As (ITR) filing for assessment year (AY) 2026-27 gathers pace, many salaried taxpayers are relying on Form 16 issued by their employers to prepare their returns. However, a common issue that can arise during the filing process is a mismatch between the tax deducted at source (TDS) reflected in Form 16 and the amount appearing in Form 26AS.
Since both documents contain information related to tax deducted from a taxpayer’s income, any difference between the two can create confusion over which figure should be used while filing the return.
What are Form 16 and Form 26AS?
is a TDS certificate issued by an employer to a salaried employee. It contains details of salary paid during the financial year and the tax deducted and deposited on behalf of the employee.
Employers are required to issue Form 16 to employees after filing their TDS returns for the financial year.
Form 26AS, meanwhile, is a consolidated tax credit statement linked to a taxpayer’s Permanent Account Number (PAN). It reflects taxes deducted and deposited against the PAN and includes details of TDS, tax collected at source (TCS), advance tax, self-assessment tax, refunds and certain specified financial transactions.
According to the Income Tax Department, Form 26AS also contains information relating to TDS defaults, tax demands, refunds and completed or pending proceedings.
Why do mismatches occur?
A mismatch between Form 16 and Form 26AS generally indicates that the TDS reported by the employer has not been correctly reflected in the tax department’s records.
Such differences can arise due to delays in filing TDS returns, incorrect PAN details, clerical errors in TDS reporting, incorrect challan information or revisions made by the employer that have not yet been processed and reflected in Form 26AS.
In some cases, the employer may have deducted tax from the employee’s salary but may not yet have reported or deposited the corresponding amount correctly, resulting in a lower TDS figure appearing in Form 26AS.
Which document should taxpayers rely on?
Taxpayers are generally advised to verify the TDS details appearing in Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS) before filing their returns.
This is because Form 26AS and AIS reflect information that has been reported and processed by the Income Tax Department’s systems. While Form 16 serves as proof of tax deduction issued by the employer, tax credits available in the department’s records are reflected through Form 26AS.
As a result, taxpayers are encouraged to reconcile any differences between the documents before submitting their returns.
What happens if the mismatch is ignored?
If a taxpayer files a return claiming TDS credit that does not appear in Form 26AS, the return may be processed based on the tax credit available in the department’s records.
This can result in lower TDS credit being granted than what is claimed in the return. Consequently, the taxpayer may face additional tax liability, interest on unpaid tax or a tax demand.
A mismatch can also lead to delays in the processing of refunds if the claimed TDS amount cannot be verified against departmental records.
What should taxpayers do if they find a mismatch?
Taxpayers who identify a discrepancy between Form 16 and Form 26AS should first compare the details in both documents, including PAN, employer information and the amount of TDS reported.
If the TDS shown in Form 16 is not reflected correctly in , the taxpayer should contact the employer and request verification of the TDS return filed with the tax department.
Where necessary, the employer may need to file a correction statement or revise the TDS return so that the correct tax credit is reflected in the taxpayer’s records.
Taxpayers may also review the AIS to ensure that income and tax details reported to the department are consistent across all documents.
Checklist before filing ITR
Before filing an ITR for AY 2026-27, taxpayers should:
- Verify that PAN details are correct across Form 16, Form 26AS and AIS.
- Compare salary income reported in Form 16 with the information available in AIS.
- Match TDS figures in Form 16 with corresponding entries in Form 26AS.
- Identify any missing, duplicate or incorrect entries.
- Seek correction from the employer if discrepancies are found.
- File the return after ensuring that tax credits reflected in the department’s records are accurate.
Reconciling Form 16, Form 26AS and AIS before filing can help taxpayers avoid tax demands, refund delays and follow-up notices from the Income Tax Department.