AIS vs Form 26AS: How to Fix Mismatches Before Filing ITR 2026

Every year around June and July, my inbox fills up with the same panicked message: "Sir, I already filed my ITR, but I just got an SMS from the Income Tax Department about a mismatch. What do I do now?" In almost every single case, the root cause is the same — the taxpayer never bothered to open their AIS before filing, and the numbers the department already knew about didn't line up with what was declared.

Here's a fact that surprises most salaried people: the Income Tax Department today receives more third-party data about you than you probably remember earning. Your bank reports interest, your mutual fund AMC reports redemptions, your broker reports securities transactions, your employer reports salary and TDS, and even your credit card company reports high-value spends. All of this flows into your Annual Information Statement (AIS). If your return contradicts this data, the system flags it automatically — and that's when the notice lands.

In this guide, I'll walk you through exactly how to reconcile an AIS vs Form 26AS mismatch before you file your return for AY 2026-27, with a real worked example, a comparison table, and a step-by-step correction process you can follow without any other resource.

Key Takeaways

• Form 26AS is your TDS/TCS and tax-payment ledger; AIS is a far wider record of income and financial transactions. Always check both.
• The department cross-matches your filed ITR against AIS data — mismatches trigger automated notices under Section 143(1) or 139(9).
• If AIS shows income you didn't earn or double-counts a transaction, submit online feedback in the AIS portal — don't just ignore it.
• Interest income and capital gains are the two most common mismatch culprits for salaried investors.
• Reconcile at least a week before filing so you have time to collect proof (bank statements, broker P&L, Form 16).
• Never file blindly from Form 16 alone — it captures only salary, not your FD interest, dividends or SIP redemptions.

What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?

Both documents live on the income-tax portal, and both help you file correctly — but they are not the same thing. Confusing them is the single biggest reason people file wrong returns.

Form 26AS is essentially your tax-credit statement. It shows tax that has already been deducted or collected on your behalf and deposited against your PAN — TDS on salary, TDS on FD interest, TCS on foreign remittances, advance tax and self-assessment tax you paid, and any refunds issued. Think of it as a receipt book for taxes.

AIS (Annual Information Statement) is much broader. It captures the underlying income and transactions themselves — salary, interest, dividends, sale of shares and mutual funds, rent received, purchase of property, high-value deposits, and more. Alongside AIS you'll also see the TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary), a simplified rollup that shows a "processed value" the department expects you to report.

Criteria	Form 26AS	AIS	TIS
Primary purpose	Tax credit ledger (TDS/TCS/advance tax)	Detailed income & transaction record	Summarised income figures
Shows FD/savings interest	Only if TDS was deducted	Yes, in full	Yes, aggregated
Shows share/MF sales	No	Yes, transaction-wise	Yes, gain summary
Shows dividends	Only TDS portion	Yes, payer-wise	Yes, total
Allows feedback/correction	No	Yes (online feedback)	Auto-updates from AIS feedback

The takeaway: Form 26AS tells you what tax was paid; AIS tells you what income the department believes you earned. You need both to reconcile fully.

Why does an AIS vs Form 26AS mismatch trigger income-tax notices?

The department's systems run on data matching. When you file, an automated engine compares the income and TDS in your ITR against Form 26AS and AIS. If the figures don't reconcile, one of two things typically happens:

• A Section 143(1) intimation proposing an adjustment — for example, adding interest income you forgot to declare.
• A Section 139(9) defective return notice, or in worse cases a scrutiny notice under Section 143(2), if the gap is large.

The most common mismatches I see every year are:

1. Savings and FD interest declared as zero because "the bank already deducted TDS." Wrong — the full interest is taxable; TDS is only partial credit.
2. Capital gains from mutual fund SIP redemptions that the investor genuinely forgot about.
3. Dividend income — since 2020, dividends are taxable in your hands, and AMCs/companies report every rupee.
4. Sale of property where the buyer deducted 1% TDS under Section 194-IA, which shows in both 26AS and AIS.
5. Double-counted transactions in AIS — for instance, the same share sale reported by both the exchange and the depository.

That last point is important: AIS is not always right. Sometimes the department's data is duplicated or wrongly classified. That's exactly why the feedback mechanism exists.

A worked example: how a small mismatch becomes a big notice

Let me show you how this plays out with real numbers. Meet Rahul, a Bengaluru-based software engineer earning ₹18 LPA. He files using his Form 16, declaring only salary income, and claims a refund of ₹8,000. He never opens his AIS.

