1What is Form 26AS?
Your consolidated tax-credit statement — showing the TDS deducted, TCS collected, and advance/self-assessment tax paid against your PAN. It proves how much tax has already been paid on your behalf.
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ArticleForm 26AS is the document that proves how much tax has already been paid on your behalf. Checking it before you file ensures you claim every credit you're owed. Here's what Form 26AS is and how to use it.
Reviewed by CA Harika Chebolu, FCA · Last updated 2026-06-13
Quick answer
Form 26AS is your tax-credit statement — it shows TDS, TCS and advance tax paid against your PAN. Here's how to use it when filing.
Form 26AS is a statement of the tax credited against your PAN — the TDS deducted by employers, banks and others; any TCS collected; and advance or self-assessment tax you've paid. It's the record of tax already in the system in your name.
When you file, the TDS and other credits in your 26AS are set off against your final tax. Make sure your return claims all of them — unclaimed TDS is money you've effectively paid but not recovered, and it directly reduces your tax or increases your refund.
Your Form 16's TDS should match Form 26AS, and 26AS should be consistent with your broader AIS. If your employer or bank deducted tax but it isn't reflected in 26AS, follow up — you can only claim credit for tax that actually appears there.
If a credit you expect is missing from 26AS, it usually means the deductor hasn't deposited or correctly reported the TDS. Spotting this early lets you get it corrected before filing, rather than losing the credit or facing a mismatch.
Think of 26AS as the tax-credit view and the AIS as the wider income view. Use 26AS to claim credits correctly and the AIS to make sure all income is reported — together they make your return both complete and fully credited.
Your consolidated tax-credit statement — showing the TDS deducted, TCS collected, and advance/self-assessment tax paid against your PAN. It proves how much tax has already been paid on your behalf.
Because the credits in it are set off against your final tax. Claiming all the TDS shown directly reduces your tax or increases your refund, so unclaimed credits mean money left on the table.
It usually means the deductor hasn't deposited or reported it correctly. You can only claim credit for tax that appears in 26AS, so follow up to get it corrected before filing.
Want every TDS credit in your 26AS claimed? Write to the firm and we'll reconcile it before filing.