Form 26AS, AIS & TIS: The DNA of Filing ITR

In a peaceful evening, imagine you are sipping your tea after a long day when your phone buzzes. The notification “Income tax notice under Section 139(9)”. Instantly, your heart skips a beat. You have filed your return and paid taxes but somehow there is a defect that the numbers don’t match up with what the government has on record.

Well, many taxpayers end up in this situation not because they broke the rules, but because they missed out important details and reporting.

The secret lies in two powerful income tax documents – Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS). Understanding these two records is a good practice and the first and most effective line of defence against a whole lot of stress.

What Is Form 26AS? Your Tax Statement

It is like a report or a statement that tracks all your tax credits who, when and what has been deducted, collected, paid against your PAN. So, it has the following parts:

1. Tax Deducted at Source (TDS): From salary, bank interest, or other income.
2. Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for 15G/15H: Details of tax not deducted on interest because you submitted these forms.
3. Tax Collected at Source (TCS): applicable on TCS provision like when you bought certain high-value goods (Eg: TCS 206C(1H)).
4. Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax: Payments, you made yourself, quarter by quarter or before filing.
5. Refunds: If the department sent money back to you.
6. TDS/TCS Defaults

Previously, high‑value transactions like property purchases showed up here, but now appear only in AIS (we will talk about it little later). Basically, this is the chief source your tax department uses to verify what you claim on your return.

How to check Form 26AS:

1. Visit the official income tax e‑filing portal and sign in using your PAN.

2. Now, head to the “e‑file” menu, then choose “Income Tax Returns”.

3. Click “View Form 26AS”.

4. You will land on the TRACES site accept the disclaimer, then choose the assessment year and format (HTML or PDF) to view or download.

Properly review and check your Form 26AS. In many cases, this simple step would prevent a mismatch notice.

Annual Information Statement (AIS): Your Detailed Financial Report

Form 26AS has been the reliable old friend for many of us, but it is presented to you in one easy 2 read document. Therefore, the Annual Information Statement (AIS) was introduced.

This concise document was introduced in 2021 as a high-definition, panoramic view of your entire financial life, by the tax authorities. It includes everything that was in Form 26AS with sophisticated presentation which give far more detailed view of your income and financial transactions.

It includes:

• Interest income: from savings accounts, fixed deposits, recurring deposits, even refund interest.
• Dividends from stocks.
• Securities transactions: buying or selling stocks, mutual funds or bonds.           
• Specified Financial Transactions (SFT): High-value transactions reported by banks, institutes, etc.
• Tax Payments
• Demand & Refund

AIS is interactive. You can respond if something is duplicated, missing or just not yours. You leave feedback and set things right before they become a problem.

How to Access AIS:

1. Again, open your Income Tax profile on official income tax e‑filing portal.

2. Click on “AIS”.

3. This will take you to the Compliance Portal, where you can access the AIS along with the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) in pdf form. You can also download the CSV file as well.

TIS: Summary for Tax Filing

While the AIS gives you every single transaction line by line, the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) neatly organizes and summarizes this information under specific income heads. You will see consolidated figures (see the image attached) for categories like Salary, Interest Income, Dividend Income and Capital Gains. This makes your initial review incredibly fast and efficient. Your workflow should be to first glance at the TIS.

Like does the interest income figure match your own calculations? What is the amount of capital receipt?

See TIS and AIS both. More importantly, the figures you see in the TIS & AIS are what the income tax portal often uses to pre-fill your ITR form.

Step of Verification – Why You MUST Reconcile

If the income you declare in your income tax return differs with the information available with the Income Tax Department has from its various sources (the one which is in your AIS and Form 26AS), you will receive an intimation.

This is why you should always double-check your records:

• Claim all your tax credits accurately: If a tax credit is not mentioned in your Form 26AS, the income tax department won’t accept your claim.
• Avoiding Under-reporting Income: Don’t forget to report all your income, including interest and dividends, to avoid penalties. The tax department’s system tracks these sources and if you miss them, they will notice.
• Catch and Correct Errors: You can spot mistakes made by the people who reported your income (like your employer or bank) and get them corrected timely.

The statements are essential so check and make sure your tax return filed is correct.

A Step-by-Step Checklist Before Filing Your Return

Follow these simple steps:

• Begin with downloading your Form 26AS for the current assessment year.
• Download AIS and TIS as well.
• Note all details TDS, TCS, refunds and advance/self‑assessment tax in Form 26AS.
• Check AIS for income details including interest, dividends, securities, rent and high‑value transactions.
• Compare with your bank statements, Form 16 (salary data), investment summaries, rent receipts, other documents and check ultimate tax checklist.
• Try to identify any missing credits and duplicated entries.
• Ask deductors to correct TDS/TCS errors or file revised statements.
• For AIS, submit feedback for any issues.
• Read the income tax guide for beginners.
• File your ITR accurately reflecting all verified data.
• Keep a record of all references for corrections and submissions.

Why a Tax Adviser is Important?

You are capable of checking these things yourself and file your own ITR. But a professional tax adviser bring knowledge and experience to the entire ITR process:

• They will carefully cross-check your records bank statements, Form 16, investment documents against Form 26AS, AIS & TIS.
• They know how to manage disputes, when necessary, whether with deductors or on the department portal.
• If a notice arrives, they guide how to respond to notices clearly and legally gathering documents, drafting replies and representing you.
• They review everything holistically and making sure income is correctly classified under the right head to avoid dangerous ITR filing mistakes.

After all, it is about being accurate, compliant and confident.

Final Thoughts:

Do you need to file ITR? Take a few minutes to check your Form 26AS, AIS & TIS first before you click “Submit” on your return. If everything OK, you can hit “submit”. If not, a little proactive effort now saves you a lot later.

By doing so, you are securing your financial well-being and making sure your story matches the one the government has on record. If you need any tax related guidance and ITR filing services, contact Master Brains today!