TDS on Salary and Reconciling with Form 26AS

Before you e-file, you should see that the tax your employer has deducted and shown in Form 16 Part B is the same, in total, as the TDS from salary that appears in Form 26AS for the same financial year. If the credit in 26AS is lower, you will not get full credit for the tax you thought was paid. If it is higher without reason, you need to understand that too.

What Form 26AS Is

Form 26AS is a consolidated statement. It shows TDS on salary, TDS on interest, TDS on property sale, and other entries that the deductors have reported to the department. It also has a place for advance tax and self-assessment tax you have paid. For a salaried person, the single largest line is often “TDS from employer” in the Part C view of 26AS (the exact label can vary by view, but the idea is: employer, section, and amount per quarter or year total).

Step-by-Step Reconciliation

Open your Form 16 from the same year. Note the total tax deducted at source on salary in Part B.

Add up the TDS entries that relate to your employer’s TAN and that year. The sum should match the Form 16 total, or be very close, allowing for a few days of reporting lag from the last month of the year.

If you had two employers in the year, get Form 16 from each and add their TDS. Then add the corresponding TDS lines in 26AS for both TANs.

Why Mismatches Happen

Wrong PAN in the employer’s return (rare but serious when it happens).

Year change: last month’s TDS in March filed in the next return quarter, so 26AS updates a week after you first look.

Correction filed by the employer that has not yet reflected in your 26AS.

You changed jobs and the old employer and new employer each reported part of the TDS. You must see both in 26AS.

If the Numbers Do Not Match

First, write to payroll or HR and ask for a revised TDS statement or confirmation that a correction will be filed.

Do not file the ITR claiming a higher TDS than 26AS shows, unless you are sure the correction is in process and will land before processing. A safer path is to wait for 26AS to update, or file with what 26AS shows and revise later in allowed cases, as your adviser suggests.

Keep a screen shot and PDF of 26AS on the day you file.