Traces Form 26AS Meaning
The Income Tax Department of India maintains a statement under the form 26AS containing the details of Tax Credit in the account of a taxpayer as per the records of the department. It is mandatory to prepare traces form 26AS under the Rule 31AB of Income Tax Act, 1961.
Form 26AS Traces Tax Credit Statement
There are three ways through which an individual can pay the income tax namely, TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), TCS (Tax Collected at source) or Advance Tax.
Only one can be used to pay the taxes. The total tax paid is recorded by the Income Tax Department as Tax Credit. Tax Credit can be collected only through TDS, TCS or Advance Tax.
The tax claimed by the taxpayer can be collected by him as per traces form 26AS.
Difference Between Actual TDS & TDS Reflected in Form 26AS
In case of difference between the actual and stated TDS, the taxpayer can not claim the TDS of the actual amount. The discrepancy can occur due to the following reasons:
- Non-compliance of details to the Department
- Incorrect Account Number
- Wrongly filed TDS return
- Incorrect Assessment Year
- Late deposition of TDS
- Omission in Return
- Mismatch in Quoted and Actual TDS
In this case, the taxpayer should approach the deductor and request him to take necessary steps for the rectification of the TDS. The deductor may file the correct TDS/TCS or submit a correction statement for the same.
Perform the following steps to view or download the form-26AS from e-Filing portal:
- Login to ‘e-Filing’ Portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
- Go to the ‘My Account’ menu, click ‘View Form 26AS Tax Credit’ link
- Read the disclaimer, click ‘Confirm’ and the user will be redirected to TDS-CPC Portal
- In the TDS-CPC Portal, Agree the acceptance of usage. Click ‘Proceed’.
- Click ‘View Tax Credit Form 26AS
- Select the ‘Assessment Year’ and ‘View type’ (HTML, Text or PDF)
- Click ‘View / Download’
Note: To export the Tax Credit Statement in PDF format, view it as HTML > click on ‘Export as PDF’.
