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2-Minute Analysis: The Government Already Has a File on You
Here is something most taxpayers do not realise. Every time your salary is credited, a fixed deposit matures, you sell a mutual fund, or you purchase a property, someone is reporting that transaction to the income tax department. Banks, mutual funds, employers, property registrars, and stockbrokers all file information with the government.
Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS are the government’s version of your financial year. They sit in your income tax account and show everything that has been reported about you.
Think of it this way. You walk into a job interview and the interviewer already has a detailed file on you. Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS are that file. If what you write on your ITR does not match what is in those documents, you will get a notice.
Example: Kavya sold mutual fund units worth Rs. 8 lakh and earned Rs. 1.2 lakh in capital gains. She forgot to include it in her ITR. Three months after filing, she received a notice because the mutual fund had already reported the redemption in her AIS. The capital gains were visible to the assessing officer before she even received that notice. Avoiding this is simple: cross-check all three documents before filing.
What is Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is the original tax credit statement generated by TRACES (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System). It is a statutory document that shows tax deducted or collected in your name and deposited with the government.
What Form 26AS Shows
| Section | Information |
| Part A | TDS deducted on income (salary, interest, commission, rent etc.) |
| Part B | TDS on sale of immovable property by the buyer |
| Part C | Self-assessment tax and advance tax payments made by you |
| Part D | Refunds received during the year |
| Part F | TDS on sale of immovable property (detailed) |
| Part G | TDS defaults raised by TRACES |
The Key Limitation of Form 26AS
Form 26AS shows only TDS and TCS-related credits and self-paid taxes. It does not show income from sources where no TDS was deducted, such as capital gains on equity mutual funds below the TDS threshold, interest from small savings schemes, cryptocurrency transactions, or foreign remittances. That is precisely why AIS was introduced.
How to access: Login to www.incometax.gov.in, go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then View Form 26AS.
What is AIS: Annual Information Statement?
The Annual Information Statement (AIS) is the comprehensive income disclosure document. It goes far beyond TDS and captures all financial transactions reported about you from multiple sources.
Under Section 510 of the Income Tax Act, 2025 (corresponding to Section 285BB of the Income Tax Act, 1961), the prescribed income tax authority is required to upload an annual information statement in the registered account of every assessee. The registered account means the electronic filing account on the designated income tax web portal. The form, manner, and time of upload are as prescribed by CBDT.
What AIS Shows
AIS collects data from banks, mutual fund houses, stockbrokers, property registrars, foreign remittance reporting entities, GST systems, and more. It covers:
| Category | Examples |
| Salary | Reported by employers |
| Interest | Banks, post offices, co-operative societies |
| Dividend | From companies and mutual funds |
| Securities transactions | Equity trades, mutual fund redemptions, bonds |
| Immovable property | Purchases and sales registered |
| Foreign remittances | Outward and inward transfers |
| Business receipts | Turnover data linked to GST |
| Rent received | Where payer deducted TDS |
| Capital gains | From brokers and mutual fund houses |
| Crypto-asset transactions | From reporting entities under Section 509 of the new Act |
Why AIS Matters More Than Form 26AS
AIS is the most complete picture the income tax department has of you. It captures income even where no TDS was deducted. Cryptocurrency trades, capital gains on unlisted securities, foreign income, all of it can appear in AIS through the reporting obligations placed on financial intermediaries.
How to access: Login to incometax.gov.in, go to Services, then Annual Information Statement (AIS).
What is TIS: Taxpayer Information Summary?
TIS stands for Taxpayer Information Summary. It is a derived, category-wise summary of the data in your AIS. It is a portal feature and a taxpayer convenience tool. It is not a separately mandated statutory document in the same sense as Form 26AS or the annual information statement under Section 510. The income tax system generates it from AIS data to help you review your position at a glance.
While AIS shows individual transactions, TIS shows aggregated totals under broad income heads. It displays the “processed value” (the amount after removing duplicates) and the “derived value” (a further processed figure suggested for use in your ITR).
