Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS: Reading Your Tax Credit Statements

Statement formats and reporting categories are periodically expanded. This article is for general information and does not constitute tax advice.

Form 26AS: The Tax Credit Statement

Since AY 2023-24, Form 26AS has been narrowed specifically to tax-credit information: Part A shows TDS, Part B shows TCS, Part C shows advance tax and self-assessment tax paid, and Part D shows refunds issued. It no longer carries the broader transaction detail it once did; that moved to AIS. Accessed through TRACES via the e-filing portal.

AIS: The Full Financial Picture

The Annual Information Statement is the wider record: salary, interest, dividends, securities transactions, mutual fund activity, crypto transactions, foreign remittances, property transactions, and more, reported to the department by banks, employers, mutual funds, and other entities against a taxpayer’s PAN.

TIS: The Summary That Pre-Fills the Return

The Taxpayer Information Summary is a processed, aggregated, category-wise summary derived from AIS. The values accepted here are what pre-fill the ITR. TIS can’t be edited directly; it updates automatically once feedback submitted against underlying AIS entries has been processed.

Which One Actually Governs Tax Credit

Form 26AS governs the actual TDS or TCS credit that can be claimed on a return, even where Form 16 or AIS shows a different number. If an employer’s Form 16 shows more TDS deducted than what appears in Form 26AS, it usually means the employer deducted the tax but hasn’t fully deposited it, and only the lower figure actually reflected in Form 26AS can be claimed. The fix is following up with the employer to deposit the shortfall, not claiming the higher Form 16 figure directly.