Tax & Compliance · THE NO-PANIC PLAN
Reconcile AIS, Form 26AS and tax records before filing an Indian return
Use this as a pre-filing reconciliation for an individual preparing an Indian income tax return for Assessment Year 2026-27. Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) overlap but are not interchangeable: the Income Tax Department says that, from AY 2023-24 onward, Form 26AS on TRACES shows TDS/TCS, while AIS also includes items such as SFT information, tax payments, demands/refunds and other information; the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) aggregates categories and can feed prefill. AIS may not include every transaction, so check your own records and report complete, accurate income. Keep PAN, account numbers, statements and downloaded AIS files inside your own secure storage. The linked checklist tool is only for generic item names and must not contain financial figures or identifiers. This is not a tax computation or advice on eligibility, deductions or legal treatment.
MISSION For an individual preparing an Indian income tax return for AY 2026-27, compare Income Tax Department statements with source records, resolve material mismatches, and preserve a traceable pre-filing reconciliation.
Open Government Form ChecklistTHE REAL-WORLD BIT
What happens outside this browser tab?
Set the correct assessment year and collect your own income and tax-credit records; retrieve AIS/TIS and Form 26AS from the official portal; reconcile each reported category with source documents and identify missing, duplicate or incorrect items; submit accurate AIS feedback and ask the reporting source to correct its filing where needed; then choose the current applicable return and file only after every income item and tax credit is supported.
YOUR CHECKLIST, WITH FEWER DRAMATIC SIGHES
One step at a time.
Follow the order below. If a step names a Nirmion tool, its link is right there with it.
- 01
Fix the assessment year and gather your own source records
Confirm that the return you are preparing is for AY 2026-27 and keep that year's material separate from other years. Gather employer Form 16 and salary statements, bank or deposit interest certificates, dividend and investment statements, Form 16A for non-salary TDS where applicable, advance/self-assessment tax challans, and records for any other income or transaction relevant to your facts. Keep original statements and downloaded certificates unchanged; make working copies for your own comparison. Create an index with document type, issuer, period and whether it has been checked, but do not put PAN, bank account numbers, salary figures or tax identifiers into a public checklist. If you have business, foreign, capital-gains, trust or other complex income, get the appropriate return and tax review rather than assuming this general reconciliation covers it.
- 02
Download AIS, TIS and Form 26AS from the official portal
Sign in by navigating directly to the Income Tax Department e-Filing portal. Open AIS using the dashboard AIS menu or e-File > Income Tax Return > View AIS, select the relevant financial year, and download the statement or inspect it online. The Department says AIS downloads are available in PDF, JSON and CSV; save the file to an access-controlled location. Open Form 26AS using e-File > Income Tax Return > View Form 26AS and retain the version for the same year. From AY 2023-24 onward, Form 26AS shows TDS/TCS information; AIS additionally presents broader reported items and TIS summarizes categories. Do not upload these personal tax records to a public website or third-party utility.
- 03
Match every statement item to a source document
Compare salary, interest, dividends, securities or property-related reports, TDS/TCS, advance tax and self-assessment payments across AIS/TIS, Form 26AS and your own certificates or account records. Match by source, period and transaction rather than comparing only category totals: TIS values can be aggregated and may reflect processing or accepted feedback. Mark each item as matched, needs explanation, appears duplicated, or is missing from the tax statement. AIS is based on information currently available to the Department and may not show every transaction; its presence also does not by itself decide the item's taxability. Include supported income even if it is absent from AIS, and ask a qualified tax professional about unclear classifications, exemptions or reporting obligations. Use Government Form Checklist only to track generic labels such as “bank certificate checked”; never enter names, PANs, figures, account numbers or statement text.
- 04
Resolve discrepancies at the source and record AIS feedback
For a mismatch, first compare the exact year, deductor/reporting source, transaction and amount with the original certificate or account record. If an employer, bank or other reporting entity filed incorrect or missing information, contact that source and request its correction process; preserve the response. For an active AIS item that is wrong, duplicated or otherwise needs correction, open the item and use the portal's Feedback option with a truthful category and explanation supported by your records. Keep the submitted feedback receipt and Activity History entry. The Department says AIS shows reported and modified values after feedback or source confirmation, but feedback does not erase the need to report all income accurately. Recheck AIS/TIS and tax-credit records after the source responds. If Form 26AS and AIS tax-payment figures differ or a credit remains missing, use the current Department guidance or professional help to resolve the tax-credit treatment instead of guessing.
- 05
Complete a final supported reconciliation before filing
Prepare a short private reconciliation that records the assessment year, documents reviewed, categories matched, open questions, AIS feedback receipt identifiers and any reporting-source correction still pending. Confirm that all income from your own records has been considered even when it does not appear in AIS; confirm TDS/TCS and tax payments against the official statements and source certificates; and keep evidence for each return figure. Then use the Department's current eligibility guidance to select the correct ITR for your circumstances. If facts fall outside the applicable online guide, an item cannot be explained or a material tax credit is missing, pause and consult a qualified Indian tax professional or the Department's official help channel. Preserve the filed return, acknowledgement, verification confirmation and reconciliation in secure storage. The checklist and AIS feedback are preparation aids; neither guarantees a correct tax result or replaces return verification.
THE HELPER CREW
Tools for the fiddly bits.
These are the currently published Nirmion tools matched to this guide. Open a tool page for its accepted inputs and limits.
RECEIPTS, PLEASE
Sources & review notes
Each source is linked to the steps it supports. Open it to check its scope and current guidance.
Source checked 2026-10-05