How to Download Form 26AS and AIS from Income Tax Portal 2026

Before filing your ITR for FY 2025-26, you must download and verify Form 26AS and AIS (Annual Information Statement). These two documents show everything the Income Tax Department knows about your income — and any mismatch between your ITR and these documents will trigger an automatic notice under Section 143(1).

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS (now called Form 168 under the Income Tax Act 2025) is your annual tax credit statement. It shows:

TDS deducted by your employer, bank, clients, and others
Advance tax paid by you
Self-assessment tax paid
Refunds received
High-value transactions reported by banks and registrars

Think of it as your tax passbook — every rupee of tax deducted on your behalf is recorded here.

What is AIS (Annual Information Statement)?

AIS is a more comprehensive document introduced in 2021. It shows:

Salary income
Interest income (savings, FD, RD)
Dividend income
Capital gains (stocks, mutual funds, property)
Rent received
Foreign remittances
GST turnover
Purchase of property, vehicles, and other high-value assets

The Income Tax Department collects this data from banks, brokers, mutual fund houses, registrars, and other sources. If your ITR does not match AIS, you will receive a notice.

How to Download Form 26AS

Method 1: From the Income Tax Portal (Recommended)

Go to incometax.gov.in
Login with your PAN and password
Click on e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS
You will be redirected to the TRACES portal
Select the Assessment Year (2026-27 for FY 2025-26)
Choose View As → HTML (to view online) or PDF (to download)
Click Export as PDF to download

The PDF is password-protected. The password is your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format (e.g., 15061990 for June 15, 1990).

Method 2: From Your Bank's Net Banking

Most major banks (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak) allow you to download Form 26AS directly from their net banking portal:

Login to your bank's net banking
Look for Tax or Income Tax section
Click on View Form 26AS
Select the assessment year and download

Method 3: From TRACES Website

Go to tdscpc.gov.in
Login with your PAN, date of birth, and password
Go to Taxpayer → View Form 26AS
Select the year and download

How to Download AIS

Login to incometax.gov.in
Go to Services → Annual Information Statement (AIS)
Click on AIS tab
Select the financial year (2025-26)
Click Download → choose PDF or JSON format

The AIS PDF is password-protected. The password is your PAN in lowercase + date of birth (e.g., abcde1234f15061990).

What to Check in Form 26AS

TDS Credits

Verify that all TDS deducted by your employer, bank, and clients is correctly reflected. Common issues:

Employer has deducted TDS but not deposited it (shows as "Unmatched")
Bank has deducted TDS on FD interest but used wrong PAN
Client has deducted TDS but filed wrong PAN

If TDS is missing, contact the deductor and ask them to correct their TDS return.

Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax

Verify that all tax payments you made are reflected. If a payment is missing, check the challan number and contact your bank.

High-Value Transactions

Form 26AS shows transactions above certain thresholds:

Cash deposits above ₹10L in a year
Property purchases above ₹30L
Credit card payments above ₹1L (cash) or ₹10L (total)

These are reported by banks and registrars. If you have such transactions, ensure they are explained in your ITR.

What to Check in AIS

Salary Income

Should match your Form 16. If there is a discrepancy, check with your employer.

Interest Income

AIS shows interest from all banks and NBFCs. Many taxpayers forget to report FD interest from banks other than their primary bank. AIS catches this.

Capital Gains

AIS shows capital gains from:

Equity shares (from your broker)
Mutual funds (from AMCs)
Property sales (from registrar)

Cross-check with your broker's capital gains statement. Discrepancies are common when the broker uses a different calculation method.

Dividends

AIS shows dividends from all companies and mutual funds. These are taxable at your slab rate.

How to Respond to AIS Discrepancies

If you find incorrect information in AIS:

Click on the information item in AIS
Click Feedback
Select the reason (e.g., "Income is not taxable", "Duplicate entry", "Amount is incorrect")
Submit your feedback

Your feedback is recorded but does not automatically change AIS. The department reviews feedback and may update AIS. Always file your ITR based on your actual income, not the incorrect AIS figure.

AIS vs Form 26AS — Which to Use?

Document	Use For
Form 26AS	Verifying TDS credits, advance tax, refunds
AIS	Verifying all income sources before filing ITR

Use both. Form 26AS for TDS verification, AIS for income verification.

Common Mistakes

Not downloading AIS before filing — The most common reason for 143(1) notices
Ignoring FD interest — Banks report all FD interest to AIS; not reporting it in ITR triggers a notice
Not verifying capital gains — Broker statements and AIS sometimes differ; always reconcile
Forgetting dividend income — Dividends from all companies are in AIS

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is AIS updated?

AIS is updated periodically as banks, brokers, and other institutions file their reports. It is typically complete by May-June for the previous financial year.

What if Form 26AS shows TDS that I did not receive?

This means the deductor has filed TDS but you have not received the corresponding income. This could be an error by the deductor. Contact them to correct their TDS return.

Can I file ITR if AIS shows income I did not earn?

Yes. File your ITR based on your actual income and submit feedback on AIS explaining the discrepancy. Keep documentation to support your position.

Is Form 26AS the same as Form 168?

Under the Income Tax Act 2025 (effective April 1, 2026), Form 26AS is now called Form 168. The content is the same. The portal may show either name depending on the assessment year.

Confused about what to report in your ITR? I cross-check Form 26AS and AIS for every client before filing. Message me on WhatsApp — ITR-1 starting ₹399.