AIS and Form 26AS reconciliation
The tax department already knows a great deal about your income. Reconciliation compares what the Annual Information Statement and Form 26AS report with your own records and your return, explains each difference, and corrects what needs correcting before it becomes a notice.
Scope
What the work covers
Form 26AS is the statement of tax credits: TDS and TCS deposited against your PAN, advance tax and self-assessment tax. The Annual Information Statement (AIS) is much wider. It brings in interest, dividends, mutual fund and share transactions, property purchases, foreign remittances and other information reported by banks, registrars and other parties.
Returns are now processed against this data automatically. If the income in a return is lower than AIS, or a TDS credit is claimed that does not appear in Form 26AS, the result is usually a demand, a reduced refund or a notice. Most of these differences have an ordinary explanation; the work is to find it, document it and act on it.
- Line-by-line matching of Form 26AS TDS and TCS credits with books, Form 16/16A and bank statements
- Matching AIS interest, dividends and securities transactions with the income actually offered to tax
- Identifying duplicate, incorrect or wrongly reported AIS entries and filing feedback on the portal
- Tracing missing TDS credits with deductors who quoted a wrong PAN or filed late
- Capital gains working from broker and mutual fund statements, lot by lot
- Reconciliation before filing the return, and review of intimations after processing
- Replies to notices on income mismatch, and advice on whether an updated return is the better course
Approach
How the work is done
Collect the three views
AIS, Taxpayer Information Summary and Form 26AS are downloaded for the year, together with books, bank statements and broker reports.
Match and classify
Each entry is matched to a source record and classified: agreed, timing difference, reported twice, wrongly attributed, or genuinely omitted. Python-based matching is used for large statements, with every exception reviewed by a chartered accountant.
Correct at the right end
Wrong AIS entries are addressed through portal feedback; missing TDS is followed up with the deductor; genuine omissions are included in the return.
Document the result
A reconciliation schedule is kept with the return so that any later query from the department can be answered quickly with evidence.
Getting started
Records to keep ready
- Income tax portal login, or downloaded AIS, TIS and Form 26AS
- Bank statements and interest certificates for all accounts
- Broker contract notes, capital gains statements and mutual fund consolidated account statements
- Form 16 and Form 16A received during the year
- Books of account, for business and professional taxpayers
Background
The practice has built its own reconciliation tooling for AIS and Form 26AS, so large volumes of interest, dividend and securities entries can be matched quickly and every difference is listed for professional review. See experience and expertise.
Fees
Fees depend on the scope of work, the volume and condition of records and the time required, and are confirmed in writing in an engagement letter before work begins.
Questions about AIS and Form 26AS reconciliation
What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?
Form 26AS shows tax credits: TDS, TCS, advance tax and self-assessment tax paid against your PAN. AIS covers a much wider range of reported information, including interest, dividends, securities and mutual fund transactions, property purchases and foreign remittances, whether or not tax was deducted on them.
Why does AIS show more interest than my bank certificate?
Common reasons are interest reported on accrual rather than on payment, the same deposit reported by two branches, interest on a joint account reported in full against each holder, or a closed account still being reported. Each needs to be checked against the bank record before deciding what to report.
What should I do if AIS has a wrong entry?
File feedback against the entry on the income tax portal, stating whether the information is incorrect, duplicate, belongs to another person or relates to another year. The reporting entity is then asked to confirm or correct it. Keep the evidence, because feedback does not by itself remove the entry.
What happens if TDS is not reflected in Form 26AS?
Credit for TDS is generally allowed only to the extent it appears in Form 26AS. If the deductor quoted a wrong PAN or has not filed the TDS statement, the deductor needs to file or correct it. Until then the credit may be denied when the return is processed.
Is it worth filing an updated return for an AIS mismatch?
Where income was genuinely omitted from an earlier return, an updated return can regularise it with additional tax, which is usually better than waiting for a notice. Whether it is the right course depends on the amounts, the year and whether proceedings have already begun, so it should be decided case by case.
Contact
Phone +91 95384 16161 or email ryan@vazassociates.in. Office opposite Maxus Mall, L.T. Road, Borivali West, Mumbai 400092. Work can also be handled remotely.