Here's what his AIS actually contained for FY 2025-26:

• Savings account interest: ₹9,200
• FD interest across two banks: ₹47,500 (banks deducted 10% TDS = ₹4,750)
• Dividend income: ₹6,300
• Short-term capital gain from redeeming an equity SIP: ₹42,000

Rahul declared none of this. Let's calculate the gap. His unreported income:

₹9,200 + ₹47,500 + ₹6,300 = ₹63,000 (taxed at slab)

On the ₹18L salary, Rahul is comfortably in the 30% bracket, so this ₹63,000 attracts roughly 30% + 4% cess ≈ 31.2% = ₹19,656 in tax.

The short-term capital gain of ₹42,000 on equity is taxed at 20% (the STCG rate under Section 111A for FY 2025-26 after the July 2024 revision):

₹42,000 × 20% × 1.04 = ₹8,736

So Rahul actually owed about ₹19,656 + ₹8,736 = ₹28,392 more tax. Instead of a ₹8,000 refund, he should have paid additional tax. The department's 143(1) intimation reversed his refund and raised a demand — plus interest under Section 234B and 234C for the shortfall.

Had Rahul spent 20 minutes reconciling his AIS first, he would have avoided the entire mess. If you want to see how much extra tax various income additions cost you across regimes, run the figures through our Income Tax Calculator before filing. And to understand the interest component he got hit with, read our guide on advance tax due dates and avoiding 234B & 234C interest.

How do I download and read my AIS and Form 26AS?

Both are free and take minutes. Here's the exact walkthrough for AY 2026-27:

1. Log in to the income-tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in using your PAN and password.
2. Go to Services → Annual Information Statement (AIS). You'll be redirected to the AIS homepage.
3. Select the relevant financial year (FY 2025-26 for the return you're filing now).
4. Download two files: AIS and TIS. Both come as password-protected PDFs — the password is your PAN in lowercase followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format (e.g. abcde1234f01011990).
5. For Form 26AS, go back to Services → View Form 26AS, confirm the disclaimer, and you'll be taken to the TRACES portal. Select the assessment year and view/download it.

When reading AIS, focus on these sections: Salary, Interest, Dividend, Sale of securities and units of mutual fund, Rent received, and SFT (Specified Financial Transactions). Each line shows the reporting source, the value, and a status column where you can add feedback.

Pro tip: Download the AIS in the JSON format too and open it in the free "AIS Utility" the department provides. It lets you filter transactions and spot duplicates far faster than scrolling a 40-page PDF. This is a lifesaver if you're an active investor with dozens of share transactions.

How do I fix an AIS mismatch before filing my ITR?

There are two kinds of mismatches, and the fix differs for each.

Case 1: AIS is correct, your draft return is wrong

This is the common one — you simply forgot to include income. The fix is easy: add the income to your ITR. Report the FD interest under "Income from Other Sources," dividends under the same head, and capital gains under the "Capital Gains" schedule with buy/sell dates and values.

Remember you can claim a deduction of up to ₹10,000 on savings-account interest under Section 80TTA (or ₹50,000 under 80TTB if you're a senior citizen) — but only under the old regime.

Case 2: AIS is wrong or duplicated

When the AIS shows income you never earned, or double-counts a transaction, you must submit online feedback. Here's how:

1. Open the specific transaction line in the AIS portal.
2. Click Optional (feedback) next to it.
3. Choose the appropriate reason from the dropdown, such as:
   • "Information is duplicate / included in other information"
   • "Information is not fully correct" (then enter the corrected value)
   • "Information relates to other PAN/year"
   • "Income is not taxable"
4. Submit. The TIS updates the "derived value" automatically, and you'll get an acknowledgement.

Once feedback is submitted, file your return based on the correct figures — and keep documentary proof (bank statements, broker contract notes, Form 16A) safely in case of follow-up. Feedback does not automatically change your tax; it only communicates your position to the department.

Common mistake: People assume that submitting AIS feedback removes the income from their return automatically. It does not. You still have to file the correct numbers in the ITR itself. Feedback is your explanation; the return is your declaration. Both must align.

Which incomes get missed most often — and how to catch them

Based on the returns I review, here are the usual suspects and how to reconcile each:

• FD and RD interest: Banks report the full accrued interest, not just what you withdrew. Cross-check against your bank's interest certificate. If you're planning FDs, our FD Calculator and RD Calculator help you estimate the interest you'll need to declare each year.
• Mutual fund SIP redemptions: Even a small ₹5,000/month SIP redeemed after a few years creates capital gains. Match the AIS "sale of units" against your AMC or broker capital-gains statement. Modelling a new SIP? Try the SIP Calculator to project growth and future redemption values.
• Dividends: Fully taxable at slab since FY 2020-21. AIS lists them company-wise.
• Interest on savings bank: Almost always missed because no TDS is deducted, so it never shows in 26AS — only in AIS.
• Foreign shares (US stocks, ESPP/RSU): These need separate Schedule FA reporting. See our detailed guide on reporting foreign assets and US stocks in your ITR.
• Crypto/VDA gains: Reported to the department and taxed at a flat 30%. Read how crypto gains face 30% flat tax before you file.

