What is Form 26AS. I think those who are already filing ITR must be knowing about this and its importance. Still, a small introduction would not be out of place before I start on the issues relating to this.
What is Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is a tax credit statement which is linked to your PAN. All the Income Tax paid by you or TDS deducted by your employer, bank or any other person on your behalf gets reflected in this. This is like a Passbook of your Income Taxes paid.
Why is this so important to check this before filing ITR or periodically?
As I mentioned Income Taxes paid by you or on your behalf must get reflected in this statement as these would be used for settling your Income Tax liability at the time of filing your ITR. That means if some credit of tax paid is missing from this, the Income Tax department while processing your ITR would not accept that credit and may ask you to pay more tax.
This is extremely important and this statement is checked at the time of filing your ITR to make sure that the entire Income Tax paid by you or TDS deducted by your employer (reflecting in your Form 16) should appear in Form 26AS.
When should I check Form 26AS?
It is updated quarterly based on the TDS statement filed by your employer / other party. It is typically updated by the end of 1 month from the end of each quarter i.e. for Apr-Jun quarter, it should be updated by 31st July. However, there could be delay of "Few Days" as there are processes involved on part of IT Department. Delay should not be of months. If Form 26AS is not updated within 2 months of the end of quarter, you should get alarmed.
Finally, it should be checked around end of June after the close of Financial year as the last quarter TDS is updated by end of June and also because you need to file your ITR in Jul.
What should I do if TDS credit is not updated in my Form 26AS?
If TDS credit is not updated in your Form 26AS within the time as mentioned above, you should approach your employer / other party deducting TDS to mention that your tax credit is not reflecting in your Form 26AS. This could be because of the following reasons:
You may also consider some legal recourse against the defaulter.
Hope this gives you enough idea about making sure that you do not end up paying Income Tax twice because of your ignorance and the default of others.
What is Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is a tax credit statement which is linked to your PAN. All the Income Tax paid by you or TDS deducted by your employer, bank or any other person on your behalf gets reflected in this. This is like a Passbook of your Income Taxes paid.
Why is this so important to check this before filing ITR or periodically?
As I mentioned Income Taxes paid by you or on your behalf must get reflected in this statement as these would be used for settling your Income Tax liability at the time of filing your ITR. That means if some credit of tax paid is missing from this, the Income Tax department while processing your ITR would not accept that credit and may ask you to pay more tax.
This is extremely important and this statement is checked at the time of filing your ITR to make sure that the entire Income Tax paid by you or TDS deducted by your employer (reflecting in your Form 16) should appear in Form 26AS.
When should I check Form 26AS?
It is updated quarterly based on the TDS statement filed by your employer / other party. It is typically updated by the end of 1 month from the end of each quarter i.e. for Apr-Jun quarter, it should be updated by 31st July. However, there could be delay of "Few Days" as there are processes involved on part of IT Department. Delay should not be of months. If Form 26AS is not updated within 2 months of the end of quarter, you should get alarmed.
Finally, it should be checked around end of June after the close of Financial year as the last quarter TDS is updated by end of June and also because you need to file your ITR in Jul.
What should I do if TDS credit is not updated in my Form 26AS?
If TDS credit is not updated in your Form 26AS within the time as mentioned above, you should approach your employer / other party deducting TDS to mention that your tax credit is not reflecting in your Form 26AS. This could be because of the following reasons:
- Your PAN is not correctly mentioned by employer / other party deducting TDS in the quarterly TDS statement filed by them.
- Your credit is given to some other PAN by mistake in the quarterly TDS statement.
- The TDS is not paid by employer / other party deducting TDS. They are supposed to pay TDS deducted by 7th of following month in which the TDS is deducted.
- Other mistake in quarterly TDS statement filed
What is the remedy?
When you approach the employer / other party deducting TDS, they must get the cause of non credit verified and get the quarterly TDS statement revised to make sure that the TDS credit is allowed to you. This may require some persuasion and follow up on your part to make sure it is done.
What if the employer / other party deducting TDS does not do so?
The first implication is that in case you have filed your ITR based on Form 16 issued (in which the tax credit is reflecting), the IT department will raise a demand of Income Tax on you for the credit which is not reflecting and they may charge interest on this Income Tax also.
If the employer / other party deducting TDS fails to rectify your Form 26AS, you may approach your Income Tax assessing officer and also the TDS assessing officer by writing to them about this default. This may help but may not necessarily work.
You may also consider some legal recourse against the defaulter.
Hope this gives you enough idea about making sure that you do not end up paying Income Tax twice because of your ignorance and the default of others.
These are my personal views and should not be considered as legal advise. You are requested to consult a professional before acting on this blog.
For any query / suggestion on my blogs, feel free to write to me at piyushsgarg@gmail.com.
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