ITR filing 2024: Form 16 and Form 26AS not matching can lead to tax notice

ITR filing 2024: Form 16 details not matching with Form 26AS? Do THIS to avoid income tax dept’s notice

The income tax return (ITR) filing deadline is on 31st July. Most salaried taxpayers may have already received Form 16 from their employers by the 3rd week of June, and those who have not received it yet can expect it before the end of this month, Financial Express wrote.

If you have just received Form 16 from your employer, the very first thing you should do is compare your Form 16 with 26AS.

Also Read | ITR Return Filing: Should you file ITR if your income is less than ₹7 lakh?

What do Form 26AS and Form 16 contain?

Form 26AS provides details of all taxes paid by a taxpayer. The document contains TDS deducted by employers, banks, or other deductors.

Form 16 gives details like salary income, TDS deducted by the employer and various allowances.

Form 26AS, a consolidated Annual Information Statement for a particular Financial Year (FY), has these following details:

• Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)
• Tax Collected at Source (TCS)
• Advance Tax / Self-Assessment Tax / Regular Assessment Tax deposited
• Refund received during a financial year (if any)
• Details of any Specified Financial Transactions (SFT) (if any)
• Details of Tax Deducted on sale of immovable property u/s194IA (in case of seller of such property)
• TDS Defaults (if any)
• Information relating to demand and refund
• Information relating to pending and completed proceedings

On the other hand, Form 16 is a confirmation that the taxes have been deducted from the salary of an employee. It is a certificate showing that tax has not only been deducted but also deposited with the income tax department.

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How to download Form 26AS

Step 1: Visit the income tax department’s e-filing portal

Step 2: Enter User ID (Your PAN). If your user ID is invalid, you will see an error message. Enter valid user ID details.

Step 3: If you remember the password, enter the password and continue. Else, you can follow certain steps to recover your password.

Step 4: Once the step is completed, go to ‘e-file’.

Step 5: Click ‘Income Tax Returns’ and select ‘View Form 26AS’ from the dropdown list.

What should you do in case of a mismatch in Form 16 and Form 26AS?

For a taxpayer, it is important to rectify any discrepancies between Form 16 and 26AS to ensure correct reporting of income and taxes paid. If you fail to reconcile mismatches between these two forms, you could receive a notice from the income tax department.

Steps to rectify TDS mismatch

In case of a mismatch in Form 16 and 26AS, you first inform your employer or company who deducted TDS from your income.

If there is a fault of the employer, you need to bring it to their notice so that they can easily correct the mistake.

Once the correction is made by the employer by filing a revised TDS return, you need to ensure that the details are correct in order to avoid another mismatch.

In case of having received a notice from tax authorities about tax credit mismatch, one can respond to it online through the e-filing portal of the income tax department.

Also Read | Government considering income tax rate cut to boost consumption: Budget 2024