Importance Of Form 26AS: All the employees who pay income tax are definitely aware of Form 16. They know that Form-16 received from their employer is required to file an income tax return. If you get your return filed by a chartered accountant, then they also ask you for Form 16 first. But there is another form, which is necessary to check before filing the return. This important document is your Form 26AS, which is prepared with the Income Tax Department.
Form 26AS is an annual tax statement, which is kept with the Income Tax Department and is prepared separately for each taxpayer. This form contains details of the income of each taxpayer during the entire year and the information about the TDS and tax collection collected from them. If you are a taxpayer, then by downloading your Form 26AS you can see all the details including your salary, income from business and profession and interest received from banks. This detail is provided to the Income Tax Department through the returns filed every three months by all employers, tax deductors collectors and banking institutions. Apart from this, Form 26AS also includes information about tax deductions made during the purchase and sale of immovable property and virtual digital assets.
Also read; ITR Filing: Choose The Correct Form To File Income Tax Return; Avoid These Common Mistakes
Form 26AS is important during income tax filing because the information related to your income and tax deduction given in it should match the details filled in your income tax return. The figure of income filled by salaried people in ITR or the amount of turnover or sales mentioned by businessmen and professionals in their returns should match the total amount paid/credit given in Form 26 AS. Similarly, the TDS deduction mentioned by you in your ITR should also be there in your Form 26AS. This ensures that you have reported your income and tax credit details correctly.
If this is not done, then the Income Tax Department may ask you for clarification or explanation. If the details filled in your ITR and the details of Form 26AS are the same, then not only will it help in claiming tax credit, but the processing of returns and refunds will also be quick. Although you can download Form 26AS through the Income Tax Portal or Net Banking at any time during the entire financial year, it is best to see it after June 15, because by this time most tax deductors, tax collectors banks, etc., have filed their returns.
In the last few years, many tasks of the Income Tax Department have become automated due to the Centralized Processing System (CPC). For example, processing the Income Tax Return (ITR), processing the refund by cross-checking/verifying it with Form 26AS, tax audit report, etc. If any mismatch is found during this cross-checking, the automated system automatically issues a notice. Therefore, it is better to cross-check all the details with Form 26AS before filing the return, so that no new problems arise during its processing.
The step-by-step process to download Form 26AS is as follows:
Step 1: Log in to the e-filing portal - incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.
Step 2: Go to 'e-file'> Income Tax Returns and click on 'View Form 26AS.
Step 3: Read the disclaimer and click on 'Confirm'.
Step 4: The user will be redirected to the TDS-CPC portal.
Step 5: Click on 'Proceed' after entering consent on 'acceptance of usage' on the TDS-CPC portal
Step 6: Click on 'View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)'
Step 7: Select 'Assessment Year' and 'View type' (HTML, Text or PDF)
Step 8: Click on 'View / Download'
If you want to export the statement, you can first click on HTML and then click on 'Export as PDF'.
