AIS and Form 26AS Mismatch: Fix It Before It Triggers a Notice

The single most common reason for a Section 143(1) demand, a delayed refund, or a defective-return notice is a mismatch between your ITR and the department's own records. Those records now come primarily from the Annual Information Statement (AIS), not just Form 26AS. Reconciling them before you file is the highest-return thing you can do.

Why this matters more than ever

The e-filing portal auto-processes returns and has no tolerance for mismatches. If your broker reports a capital gain, your bank reports FD interest, or a company reports a dividend, and your ITR does not include it, the system adds it under Section 143(1) and raises a demand. The old habit of checking only Form 26AS leaves a large blind spot, because 26AS shows mainly TDS, while AIS shows income from dozens of sources.

AIS vs Form 26AS vs TIS, in plain terms

Form 26AS is the authoritative record of TDS, TCS and advance tax, use it to verify your tax credits. AIS is a much broader statement aggregating income from many sources (interest, dividends, capital gains, and more), use it to check your income is complete. TIS is a category-wise summary of AIS, and it is what the "pre-fill" button pulls into your ITR. If TIS is wrong, your pre-filled return is wrong.

The three-way check before you file

Download Form 26AS (from the portal or TRACES) and AIS/TIS (from the portal). Match your Form 16 TDS to Form 26AS quarter by quarter, then compare every income category in TIS against your own records, salary slips, bank interest certificates, broker and mutual fund statements. The most commonly missed entry in salaried returns is savings-bank and FD interest, which the bank reports to AIS whether or not you remember it.

Using the AIS feedback tool

If AIS shows something wrong, for example income that is not yours because your PAN was misquoted, or a gross figure where only net is taxable, do not just ignore it. Use the AIS feedback facility on the portal to mark the entry (for example, "information relates to other person or year") and give the correct position. Corrections can take time to reflect, so if the deadline is near, file with the correct figures supported by your documents and keep proof of the feedback you submitted.

Get your reconciliation done right

A clean three-way reconciliation is a few hours of careful work that prevents the most common notices and refund delays. If you would rather have a CA do it and file a return that matches the department's records, our Income Tax & ITR filing service includes this reconciliation as standard. Get a free consultation.