If you are about to file ITR, Form 26AS is one document you should not skip. It shows the tax credits the system has against your PAN, like TDS deducted by your employer or bank, TCS collected on certain spends, and taxes you paid directly. When a refund does not reflect or TDS appears to be missing, the issue can be visible in Form 26AS. It is also the quickest way to cross-check whether your tax credits are aligned before you rely on an income tax calculator and submit your return.
What Form 26AS is
Before you jump into steps like how to view form 26AS or how to download form 26AS, you should know what it is. Form 26As is described on the Income Tax e-filing portal as a consolidated annual information statement for a particular Financial Year that contains tax-credit related details.
In practical terms, you check it to confirm that the tax already deducted or paid is actually reflecting against your PAN, so your ITR does not end up with a mismatch.
Why Form 26AS is especially important
It is useful to check Form 26AS in the following situations:
- You changed jobs and want to confirm TDS from both employers.
- Your bank deducted TDS on interest and you want the credit to reflect correctly.
- You sold mutual funds or shares and want to confirm related entries that might affect your filing.
- You are claiming a refund and you want to confirm taxes paid are visible.
- You have a savings plan or life insurance policy, and you want to verify whether any TDS entry or other tax-related reporting linked to your PAN is reflecting correctly before you file ITR.
How to check Form 26AS and download it from the income tax portal
This is the most standard method for how to check Form 26AS and how to download Form 26AS from the income tax portal.
Step 1: Log in to the income tax e-filing portal
Log in to the e-Filing portal using your PAN-based credentials.
Step 2: Go to the Form 26AS option
Navigate to: e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS.
This is exactly where you go if you are searching for how to view Form 26AS.
Step 3: Accept the disclaimer and get redirected to TRACES (TDS-CPC)
After you click View Form 26AS, you read the disclaimer, click Confirm, and you are redirected to the TDS-CPC portal (TRACES).
This redirection is part of the standard process.
Step 4: Agree to usage terms on TRACES and proceed
On the TRACES page, accept the usage terms and proceed.
Step 5: Open “View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)”
Click “View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)”.
This is the key step on how to view Form 26AS.
Step 6: Select Assessment Year and view type
Choose the Assessment Year and the view type (HTML or Text), then select View or Download.
This is essentially how to generate Form 26AS online. You are not “creating” it. You are generating the statement view for a selected year.
Once it opens in HTML or text, you can use the download option shown there. This completes the understanding of how to download Form 26AS.
How to view 26AS for the correct year
This is where some people might get confused. Form 26AS is selected by the Assessment Year on TRACES. If you are planning to file ITR for a specific Financial Year, choose the related Assessment Year carefully. If you pick the wrong year, entries might appear to be missing when they are simply in another year’s statement. The portal explicitly asks you to select the Assessment Year before viewing or downloading.
Verifying Form 26AS before filing ITR
You do not need to read every line. You should check the following items:
- TDS entries match what your employer and bank certificates show.
- Advance tax or self-assessment tax you paid is visible.
- Refund entries, if any, appear for the year.
- Any large item that looks unfamiliar gets verified before you submit it.
This is also how you keep your income tax calculator estimate aligned with the credits reflected in the system.
Record Mismatch with Form 26AS
If you find missing TDS or incorrect entries, it is advisable to review the details before proceeding. A mismatch can lead to a tax credit discrepancy during processing. The income tax portal has a dedicated help section for tax credit mismatch and confirms Form 26AS is the consolidated annual information statement for a particular FY, which is exactly why mismatches get picked up.
Here's what you should do instead:
- If TDS is missing, your deductor may not have filed or corrected the TDS return yet.
- If the details are incorrect, ask the deductor to revise or correct the statement.
You can re-check after some time because credits can take time to reflect after corrections.
Net banking route for Form 26AS
Some banks provide a net banking path that redirects you to TRACES for viewing Form 26AS, which can be useful if you are already logged into your bank. The common flow is still a redirect to TRACES, then selecting the year and downloading.
If you want the most consistent path for how to check 26AS, the Income Tax portal method is still the most commonly used because it starts from your tax login and redirects to the same TRACES view.
Where life insurance plans and savings plan products fit in
Form 26AS is not only about salary. If you have life insurance plans or a savings plan, you still want to verify that your tax credits are correctly mapped to your PAN, especially when banks deduct TDS on interest or other reportable income linked to your overall financial profile. Checking Form 26AS before filing can help you reduce the likelihood of incorrect tax credit mismatches after you submit your return.
Form 26AS serves as a reference document before you file ITR. If you follow the official flow on the e-filing portal and get redirected to TRACES, you can quickly complete the process of how to view Form 26AS by selecting the right Assessment Year and downloading the statement. Once you confirm your TDS and tax payments are visible, your return becomes easier, your income tax calculator estimate becomes more accurate, and you reduce the chances of a tax credit mismatch later.
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