#FinancialBytes: Form 26AS and its role in filing ITRs
What's the story
The deadline for filing ITR i.e. July 31, is just a week away. So, if you haven't yet filed your ITR, do it now to avoid getting penalized.
There are a number of documents one must have ready, so as to avoid last-minute hassles.
One such form is Form 26AS.
Here, we explain what Form 26AS is, and how it helps in filing ITRs.
Form 26AS
Firstly, what is Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is a consolidated statement comprising details of all financial transactions of a person during the concerned assessment year.
These details include the income earned from various sources and the amount of deductions made from a number of avenues, like TDS deducted by your employer, tax collected by collectors, advance tax paid, self-assessment tax payments, and other such details.
Importance
Here's why Form 26AS is important for filing your ITR
Form 26AS streamlines the ITR filing procedure.
Salaried individuals should cross-check their Form 26AS with their Form 16 to ensure that taxes deducted and advance taxes paid during the year matches the I-T department's records.
Additionally, details like TDS deductions for investment, redemptions on FDs, pension funds, etc. automatically show up while e-filing ITRs, but certain details need to be extracted from Form 26AS.
Method 1
How to access Form 26AS from the TRACES portal
There are two ways of accessing Form 26AS.
The first way is using the TRACES website that is meant for facilitating online processing of tax-related documents.
First log in to the website and click on 'Form 26AS'.
Then, enter your PAN, and download the file.
The password-protected file can be accessed with your recorded 'Date of Birth' as password.
Method 2
Accessing Form 26AS with your PAN and Netbanking
This free-of-cost facility is available to all those having a PAN and a net-banking account with any authorized bank.
However, only those individuals whose PAN is linked with that particular bank account can access their tax credit statement (Form 26AS).
This sums up the talk about Form 26AS, but do remember to file your ITR before the July 31 deadline.