits in ITR	Verify all income sources and claim accurate credits

Recommendation: Download both Form 26AS and AIS before filing your ITR. Use Form 26AS to verify tax credits and AIS to verify income details. If there are discrepancies between the two, investigate and resolve them before filing your return.

Discrepancies and How to Resolve

Discrepancies in Form 26AS can occur due to various reasons. Here are common issues and how to resolve them:

TDS Not Reflected in Form 26AS

If the TDS deducted by your employer or bank is not showing in Form 26AS, the most likely reason is that the deductor has not filed their TDS return, or there is an error in the PAN reported by the deductor. Steps to resolve:

• Contact the deductor (employer/bank) and inform them about the discrepancy
• Request them to file a revised TDS return with the correct PAN and TDS amount
• After the revised return is filed, it takes 30-60 days for the updated TDS to appear in Form 26AS
• If the deductor is unresponsive, you can file a complaint with the Income Tax Department's grievance portal

Incorrect Amount Shown

If the TDS amount shown is different from what was actually deducted, the deductor needs to file a correction statement. Provide them with your Form 16 or Form 16A as evidence of the correct amount.

PAN Mismatch

If someone else's TDS is appearing against your PAN (rare but possible), it indicates a PAN reporting error by the deductor. Contact the deductor immediately to correct this, as it can affect your tax liability.

Refund Not Reflected

If your refund was processed but is not showing in Part D, allow 30-45 days after the refund was issued. If it still does not appear, check the refund status on the e-Filing portal under "Refund/Demand Status."