AIS vs Form 26AS vs TIS: What to Check Before Filing Your ITR for AY 2026-27

Most ITR notices for individual taxpayers come from one cause: a mismatch between what the taxpayer reported and what the Income Tax Department already knows. The Department's data sources are Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement (AIS), and the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS). Reconciling these three before you file is the single most effective way to avoid post-filing trouble.

This guide explains what each statement shows, how to access them, the order in which to use them, the critical rule on TDS credit claims, and the upcoming change as Form 26AS becomes Form 168 from Tax Year 2026-27.

What Each Statement Actually Shows

Form 26AS: The Tax Credit Statement

Form 26AS is the official Annual Tax Statement. Since AY 2023-24, its scope was narrowed to focus on tax credits. For AY 2026-27 it shows:

• TDS deducted on your salary, interest, professional fees, rent, sale of property, and any other receipt where the deductor filed Form 24Q, 26Q, 27Q, or 27EQ
• TCS collected by sellers under Section 206C
• Advance tax and self-assessment tax paid by you, with challan details
• Refunds issued by the Department in earlier years
• High-value transactions reported via SFT (Statement of Financial Transactions) up to FY 2022-23 (the SFT data has shifted to AIS from FY 2023-24 onwards)

What Form 26AS does NOT show (since the 2023 restructuring):

• Mutual fund redemption proceeds
• Dividends from listed equity (these now appear in AIS)
• GST turnover declared by you
• Bank interest above Rs 5,000 (now in AIS)
• Property sale or purchase details
• Foreign remittances under LRS

AIS: The Annual Information Statement

AIS was rolled out by CBDT in November 2021 and has since become the primary source of financial information. For AY 2026-27 it captures:

• Salary income reported by your employer
• Interest from savings accounts, fixed deposits, recurring deposits, and bonds
• Dividends from listed and unlisted companies
• Mutual fund transactions (purchase, redemption, dividend)
• Securities transactions including capital gains
• Sale and purchase of property above the SFT threshold
• Foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme
• Cash deposits and withdrawals above SFT thresholds
• Credit card spending above SFT thresholds
• GST turnover declared in GSTR-3B

AIS shows the underlying transactions, not just the tax effect. That breadth is why AIS reconciliation is the longest part of pre-filing prep.

TIS: The Taxpayer Information Summary

TIS is an aggregated, simplified version of AIS. It groups individual transactions into category totals (e.g., total interest, total dividend, total capital gain) and adjusts for any feedback you have submitted on AIS entries.

The TIS feeds directly into the pre-fill in your ITR. When you log in to file, the salary, interest, dividend, and capital gain numbers that the portal pre-fills come from TIS, not Form 26AS.

Where to Access Each on the Portal

All three live behind the same login on incometax.gov.in.

Form 26AS

1. Log in to incometax.gov.in with PAN as user ID
2. Go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Form 26AS
3. You are redirected to the TRACES portal; agree to the disclaimer
4. Select Assessment Year, View As (HTML or PDF), and Verification ID

Alternative: log in to your bank's net banking portal, look for the View Tax Credit (Form 26AS) link, and follow the redirect to TRACES.

AIS and TIS

1. Log in to incometax.gov.in
2. Go to Services > Annual Information Statement (AIS)
3. AIS opens in a new tab; switch between AIS and TIS using the tab at the top
4. Download as JSON or PDF

The AIS portal also lets you submit feedback on entries: Information is correct, Income is not taxable, Information is duplicate, Information is denied, etc. Feedback flows back into TIS within 24 hours and adjusts the pre-fill.

The Critical Rule: TDS Claims Are Based on Form 26AS, Not AIS

This is the single most important rule in this guide.

You can only claim TDS credit for amounts that appear in Form 26AS. AIS data alone does not entitle you to a TDS claim.

Why this matters: AIS pulls data from multiple sources, including the deductor's reporting via TDS returns. If your bank deducted TDS on your fixed deposit interest but did not file (or filed incorrectly) the quarterly TDS return, the TDS may show in AIS as "TDS deducted" but it will not appear in Form 26AS. If you claim it in your ITR based on AIS, the Department's processing engine will flag the mismatch and disallow the credit.

