If you haven’t yet linked your PAN with Aadhaar, do it before December 31. If your PAN is found unlinked to Aadhaar by December 31, 2025, your PAN card will become inoperative and this will directly impact your income, investments, and tax refunds, according to tax-filing platform TaxBuddy.
In a social media post on ‘X’ (previously Twitter), TaxBuddy said, “Your PAN card will be deactivated from Jan 1 2026. No ITR filing. No refunds. Even your salary credit or SIP could fail.”
Why is PAN-Aadhaar linking necessary?
The government has made it mandatory to link PAN and Aadhaar to make the tax system transparent and accountable.
The CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) has clarified that those who have a PAN card issued before July 1, 2017, must link it to their Aadhaar.
Additionally, those who will receive their PAN card by October 1, 2025, will also need to complete this process before December 31, 2025.
For those who have applied for a new PAN after July 1, 2025, the linking process would have been completed automatically during the application process.
What if you don’t link your PAN by December 31, 2025?
If you don’t link your PAN and Aadhaar before the deadline, your PAN will become inoperative from January 1, 2026. This can have serious consequences, according to TaxBuddy.
-You won’t be able to file your ITR
-Processing and refunds for previously filed returns will be halted
-TDS/TCS information will not be reflected in your Form 26AS
-Higher TDS/TCS may be applicable
-Bank transactions, investments, or SIPs may be disrupted
-You won’t be able to make stock market, mutual fund, or KYC updates
However, if you later link your PAN with Aadhaar, your PAN will be reactivated within 30 days.
Will your money or investments be lost?
No, your existing bank accounts or investments will remain safe.
But if your PAN is deactivated, you will:
You won’t be able to make new investments and start or stop SIPs. You won’t be allowed to perform transactions like buying and selling shares. KYC updates won’t be possible in banks or mutual funds. This means your money won’t go anywhere, but your financial activities will be halted until your PAN is reactivated.
Who is required to link?
According to the Finance Ministry’s April 2025 notification, those who obtained a PAN using their Aadhaar Enrolment ID before October 1, 2024,
are required to share their Aadhaar number with the tax department by December 31, 2025. This rule applies to all individual taxpayers.
How to link PAN and Aadhaar?
The process of linking PAN and Aadhaar is very simple.
All you need to do is visit the Income Tax Department’s website — https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/
Step-by-step process:
-Visit the website and click on the “Link Aadhaar” option.
-Enter your PAN and Aadhaar numbers.
-Press the ‘Validate’ button.
-The information will be sent to UIDAI.
-Complete OTP verification if required.
The request process may take approximately 4–5 days.
Conclusion
The government has extended the PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline several times in the past. Only the time will tell if the government extends the deadline again or not. But if you haven’t done PAN-Aadhaar linking yet, don’t wait until the last minute.