Form 26AS, AIS & TIS: What's the Difference?

Form 26AS, AIS & TIS: What's the Difference?

Before you file your income tax return, three documents on the income tax portal tell the department what it already knows about your money: Form 26AS, the AIS (Annual Information Statement) and the TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary). Reading them — and fixing any mismatch — is the single best way to avoid a tax notice. This guide explains what each one shows and how to use them, in plain language for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27).

Here's the simple way to think about it: Form 26AS is proof of the tax already paid on your behalf, AIS is the full picture of your reported income and transactions, and TIS is the short summary that auto-fills your return. (Once you know your numbers, decide your tax regime and pick the right ITR form.)

At a Glance

Statement	What it shows	Main purpose
Form 26AS	TDS, TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, refunds	Proof of tax paid — to claim tax credit
AIS	Interest, dividends, shares & mutual funds, property, foreign remittances, salary and more	Your full reported financial picture (with feedback)
TIS	Category-wise summary of AIS	Pre-fills your ITR

Form 26AS: Your Tax Credit Statement

Form 26AS is your tax credit statement. It shows the tax that has already reached the government against your PAN:

• TDS — tax deducted at source by your employer, bank and others
• TCS — tax collected at source on certain purchases
• Advance tax and self-assessment tax you paid yourself
• Income tax refunds issued to you
• Any TDS defaults

This is proof of tax paid, not proof of income — and your tax credit is claimed on the basis of Form 26AS. Since AY 2023-24, the detailed high-value and financial transactions that used to appear here were shifted to the AIS, so today's Form 26AS focuses on tax credits.

AIS: Your Complete Financial Picture

The Annual Information Statement (AIS) is the wide-angle view. It pulls together every financial transaction that banks, employers, mutual funds, registrars and others have reported to the income tax department against your PAN, including:

• Salary, interest from savings accounts and fixed deposits, and dividends
• Sale and purchase of shares and mutual funds
• Property transactions
• Foreign remittances
• Specified Financial Transactions (SFT) and more

AIS has two parts — Part A (your personal details) and Part B (the financial information). Crucially, AIS has a feedback feature: if a transaction is wrong, duplicated or not yours, you can flag it, and a corrected (modified) value is shown alongside the reported one.

TIS: The Summary That Pre-Fills Your Return

The Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is the aggregated, category-wise summary of your AIS. For each category — say, interest income or dividend income — it shows a processed value and a derived value (after taking your feedback into account). These derived values are used to pre-fill your ITR, which is exactly why it pays to correct your AIS first.

How to Access Them

All three live on the income tax e-filing portal:

1. Log in at incometax.gov.in with your PAN.
2. For Form 26AS: go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS (you'll be redirected to the TRACES portal). You can also view it through your bank's net banking.
3. For AIS and TIS: open the AIS menu and click Proceed to reach the compliance portal, where both are shown side by side.

You can download AIS and TIS in PDF, JSON or CSV formats. The PDF is password-protected — your PAN in lower case followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.

Why You Must Reconcile Before Filing

The income tax department's systems automatically compare what you report in your ITR with your 26AS and AIS. If your return shows less income than your AIS, or you claim more TDS than your 26AS, you can get a mismatch notice or a delayed refund. Before you file your return:

• Match your salary and TDS with Form 16 and Form 26AS.
• Check every entry in your AIS — interest, dividends, capital gains — and submit feedback on anything wrong.
• Use the TIS-derived figures as a starting point, but always report your actual income.

What's Changing

Under the new Income Tax Act, Form 26AS is set to be replaced by a new consolidated statement (Form 168) in the coming year. For the returns you are filing now, Form 26AS still applies — so there's nothing to change yet. (See our guide to the new Income Tax Act.)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Form 26AS and AIS?

Form 26AS shows the tax paid on your behalf (TDS, TCS, advance tax, refunds) and is used to claim tax credit. AIS shows the wider picture of all your reported financial transactions — interest, dividends, shares, mutual funds, property and more — and lets you submit feedback on each entry.

Should I use Form 26AS or AIS to claim TDS credit?

Tax credit is claimed on the basis of Form 26AS. If there's a difference between 26AS and AIS for a TDS entry, Form 26AS governs your credit — but flag the AIS entry as feedback so it can be corrected.

How do I download my AIS and TIS?

Log in to incometax.gov.in, open the AIS menu, click Proceed, and download AIS and TIS in PDF, JSON or CSV. The PDF password is your PAN (lower case) followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.

What if my AIS shows a transaction I don't recognise?

Use the feedback option in AIS to mark it as incorrect, duplicate, relating to another person, or not taxable. The department records your feedback and shows a modified value, which then flows into your TIS.

Is Form 26AS being discontinued?

Under the new Income Tax Act, Form 26AS is expected to be replaced by a new statement (Form 168) in the coming year. For now, Form 26AS remains the document you use for the current filing season.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and reflects rules for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). Tax procedures change and individual situations vary. Always check the official Income Tax Department website or consult a qualified tax advisor before filing.