What to Do If TDS Is in AIS But Not in Form 26AS

1. Contact the deductor. Ask them to verify the TDS return filed for the quarter and file a correction statement if needed. The deductor can file a revised TDS return through TRACES.
2. Wait for Form 26AS to update. Updates typically appear within 7-15 days after the deductor files a correction.
3. File your ITR after Form 26AS reflects the credit. If the deadline is approaching, file with the credit you can substantiate from Form 26AS. You can claim missing TDS later through a rectification request once Form 26AS is corrected.
4. Do not assume AIS data is canonical for tax credit purposes. It is not.

The Department has explicitly clarified this in its FAQs on AIS: AIS data is for information and reconciliation, but the legal source of TDS credit remains Form 26AS.

Common Reconciliation Mismatches That Trigger Notices

Once your return is filed, the Department's processing engine matches your declared income against AIS. Mismatches generate intimations under Section 143(1)(a), which can escalate to notices under Section 142(1) or Section 148 if not resolved.

The most common mismatches:

1. Interest Income Under-Reported

Banks report interest from savings accounts and FDs to the Department. Many taxpayers ignore savings bank interest below the Section 80TTA limit (Rs 10,000) and forget to declare FD interest from accounts they rarely check. If AIS shows total interest of Rs 28,000 and your return shows Rs 12,000, you will get an intimation.

2. Mutual Fund Redemption Proceeds Mistreated

Capital gains from mutual fund redemptions, ETFs, and equity sales are reported by RTAs (CAMS, KFintech) and depositories (NSDL, CDSL) directly to the Department. Reporting redemption value but not the capital gain (or vice versa), or claiming a wrong cost of acquisition, generates a query.

3. Dividend Income Missed

Dividends are now taxable in the hands of recipients. AIS captures every dividend credit. Forgetting a small dividend of Rs 1,500 from a side holding will surface in AIS reconciliation.

4. Multiple Form 16s Combined Wrongly

If you changed jobs during FY 2025-26, you have two Form 16s. Many taxpayers add the gross salary but accidentally claim the standard deduction (Rs 75,000) twice, once in each employer's exemption calculation. The portal cross-checks employer-wise data in AIS and flags this.

5. Property Sale Reported by Buyer But Not in Return

When you sell a property above the TDS threshold (Rs 50 lakh under Section 194-IA), the buyer files Form 26QB and the transaction appears in your Form 26AS and AIS. Forgetting to declare the capital gain triggers a notice. Similarly for property purchase, the buyer's own AIS captures the transaction.

6. Foreign Remittances Not Reconciled

LRS remittances above Rs 7 lakh trigger a TCS at 20% (with carve-outs for education and medical). The TCS shows in Form 26AS; the underlying remittance amount shows in AIS. Both must be visible and consistent.

7. GST Turnover Mismatch

For business income filers, GST turnover declared in GSTR-3B feeds into AIS. If your ITR business turnover is Rs 75 lakh but your GSTR-3B totals show Rs 1.05 crore, that is a Rs 30 lakh discrepancy the Department will query.

Recommended Reconciliation Sequence

Use this order. It saves time and catches errors before they harden.

1. Form 26AS first. Verify every TDS entry against your own records: Form 16 (employer), Form 16A (interest, professional fees), Form 16B (property sale TDS). If anything is missing or wrong, raise it with the deductor before doing anything else.
2. AIS next. Open the Annual Information Statement and walk through every category: salary, interest, dividend, securities, mutual funds, property, foreign remittance. Submit feedback for any incorrect entry (denied, duplicate, not taxable, etc.).
3. TIS last. Check the aggregated TIS values match what you plan to declare. If the pre-fill in your ITR comes in wrong, fix the underlying AIS feedback first; the pre-fill updates within 24 hours.
4. Reconcile against your own books. Bank statements, broker statements, mutual fund consolidated statements (CAS), salary slips, rent receipts.
5. File the return. Pre-fill data should match your records and your AIS feedback. If anything still does not match, declare correctly per your records and prepare to substantiate.

For the broader filing framework, see our ITR Filing Guide for AY 2026-27.

What Changes from Tax Year 2026-27: Form 168

Under the Income Tax Rules 2026, effective from April 1, 2026, the form numbering for several key documents changes. Form 26AS becomes Form 168.