AIS vs TIS: The Practical Difference
| Feature | AIS | TIS |
| Detail level | Transaction by transaction | Category-wise aggregate totals |
| Nature | Statutory annual information statement under Section 510 | Portal-generated summary for taxpayer convenience |
| Purpose | Identify and verify individual reported entries | See total income estimates at a glance |
| When to use | To find mismatches and verify specific transactions | To cross-check income totals before filling ITR |
| Feedback / correction | Yes, you can submit feedback on each AIS entry | No separate feedback; corrections are done through AIS |
Think of TIS as the summary page at the end of a detailed report. You read AIS for the full detail; you use TIS to check the totals quickly.
How the Three Documents Relate
Form 26AS shows tax credits only, including TDS, TCS, advance tax, and self-assessment tax paid.
AIS shows all reported income transactions comprehensively. It includes what Form 26AS covers, plus much more.
TIS is a portal-generated summary of AIS data organised into income category totals for your convenience.
When you file your ITR:
- Check Form 26AS to confirm all TDS credits are correctly reflecting against your PAN
- Check AIS to find every income source the department has information about
- Use TIS to reconcile your total income heads before completing the ITR form
Submitting Feedback on AIS Entries
The AIS portal allows you to submit feedback on individual entries. Since AIS aggregates data from many reporting entities, inaccuracies can occur. For example, the gross proceeds of a mutual fund redemption may appear as “income” when the actual taxable capital gain is much lower.
You can submit feedback marking an entry as:
- Information is correct
- Information is not fully correct (with explanation)
- Information is duplicate or included in another entry
- Information relates to another PAN or person
- Information relates to a different year
Submitting feedback is an administrative step on the portal. It helps the department update its records and can reduce the chance of a notice based on misreported data. However, submitting feedback does not by itself change your tax liability. You remain fully responsible for reporting your actual income correctly in the ITR.
Common Mistakes Taxpayers Make
Mistake 1: Filing ITR based on Form 16 alone
Form 16 covers only salary income and TDS from it. If you also earned fixed deposit interest, capital gains, or dividends, none of that is in Form 16. But all of it is likely in your AIS. File a return that matches AIS, not just Form 16.
Mistake 2: Ignoring crypto entries in AIS
With Section 509 of the Income Tax Act, 2025 requiring reporting of crypto-asset transactions by specified entities, significant crypto trades can appear in your AIS. Not reporting them in the ITR while they are visible to the assessing officer in AIS is a clear mismatch that invites a notice.
Mistake 3: Not reconciling Form 26AS before filing
Sometimes an employer or bank deducts TDS but deposits it under the wrong PAN, or does not deposit it at all. If TDS does not appear in Form 26AS, you cannot claim credit for it even if it was deducted from your payment. Checking before you file gives you time to follow up with the deductor for correction.
Practical Compliance Checklist
- If you are filing ITR for the first time: Download your AIS from the portal before opening any ITR form. Every income figure you enter in the ITR should either match AIS or have a documented reason for any difference.
- If you earned capital gains from mutual funds or stocks: Do not rely on broker statements alone. Cross-check AIS since brokers report gross sale proceeds, which differ from your actual capital gain. Make sure your ITR reflects the correct gain.
- If there are entries in AIS you do not recognise: Submit feedback on the AIS portal with the correct categorisation. Do not ignore unrecognised entries. They may be another person’s transaction linked to your PAN by error.
- If Form 26AS shows a TDS credit that seems wrong or missing: Contact the deductor to verify that TDS was deposited under your correct PAN. If it is a bank, raise a correction request through TRACES. Always resolve this before filing.
Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS are not bureaucratic formalities. They are your first line of defence against tax notices. Before you open any ITR form, spend 15 minutes reviewing all three. The information is already there, compiled for you. Your only job is to make sure your return tells the same story.
