How Income Tax Authorities Track Your Income and Taxes Paid (TDS) - Form 26 AS

Do you know that Income Tax authorities have your income data and taxes paid data even before you file your returns ? It might sound shocking at first but the fact remains -

Even before you file your returns, Income Tax authorities know your earned income and taxes paid / remaining to be paid on that income.

They get all this data from various sources like - your employer, your banks, etc. Below is an example of how it works.

So now there is one more reason to be diligent and honest while filing our income tax returns. To do so, understanding of Form 26as becomes crucial because this document contains important details on taxes which have already been paid (TDS) to government on your behalf. So let us understand more about Form 26as -

What is Form 26as

Form 26as is provided by the income tax department to all tax payers. It contains -

  • Details of income earned (income which is linked through your PAN number).
    Examples: Salary, Pension Income, Fixed Deposit Interests etc.

  • Details of all the taxes that have been paid to government on behalf of you.
    Examples:

    • Salary that we get in hand comes to us after our employer deducts appropriate taxes on it. These taxes are then submitted to government. This is called TDS (Tax deducted at source) and gets reported in Form 26as.

    • Interest from Fixed Deposits in a particular bank, if exceeding Rs 10000/- in a year, will come to us only after the bank deducts TDS on it. This TDS is also reported in Form 26as

So if you are a salaried employee, Form 26as will contain monthly details on the salary being paid to you and taxes deducted at source by your employer. Similarly, if you are earning interest on FDs, Form 26as will contain details on the interest being paid to you and taxes deducted at source by your bank on FD interest.

How to view Form 26as

We can view Form 26as online on the IncomeTaxIndia Website. One needs to have an account here to access Form 26as. You can register on the website by providing some basic information. After logging into the account, you will be redirected to the TDS-CPC website to view Form 26AS (Tax Credit Statement). There all you have to do is select the assessment year after which you will get to see the details about your salary, interest earned on FDs in various banks and tax deducted at source for these incomes.

How to Read Form 26AS

There are many sections in Form 26as which can appear quite confusing. But its not as difficult as it seems. Lets see -

Part A : Details of Tax Deducted at Source This is the most commonly used section. It shows details of TDS deducted from our salary and from our interest income.

Part A1: Details of Tax Deducted at Source for 15G / 15H This section shows details of such incomes which have not been taxed because you had provided Form 15G / 15H for the same. Read more on: Form 15G / 15H and how to submit them online

Part B: Details of Tax Collected at Source Tax Collected at Source (TCS) is income tax collected by seller from payer on sale of certain items which include liquor, timber, minerals, scrap, etc. So if you have not collected any tax through above then no need to see this section.

Part C: Details of Tax Paid (other than TDS or TCS) It shows details of "Advance Tax or Self Assessment Tax" which if you don't pay, you won't see any entry in this section.

Part D: Details of Paid Refund It shows details of any refund paid to you by Income Tax Department in that year.

Part E: Details of AIR Transaction It shows details of some high value transactions, such as investment in property. These high value transactions are reported to the income tax department by banks / other authorities through Annual Information Return (AIR).

Category: finance income-tax

Comments

  • Mrs. Munmun Datta
    18 Dec 14
    To my surprise, I find that a few Tax Free Bonds are shown in Part-E (AIR) of Form-26AS for my PAN. I do not have any taxable income and I did not purchase these bonds. These bonds were possibly purchased my husband from his retirement benefits. Kindly suggest me action to be taken and possible action from IT Dept. if no action is taken from my end.
    - Munmun Datta, Email: muni.datta@yahoo.in
  • S K jain
    10 Nov 14
    i am a senior citizen.i have FDs in Banks for which i have not submitted 15H as my income from Fds exceeds 5Lacs. But TDS being deducted will be more than the double of my likely income tax due.Is there a way out that i may not have to pay so much TDS and later claim refund for more than my total tax due.
  • neha
    22 Nov 14
    I dont think there is any way out other than applying for refund.
  • rakesh kumar jain
    27 Sep 14
    In the article it mentioned:

    Part A1: Details of Tax Deducted at Source for 15G / 15H This section shows details of such incomes which have not been taxed because you had provided Form 15G / 15H for the same.

    The heading of Part A1 is: Details of Tax Deducted at Source for 15G / 15H

    But description mentions: This section shows details of such incomes which have not been taxed because you had provided Form 15G / 15H for the same.

    So, heading does not match with description. If description is correct then heading must be: Details of income not been taxed because 15G/!5H submitted.

    Kindly comment.
  • neha
    29 Sep 14
    Its just word play.
    Part A1 : Details of TDS for 15G / 15H will have zero TDS in all the rows because you have submitted 15G/15H. This section helps you to track the interest gain which has not been taxed.

    Hope I clarified.
  • Sourav
    25 Jul 14
    I did submit Form 15g to my bank indicating it not to deduct TDS in April 2013. But I got a job in July 2014, and my bank has not deducted TDS. Now I have to pay tax because my total income exceeds the 3L. If I see form 26AS, i am not able to find any details about the 15g form that I had submitted. Also in my ITR-1 form in the section 'Income from other sources' should match the number specified in form 26AS?
  • neha
    23 Aug 14
    Yes, I have also observed that many times 15G section is empty. Anyway, irrespective of that, just make sure to pay income tax on your interest income. You can pay income tax on interest even if it is not visible in form 26as.