Form 16 vs AIS vs Form 26AS: how to reconcile your income before filing

Before you file a return, three statements should agree with each other and with your books: your Form 16 from the employer (Form 130 from Tax Year 2026-27), Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) with its summary, the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS). The department's systems compare your return with these automatically; a gap usually produces a Section 143(1)(a) proposed adjustment or a compliance e-mail.

What each statement contains

Step-by-step reconciliation

1. Download all three – Form 16/130 from the employer, Form 26AS and AIS/TIS from the e-filing portal (Services → AIS). Download AIS in PDF and in JSON/CSV for detailed lines.
2. Salary: compare gross salary in Form 16 with the salary reported in AIS. If you changed jobs, add both Form 16s.
3. TDS credits: match each TDS entry in Form 26AS (TAN, amount, section) with your records. A missing entry usually means the deductor quoted a wrong PAN or did not file the statement.
4. Interest: AIS lists savings and deposit interest bank-wise. Banks report interest on accrual basis for FDs; report the accrued figure year-wise.
5. Dividends: include all dividends; TDS applies only above ₹10,000 a year per company, but the whole amount is taxable.
6. Securities and mutual funds: AIS shows sale value, not gain. Use your broker's capital gains statement for cost and holding period.
7. Property and rent: check purchases or sales reported by the registrar and rent on which TDS was deducted.
8. Give feedback on wrong entries before filing and keep evidence.

Worked example

Example: Sunil, a bank officer in Model Town, has the following for FY 2025-26:

Sunil's FD at Bank C deducted no TDS because the interest was below the threshold, but it is still taxable. His mutual fund sale needs only the gain, not the sale value, in the return. As the LTCG of ₹42,000 is on equity funds under Section 112A and within ₹1.25 lakh, ITR-1 can still be used.

When AIS is wrong

Common errors include interest reported twice (by branch and head office), a joint FD reported fully against the first holder, sale of shares reported under the wrong PAN, and rent reported for a property you have sold. On the AIS page choose the entry, click Optional → Feedback and pick the right option:

• Information is correct
• Information is not fully correct (give the correct value)
• Information relates to other PAN / year
• Information is duplicate
• Information is denied

Keep bank certificates or broker statements in case of a later query.

When Form 26AS is missing TDS

• Ask the deductor to file or correct the TDS statement with your correct PAN.
• If the deductor has deducted but not deposited, you may still claim credit with evidence in some cases, but expect correspondence.
• Do not claim TDS that does not appear in Form 26AS without documentation – the CPC will disallow it and raise a demand.

Old regime deductions not in Form 16

If you did not declare 80C, 80D or HRA proofs to your employer in time, you can still claim them in the return (old regime) with evidence. Your Form 16 will not show them, which is acceptable.

Common mistakes

• Reporting only TDS-deducted interest and missing savings or cumulative FD interest.
• Ignoring AIS entries for share sales, leading to a mismatch notice.
• Claiming TDS of a joint account in the wrong holder's return.
• Copying Form 16 deductions into a new-regime return where they are not allowed.

Key takeaway

Reconcile before you file: Form 16 for salary, Form 26AS for tax credits and AIS for completeness. Fix errors through feedback and deductor corrections. If you have received a mismatch notice, see our notice guide or use the Tax Notice Navigator.