Key points:

• The change applies to Tax Year 2026-27 onwards (i.e., income earned from April 1, 2026, and TDS/TCS for FY 2026-27 under the Income Tax Act 2025).
• For AY 2026-27 filing (FY 2025-26 income, returns due July 31, 2026), Form 26AS still applies. Do not look for Form 168 yet; it will not exist for this assessment year.
• The structure and purpose of Form 168 remain the same: an annual consolidated statement of TDS, TCS, advance tax, and self-assessment tax linked to your PAN.
• Other related renumberings: Form 16 becomes Form 130, Form 15G/15H merge into Form 121, tax audit forms 3CA/3CB/3CD consolidate into Form 26.

The transition is a renumbering, not a functional change. Workflows you build in 2026 (reconciliation habits, vendor checklists, software integrations) carry forward, with field labels updated.

For more on the new Act's broader effects, see our Income Tax Act 2025 explainer and the Form 130 transition guide.

Common Questions From AY 2026-27 Filers

What if AIS shows income I never received?

Submit feedback on the AIS entry: select Information is denied and provide a brief reason. The entry will not feed into your TIS pre-fill while the feedback is open. Keep documentation in case the Department asks for substantiation.

What if I find a transaction in AIS that is taxable in someone else's hands?

For example, joint bank interest where the other holder has reported it. Submit feedback as Information relates to other PAN/year and flag the correct PAN. The system handles this category cleanly when both holders submit consistent feedback.

How long does AIS feedback take to flow into pre-fill?

Typically 24 hours. If TIS does not update within 48 hours of submitting feedback, raise a grievance through the e-portal's Grievance section.

Should I use AIS or 26AS first if I am short on time?

Form 26AS first. TDS credit claims hinge on it. AIS is broader but slower to walk through. If you must file urgently and AIS reconciliation is incomplete, file based on Form 26AS plus your own books, and rectify later if needed.

Tax Garden Handles Reconciliation as Part of Filing

Reconciling Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS is one of the most time-consuming parts of ITR preparation, especially for taxpayers with multiple income sources, salary changes, or capital market activity. Tax Garden's tax compliance services include the full reconciliation cycle: verifying every TDS credit, walking through every AIS category, fixing mismatches with deductors, and filing accurately.

For pre-filing related guides, see our Section 80C deductions list and the old vs new tax regime decision guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS for AY 2026-27?

Form 26AS focuses on tax credits: TDS, TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, and refunds. AIS shows the broader financial picture: salary, interest, dividends, mutual fund transactions, property, foreign remittances, GST turnover. AIS does not replace Form 26AS for TDS credit claims; both must be checked.

Can I claim TDS credit if it shows in AIS but not Form 26AS?

No. TDS credit claims must be backed by Form 26AS. If TDS appears in AIS but not Form 26AS, contact the deductor to file a corrected TDS return. Once Form 26AS reflects the credit, you can claim it in your return (or rectify a filed return).

What is TIS and how is it different from AIS?

TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) is an aggregated, category-totalled version of AIS. It feeds directly into the pre-fill of your ITR. Submitting feedback on AIS entries adjusts the TIS within 24 hours, which then flows into the ITR pre-fill.

When does Form 168 replace Form 26AS?

From Tax Year 2026-27 onwards (i.e., income earned from April 1, 2026 under the Income Tax Act 2025). For AY 2026-27 returns being filed in 2026 (covering FY 2025-26 income), Form 26AS still applies. Form 168 will be generated for TDS and TCS for FY 2026-27.

What should I do if AIS shows incorrect income?

Submit feedback on the entry through the AIS portal. Options include: Information is correct, Information is denied, Information is duplicate, Information relates to other PAN, and Information is not taxable. The TIS adjusts within 24 hours; keep documentation in case of a follow-up query.

Does AIS show GST turnover for business filers?

Yes. From the FY 2023-24 AIS rollout, GST turnover declared in GSTR-3B is reported into the assessee's AIS. Business income filers (ITR-3, ITR-4) should reconcile their declared business turnover against AIS GST data before filing to avoid Section 143(1)(a) intimations.

Sources

This guide is verified against incometax.gov.in (AIS, TIS, and Form 26AS portal documentation, FAQ pages on Annual Information Statement), the Income Tax Department's CBDT circulars on AIS rollout (November 2021) and AIS feedback mechanism, the Income Tax Rules 2026 notification (Form 168 renumbering), and confirmatory coverage from ClearTax, Tax2Win, TaxBuddy, IndiaFilings, and Bajaj Finserv. For Form 168 specifics, refer to CBDT notifications under the Income Tax Rules 2026, effective April 1, 2026.