TDS stands for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) managed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. It is a means of a collection of Income Tax from individuals and entities under the Income Tax Act 1961. There are various ways to check your TDS status but the most common amongst all is via PAN Card. In just a few simple and quick steps, you can easily check TDS status by PAN Card online. However, TDS Credit can also be checked via Form 26AS, which is a consolidated tax statement and contains details of tax deposited or credited. With the help of form 26AS, every taxpayer can keep a track record of: Actual tax deposited by his employer/banks/ financial institutions, whether deposited self-assessment tax and advance tax is correctly reflected against your PAN. It also helps in knowing the refund issued for any Assessment Year. The form can either can be downloaded from the IncomeTax e-filing website or the official website of TRACES. 

How Do You Mean by TDS Return?

TDS Return is a quarterly statement that needs to be submitted to the tax department. Submitting TDS is mandatory if you’re a deductor. It has details of TDS deducted and deposited by you.

Components of TDS Return

  • Details of Deductor(s)
  • Permanent Account Number (PAN)
  • Information Related to Tax Paid to the Government
  • TDS Challan Information and other details as required in the forms

Process to Check Status of TDS by Using the PAN Card

Step 1: Visit www.tdscpc.gov.in/app/tapn/tdstcscredit.xhtml

Step 2: Key-in the verification code

Step 3: Click to proceed

Step 4: Enter PAN and TAN

Step 5: Select the financial year as well as the quarter and the type of return

Step 6: Click on ‘ Go’

The conclusion is that details will be displayed on the corresponding screen.

Process to Check TDS Credit Using Form 26AS

Step 1: Visit www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home

Step 2 : Register yourself

Step 3: If already a registered user, log in using the credentials

Step 4 : Go to ‘My Account’

Step 5: Click on ‘View Form 26AS’

Step 6: Select ‘Year’ and ‘PDF format’ and download the file.

Step 7: The file which is password protected can be opened by the Date of Birth as per the PAN card. 

Note: Apart from knowing TDS status through PAN and Form 26AS, one can also view their TDS online by using the net banking portal. However, for that, the PAN has to be linked to the net banking portal.

How to Check TDS Status by using Net Banking

All banks offer a facility to view your Income Tax Credit Statement Form 26AS. Just login in your bank account using your user id and password and there is a link to “view your form 26AS”. Just click on it, and you can view your form 26AS.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a statement of the Income Tax deducted by your employers, banks, and other financial institutions. Form 26AS also shows details of Advance Tax and Self Assessment Tax paid against by your PAN. This form can be viewed online by entering your PAN No.

Form 26AS is a consolidated tax statement and contain details of the tax deposited or credited in following heads:

1. Part A: Tax Deducted at Source (TDS): Displays details of tax which has been deducted at source (TDS) by each person (deductor) who made a specified kind of payment to you. Details of the deductor (name & TAN) along with details of tax deducted like section under which deduction was made (e.g. section 192 for salary), the date on which payment was effected, the amount paid/credited, tax deducted from payments and deposited in the bank are included in this part.

2. Part B: Tax Collected at Source (TCS): This is the amount of tax that the seller of specified goods has deducted tax while selling goods to you. Details similar to those displayed in Part A in respect of the seller and the tax collected will also be available.

3. Part B: Other Payment: Details of income tax directly paid by you (like advance tax, self-assessment tax) and details of the challan through which you have deposited this tax in the bank.

4. Details of Refund: It reflects the refund credited in your bank account, also shows for which assessment year this tax is refunded.

5. Annual Information Report (AIR): Contains details of high-value transactions done by individuals as reported in the Annual Information Report.

Benefit and Purpose of Form 26AS

With the help of form 26AS, every Taxpayer can keep a track record of :

  • Actual tax deposited by his employer / Banks/ Financial Institutions and whether the same has actually been deposited with the Income Tax Authority.
  • Check whether self assessment tax and advance tax you have deposited is correctly reflected against your PAN.
  • Refund issued for any Assessment Year.

Note: You should always view form 26AS before filing your Income Tax Return. It will help you reconcile whether the TDS as shown in your form 16 or form 16A is tallying with form 26AS.

What to Do in Case of Variation in Tax Amount, as Shown in Form 26 AS and Form 16?

Contact your Employer: In case, the tax amount does not tally between your form 26 AS and form 16 / Form 16A, then you need to contact your employer/or bank / or contractor who has deducted and deposited tax.

Revised TDS Return: Please wait till your employer files revised TDS return and is correctly reflected in your form 26AS. Otherwise, there may be demand from the income tax department for a shortfall on tax deposited.

Possible Reason for Mismatch in Form 26 AS and Form 16/ Form 16A?

The mismatch between your form 16 / form 16 A and form 26AS could be due to the following reason:

  • PAN number is not updated in his record
  • Your employer / bank by mistake has deposited tax in the wrong PAN number
  • He has not filed his quarterly TDS return

From Where to Download Form 26AS?

There are two ways to download Form 26AS:

Steps to Download Form 26AS from Income Tax e-filing Website:

Step 1: Login into respective account on E-filing website

Step 2: Go to ‘My account’ 

Step 3: Click on “View Tax Credit Statement (Form 26AS)”. Here you will get all the details and also the facility to download it.

Steps to Download Form 26AS from TRACES Website

Step 1: Login to TRACES website and select Taxpayer/PAO option

Step 2: Enter ‘User ID’, ‘Password’, and ‘Verification Code’ to proceed further The Landing Page will be displayed on the screen

Step 3: Click on ‘View Tax Credit’ tab

Step 4: Click on ‘View Form 26AS’ option

Step 5: Select ‘Assessment Year’ and ‘Format’ for downloading 26AS

Step 6:Click on the ‘View/Download’ button to Download or View 26AS