ITR Filing– Before filing ITR, it is very important to scrutinize Form 16, Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS) in depth. It is not right to file returns on the basis of any wrong information entered in them.
ITR Filing Documents: The last date for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) is 31 July. Some documents are required to file ITR. These documents include Form 16, Income and Investment related documents, Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS). Form 26AS and AIS are very important documents. Both these documents should be scrutinized thoroughly before filing income tax return. The question that arises in the mind of many taxpayers is which of these two documents is more important from the point of view of ITR?
Form 26AS and AIS play an important role in filing ITR returns. None of these is inferior. If the information given in the return does not match with the information given in these two documents, then you may face problems. That’s why none of these should be taken lightly. You can get Form 26AS from the TRACES portal. AIS can be obtained by logging on to the Income Tax Department’s website https://www.incometax.gov.in/.
Know about Form 26AS
Form 26AS is a consolidated tax statement. It contains the details of tax deducted from different sources of income of the taxpayer. It contains details of tax deduction at source (TDS), tax collection at source (TCS), payment of advance tax or self-assessment tax, regular tax, refund etc. The information given in Form 26AS can be wrong due to many reasons. If the information is wrong then it is very important to get it corrected. The process to rectify it is different. If your company or bank has made a mistake in depositing tax with the government with your PAN number, then you will have to go to your tax deducting company or bank.
Do match with Form 16
Many times it happens that the information given in Form 26AS is also wrong. It is possible that the information given in Form 16 does not match with the information given in Form 26AS. While filing ITR with wrong information can cause you loss of money, there is also a risk of cancellation of your ITR. Therefore, Form 26AS should be matched with Form 16 before filing ITR.
What is Annual Information Statement?
AIS was launched by the Income Tax Department in November 2021. Its scope is more than Form 26AS. In this, all the financial information i.e. the details of the earnings made through different mediums are available. The amount received from interest on savings account, income from recurring or FD, money received as dividend, income from mutual funds or securities and income from abroad are kept.
Why are both the documents important?
It is necessary to pay attention to the information given in both AIS and Form 26AS for filing income tax return. Form 26AS contains the details of deducted TDS and TCS, then AIS also gives information about other taxes deposited by the taxpayer, such as self-assessment tax, advance tax, etc.