Form 26AS
What Form 26AS means, where you will meet it and what it means for your business.
DefinitionForm 26AS is your consolidated annual tax statement on the income tax portal, showing all TDS and TCS credited against your PAN, advance tax paid, refunds and high-value transactions.
Whenever someone deducts tax on a payment to you, an employer, a client, a bank on interest, or a buyer of your property, the deduction reaches Form 26AS once their TDS return is processed. It also lists the advance tax and self-assessment tax you paid and any refund issued. You meet it while filing your ITR, because the credit you claim for TDS must match what appears here; a mismatch delays your refund or produces a demand. What it means for you: check it in June before filing and again if a client's payment is missing. If a deductor has not filed their return or has quoted the wrong PAN, the credit will not show, and you have to chase them for a correction. Since 2021, the AIS gives the fuller picture and 26AS the tax credits.