How to View and Download Form 26AS ?

Form 26AS or Annual statement gives consolidated details related to tax (TDS, TCS and refund etc) which is associated with the PAN. It is governed by Section 203AA, Rule 31AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Strucute of Form 26AS

Form 26AS encompasses multiple parts viz. Part A, A1 and B, C, D and E.

Form 26AS Part A 

This part gives details about the TDS deducted from the salary/ pension income and from the interest generated from the investments.

Form 26AS Part A1 

This part gives details about the TDS from Form 15G/15H which highlights transactions in banks and other financial institutions where one has submitted Form 15G/15H. Since the individual has submitted the form 15G/15H, his tax deducted would be zero. One can easily track the details about the earned interest which has not been taxed.

Form 26AS Part A2

This part gives details about the TDS on the sale of house property. It shows TDS credit on seller’s head. For FY 2019-20, the rate of TDS which is applicable to proceeds on the sale of a property is 1%.

Form 26AS Part B 

It encompasses the details of Tax Collected at Source(TCS). TCS is the tax which is collected during the sale of a specified category of goods (like toll plaza, liquor, parking lot etc.). The seller collects it from the buyer and deposits it with the government on a quarterly basis.

Part C: This part encompasses details about the tax paid like advance tax or self-assessment tax apart from TDS or TCS.

Part D: It encompasses details about the paid refunds- both for which you applied for and the ones you received.

Part E: It contains the details about the Annual Information Return (AIR) transactions. The income tax department is put to notice about any high-value transactions like investments in mutual funds, purchase of property etc by banks and other authorities through AIR.

Importance of Dorm 26AS

Form 26AS consists of a consolidated statement of income sources (salary, income from investments, consultancy, pension etc) and the tax amount submitted with the IT department as TDS/TCS. It is one important document as it contains vital details related to tax.

• Form 26AS is important for both the government as well as the citizens.
• It shows if the TDS statement has been filed correctly by the employer and if the TCS is accurately filed by the collector.
• It lets one check if the tax deducted or collected has been timely deposited in the Income Tax department.
• It allows one to compute income and verify the tax credits before ITR is filed.
• It also gives information about the Annual Information Return (AIR). Banks file AIR if more than 10 lakhs has been deposited in a savings account or if investment in mutual funds crosses Rs. 2 lakh.

Thus, if one has filed Form 26AS then there isn’t any requirement for attaching the TDS certificate with the ITR. If there are no income tax dues reflecting in the Form 26AS, the taxpayer can claim the credit of his taxes.

Availability of Form 26AS

• It can be downloaded from The Income Tax Department e-filing website at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. To do so,

1. Visit the website and log in.
2. From under the ‘My Account’ or ‘Quick Links’ section, click on ‘View Form 26AS (Tax Credit)’ button.
3. TDS-CPC website will open from where one can view and download the form.
4. Choose the Assessment Year. 

• Register at TRACES of Income Tax Department and download the form.
• It can also be taken from authorized banks but it requires PAN card linked to the banked account for download. The various authorized banks which provide the form are:

 

Allahabad Bank	ICICI Bank	Yes Bank
Andhra Bank	IDBI Bank	State Bank of India
Axis Bank	Indian Bank	HDFC Bank
Bank of Baroda	Indian Overseas Bank	Syndicate Bank
Bank of India	IndusInd Bank	Federal Bank
Bank of Maharashtra	Karnataka Bank	Karur Vysya Bank
Canara Bank	Kotak Mahindra Bank	UCO Bank
Central Bank of India	Oriental Bank of Commerce	Union Bank of India
City Union Bank	Punjab National Bank	South Indian Bank
Corporation Bank	Punjab & Sind Bank

 

Apart from cross-checking the income tax-related data, the Form 26AS makes the filing of Income Tax Return easily as it encompasses consolidated details related to the TDS and TCS.

Downloading Form 26AS from Traces

Form 26AS can be downloaded from TRACES website or by availing net banking of authorized banks.

Step 1: Visit the website (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in).
Step 2: To login, enter your PAN number as User ID, password and the captcha code.
Step 3: Click on ‘My Account’  and ‘View Form 26AS’.
Step 4: Click on Confirm. You will be redirected to TRACES website.
Step 5: Click on Agree and then Proceed.
Step 6: To view form 26AS, click on ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS).
Step 7: Select the Assessment Year for which you want to download the tax statement. Also, choose the format in which you want to download. Click on ‘View/Download’ button.
Step 8: The document is password protected. The password of your Form 26AS is your DOB in DDMMYYY format.

Things to Verify-in Your TDS Certificate with Form 26AS

To confirm that the tax deducted from your income has been deposited with the government, Form 26 AS must be cross-checked and verified with TDS certificate.

• Double-check details of your name, PAN, TAN of the deductor, refund amount paid to you, and TDS amount on Form 26AS. Ensure that there is no mismatch as these details are vital from a taxation point of view.
• Verify if the deductor has filed the deducted TDS with the government. In case of default, get the filing of TDS and submission of tax at the earliest.
• Check if the TDS which is mentioned in Form 16/16A is also shown in Form 26AS correctly. In case of mismatch, you need to put the matter in the knowledge of concerned deductor to check if your TDS has been deposited with the IT department of the government.

Why is the TDS Certificate (Form 16/16A) required with Form 26AS?

Though it may seem that both these form bears the same information, both are important in their own right.

Form 26AS was introduced so that the taxpayer can double-check and verify the details which are mentioned in Form 16/16A to maintain clarity. With both these forms in hand, one can cross-check the details and in case of any mismatch take the appropriate action.

For salaried individuals, Form 16 is a necessary requirement as it encompasses the breakup of their income and deductions. Thus, Form 16 is required along Form 26AS.