Verifying your TDS on 26AS can prevent a notice later

Taxes can be paid in various forms, such as, TDS, advance tax or self-assessment tax.

May 1, 2012 22:05 IST

Taxes can be paid in various forms, such as, TDS, advance tax or self-assessment tax. The tax paid should ideally match with the income-tax department?s records to avoid any unnecessary questioning later. It could be possible that inadvertently tax were not deposited or correct PAN, etc, were not mentioned in the TDS returns, which could result in a notice from tax department, asking for you to pay additional taxes. To avoid such issues, the income-tax department has put in place a system of Form 26AS by which you can verify your tax credit details before submitting the tax return. If used regularly, taxpayers can ensure that there is no mismatch of data.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a statement that provides details of taxes paid against your PAN in any financial year. The form is divided into three parts:

Part A: TDS by your employer, bank, etc. These details should generally match with Form 16/Form 16A issued to you.

Part B: Taxes collected at source

Part C; Advance tax/self-assessment tax paid.

How to access Form 26AS?

You can view the tax credit statement, i.e., Form 26AS, by registering your PAN at http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in. After successful login and filling the verification details, you can view the tax credit details for any financial year. The same can also be accessed by registering the PAN with NSDL or through net banking facility offered by some banks.

A regular review of Form 26AS ensures that taxes are correctly deposited against your PAN. In case of any mismatch, the taxpayer can request the employer/bank, to take corrective measures to avoid any demand notice from the department. If the Form 26AS amount matches with the amount in your personal tax return, it may also lead to faster processing of your return and issue of refunds, if any.

Corrective measures

In case of a mismatch, taxpayers can immediately request the employer/bank to revise the TDS returns. If you have paid the taxes as advance tax/self-assessment tax, then you need to intimate the bankers who may have defaulted in uploading the data with the tax department. You should keep following up with your employer/bank, so that correction is made in the system. Alternatively, you should get a letter from them with details of tax deduction account number, reasons for the mistake, etc, to justify your case if a demand is raised later.

The author is director, tax & regulatory services, KPMG

This article was first uploaded on May one, twenty twelve, at five minutes past ten in the night.