What is Form 26AS? Download, Understand & File ITR Easily with Real Example (2025 Guide)

Form 26AS is a crucial document for filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) in India. Here’s a complete and easy-to-understand explanation for you:

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🔍 What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is an annual tax credit statement issued by the Income Tax Department. It contains details of:

• TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) deducted by employers, banks, or others
• TCS (Tax Collected at Source)
• Advance tax or self-assessment tax paid by you
• Refunds received
• High-value transactions (like mutual fund purchases, property transactions, etc.)

✅ It acts as a consolidated tax statement linked to your PAN and is very important while filing your ITR.

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🛠️ Where to Download Form 26AS

You can download Form 26AS from:

✅ Method 1: Through Income Tax Portal

1. Go to https://www.incometax.gov.in
2. Login using your PAN/Aadhaar and password
3. Click on “e-file” > “Income Tax Returns” > “View Form 26AS”
4. Click on “Confirm” to be redirected to the TRACES portal
5. Choose Assessment Year (e.g., 2024–25 for income earned in FY 2023–24)
6. Choose HTML / Text / PDF format and click “View/Download”

💡 Make sure pop-ups are enabled in your browser.

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🧾 How to Use Form 26AS While Filing ITR (Step-by-Step)

📘 Example Scenario:

• You’re a salaried person.
• Your company deducted ₹50,000 TDS during the year.
• You also earned ₹10,000 interest from a bank (with ₹1,000 TDS deducted).
• You want to file ITR-1 for FY 2023–24 (AY 2024–25).

🪜 Steps:

✅ Step 1: Download Form 26AS

Follow the download process above and open Form 26AS. You’ll see:

Section	Details
Part A	TDS by Employer – ₹50,000
Part A1	TDS on Bank Interest – ₹1,000
Part C	Self/Advance Tax (if any)
Part D	Refunds (if any)
Part E	SFT Transactions (if applicable)

✅ Step 2: Match Income and TDS

Check that:

• Salary mentioned in Form 26AS matches your Form 16
• TDS deducted is properly reflected (₹50,000 + ₹1,000 = ₹51,000)
• Bank interest income is added in your return

✅ Step 3: File ITR

1. Go to the Income Tax e-filing portal
2. Select “File Income Tax Return”
3. Choose:
   • AY 2024–25
   • Online
   • ITR Form: ITR-1 (for most salaried individuals)
4. Fill in personal details
5. Under Income Sources:
   • Add Salary (as per Form 16)
   • Add Other Income → Interest from Bank
6. Under Tax Details, the portal will automatically fetch TDS from Form 26AS
7. If all is correct, proceed to Tax Summary — it will show refund/payable
8. Submit and verify using Aadhaar OTP / net banking / other methods

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📌 Tips:

• If TDS is missing from Form 26AS, contact the deductor (employer/bank) to file a revised TDS return
• Always cross-check Form 16/Form 16A with 26AS before filing
• You may also compare with the new AIS (Annual Information Statement) for better accuracy

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🧠 Summary:

Aspect	Details
What	Form 26AS is your tax passbook showing TDS, tax payments, and transactions
Download From	incometax.gov.in via TRACES
Use	Helps pre-fill TDS and verify income while filing ITR
Useful For	Salaried, freelancers, businesspeople, investors

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✅ Real-Life Scenario: Filing ITR Using Form 26AS

👩‍💼 Profile: Ms. Priya Sharma

• Works at: Infosys
• Salary (FY 2023–24): ₹12,00,000
• TDS by employer: ₹1,20,000
• Bank FD interest: ₹20,000
• TDS on FD interest: ₹2,000
• PAN: Linked to her income and investments

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🔽 Step-by-Step Process

📌 Step 1: Priya logs in to the Income Tax Portal

1. Goes to https://www.incometax.gov.in
2. Logs in using her PAN and password
3. Clicks: e-file > Income Tax Returns > View Form 26AS

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📌 Step 2: Download Form 26AS

Form 26AS shows:

Section	Details
Part A – Employer (Infosys):
Gross salary: ₹12,00,000, TDS deducted: ₹1,20,000
Part A1 – Bank FD (HDFC Bank):
FD interest: ₹20,000, TDS: ₹2,000

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📌 Step 3: File ITR Using Pre-Filled Data

Priya selects:

• ITR Form: ITR-1
• AY: 2024–25

The portal auto-fills the TDS details from Form 26AS:

Source	Income	TDS
Infosys	₹12,00,000	₹1,20,000
HDFC Bank	₹20,000	₹2,000

She verifies:

• Salary matches Form 16
• Bank interest is declared under “Income from Other Sources”

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📌 Step 4: Tax Calculation

• Total Income: ₹12,20,000
• Tax liability as per slab: ₹1,30,000
• TDS available: ₹1,22,000

⚠️ Remaining Tax to Pay: ₹8,000

She pays self-assessment tax and verifies it via Challan 280.

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📌 Step 5: Submit & e-Verify

• Files the return
• e-Verify using Aadhaar OTP

✅ ITR Successfully Filed

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🎯 Key Learnings from This Scenario:

Point	Insight
1	Always match Form 26AS with Form 16 and bank TDS
2	If TDS is missing, fix it before filing ITR
3	Use Form 26AS to avoid underreporting or notices
4	Even if income is tax-free, declare it (e.g., exempt interest)

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