Old vs New Regime: does your mismatch fix change your regime choice?

Once you add the missed income, your total taxable income rises — which can affect whether the old or new regime is cheaper for you. This is why reconciliation should happen before you lock your regime.

Taxable income (FY 2025-26)	Tax under New Regime	Tax under Old Regime (with ₹1.5L 80C + ₹2L home loan)	Cheaper option
₹8,00,000	₹20,800	₹23,400	New Regime
₹12,00,000	₹71,500	₹85,800	New Regime
₹18,00,000	₹2,49,600	₹2,49,600	Roughly equal — check deductions

Figures are illustrative and rounded, including 4% cess; your exact tax depends on all deductions. For a personalised comparison, plug your reconciled income into the Income Tax Calculator. If you claim HRA and a home loan together, read whether you can claim both benefits first, and use our HRA Exemption Calculator to nail the exempt portion.

Your pre-filing reconciliation checklist

Run through this every year before you hit submit:

1. Download AIS, TIS and Form 26AS for FY 2025-26.
2. Match salary and salary TDS in Form 16 against 26AS and AIS.
3. List every bank account and add up savings + FD interest from AIS.
4. Pull your broker and AMC capital-gains statements; reconcile with AIS "sale of securities."
5. Add dividend income from AIS.
6. Check SFT entries for high-value transactions the department already knows about.
7. Submit feedback for anything wrong or duplicated.
8. Verify total TDS in your ITR matches Form 26AS to the rupee.
9. Choose your regime after totals are final.
10. File, then e-verify within 30 days.

Salaried folks who also want to sanity-check their take-home before all this can use the Salary In-Hand Calculator, and you'll find the full toolkit on our free calculators page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is more important, AIS or Form 26AS?

Both matter, but AIS is broader. Form 26AS confirms your tax credits (so your refund is correct), while AIS reveals income you may have forgotten. File using AIS for income and 26AS to verify TDS — always reconcile the two.

What if my AIS shows income that isn't mine?

Submit online feedback on that transaction, selecting a reason such as "information relates to other PAN" or "information is not correct." Keep proof. Then file your ITR with only your actual income; feedback records your explanation with the department.

Do I still have to pay tax on FD interest if the bank already deducted TDS?

Yes. TDS is usually only 10% of the interest, but if you fall in the 20% or 30% slab you must pay the balance. The full interest is taxable; TDS is merely a partial advance credit against your final liability.

Will a small AIS mismatch really get me a notice?

Even small gaps can trigger an automated Section 143(1) intimation, because matching is fully system-driven. It may only be a proposed adjustment of a few thousand rupees, but ignoring it can escalate. It's far cheaper to reconcile upfront.

Can I correct my AIS after I've already filed?

You can still submit AIS feedback after filing, and if you find you under-reported income, file a revised return under Section 139(5) before the deadline. If a demand has already been raised, respond to the intimation through the portal's e-proceedings tab.

Why doesn't my savings-account interest appear in Form 26AS?

Banks don't deduct TDS on savings-account interest, so it never enters Form 26AS. It appears only in your AIS. This is exactly why relying on 26AS alone causes so many people to under-report — you must check AIS too.

How long should I keep my reconciliation proof?

Keep bank interest certificates, broker capital-gains statements, Form 16/16A and AIS downloads for at least six years, as the department can reopen assessments within that window in certain cases. Digital copies in a dedicated folder are fine.

Final word

An AIS vs Form 26AS mismatch is not something to fear — it's something to pre-empt. The department already has your data; your only job is to make sure your return agrees with it, and to flag anything that's genuinely wrong. Twenty minutes of reconciliation before filing will save you months of notices, demands and 234B/234C interest afterwards.

Do the download, run the checklist, and file with confidence. When you're modelling the tax impact of your interest, capital gains or regime choice, lean on our free tools — start with the Income Tax Calculator and the SIP Calculator. If you'd like to know more about who we are or need help, visit our about page or get in touch. Filing accurately isn't just about avoiding trouble — it's about keeping every rupee of refund you're genuinely owed.

Image credit: Scrabble Series Income Tax — ccPixs.com, via flickr (BY 2.0), sourced from Openverse.