Form 16, 26AS, AIS & TIS

Reconcile before you file, not after. Form 16 is what your employer says it paid and deducted. Form 26AS is what the tax department has actually received against your PAN. The Annual Information Statement, or AIS, is everything else reported about you. The Taxpayer Information Summary, or TIS, is the AIS boiled down into the totals that pre-fill your return. If any two disagree, fix that first. A mismatch is the most common reason a small return turns into a notice.

What is the difference between Form 16, 26AS, AIS and TIS?

They are four different views of the same year, prepared by different people.

Document	What it shows	Who prepares it	Where you get it
Form 16	Salary paid and tax deducted under section 192. Part A is the TDS summary, Part B is the salary breakdown	Your employer, using TRACES for Part A	Your employer
Form 26AS	From AY 2023-24 onwards, TDS and TCS data only	Income Tax Department	TRACES, via the e-filing portal
AIS	Part A is your identity details. Part B carries TDS/TCS, SFT information, payment of taxes, demand and refund, and other information	Income Tax Department	incometax.gov.in, AIS module
TIS	Category-wise totals: the processed value, and the value after your feedback or source confirmation	Income Tax Department	incometax.gov.in, AIS module

The key change most people missed: the department states that “From AY 2023-24 onwards, Annual Tax Statement (Form 26AS) available on TRACES portal displays only TDS/TCS related data of the taxpayer. Other details pertaining to the taxpayer are available in the AIS.” So 26AS is no longer the full picture. If you are still checking only 26AS, you are checking a quarter of the file.

When should you get your Form 16?

The TRACES portal states the due date for issuing Form 16 as “the 31st day of May of the Financial Year immediately following the financial year in which the income was paid and tax deducted.”

We will flag the uncomfortable part. Many employers and advisers work to a mid-June date instead. We could not open the underlying rule to settle which governs, so we quote only the date the government’s own TDS portal publishes. If you do not have Form 16 by early June, chase your payroll team. You can still file without it, using 26AS and AIS.

Note also that Form 16 is described as a certificate under section 192 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Section numbering changes under the Income-tax Act, 2025, so a section number you read in an old article may no longer point where you think.

How do you reconcile them before filing?

Work in this order. It takes about twenty minutes.

#	Item	Details
1	Download all four.	Log in to incometax.gov.in. AIS and TIS are in the AIS module. 26AS opens through the same login.
2	Match Form 16 Part A against 26AS.	The TDS figures should be identical. If 26AS shows less, your employer deducted but has not deposited or has filed the return wrongly. Only the employer can fix this. You cannot claim credit for tax that is not in 26AS.
3	Read AIS for income you forgot.	Savings interest, fixed deposit interest, dividends, share sales, mutual fund redemptions, property transactions, large cash deposits. This is where returns come apart.
4	Compare TIS totals with what you plan to declare.	TIS is the number that pre-fills. If your return is lower, be ready to explain why.
5	Give feedback on anything wrong in AIS.	Open the entry, use the feedback button, and choose the option that fits. The modified value shows alongside the reported value, the activity history updates, and you can download an acknowledgement.

After you submit feedback, you can download the AIS Consolidated Feedback file, a single PDF of every piece of feedback other than “information is correct”. Keep it. It is your evidence if a query comes later.

What are the mismatches that actually cause trouble?

Two employers in one year

Each gives you a Form 16 and each applies the basic exemption and deductions separately. Add both salaries, apply the slab once, and you will usually owe more. This is the most common under-reporting on Indian salary returns.

Interest income missing from Form 16

Your employer does not know about your fixed deposits. AIS does. Bank TDS on interest is usually deducted at a flat rate, which is often less than your slab rate, so tax is still payable.

TDS in 26AS but income not declared

Freelance work, rent received, or a one-off consulting payment. The credit sits there in your name. Claiming the credit without declaring the income is a direct invitation for a query. See income tax notices for what follows.

AIS showing something that is not yours

Duplicate reporting, a joint account counted twice, or a transaction against the wrong PAN. Do not ignore it. Submit feedback, and keep the acknowledgement.

Sale of shares or mutual fund units

AIS reports the sale value, not your gain. You still have to compute cost and holding period yourself. Our page on capital gains tax covers the method.

What if your employer never deposited the TDS?

You will see the deduction on your salary slip and on Form 16, and nothing in 26AS. Write to the employer, in email, asking them to file or correct the quarterly TDS statement. Keep the salary slips. They are your proof that the deduction happened. Do not simply claim the credit and hope; unmatched credit is flagged automatically.

Once everything reconciles, move to filing. Start with which ITR form applies to you, then how to file ITR, and check ITR due dates before you leave it. If you have already filed and then spotted a mismatch, revised and updated returns is the route back.

Frequently asked questions

Does AIS replace Form 26AS?

No. From AY 2023-24, Form 26AS on TRACES shows only TDS and TCS data. Everything else about you sits in AIS. You need both.

What is the difference between AIS and TIS?

AIS is the detailed list of information. TIS is the category-wise summary, showing the system-processed value and the value after your feedback or source confirmation. TIS is what pre-fills your return.

By when must my employer give me Form 16?

TRACES publishes the due date as 31 May of the financial year immediately following the year in which the income was paid and tax deducted.

Can I file my return without Form 16?

Yes. Use your salary slips, Form 26AS and AIS. Form 16 is a convenience, not a legal precondition for filing.

What happens if I ignore a wrong entry in AIS?

Nothing immediately. But the department has the same data, and an unexplained gap between TIS and your return is exactly what the system looks for. Submitting feedback costs nothing and creates a record.

My Form 16 shows more TDS than 26AS. What do I do?

Only your employer can correct it, by filing or revising the quarterly TDS statement. Ask in writing and keep your salary slips.

Sources

Income Tax Department, FAQs on AIS (Annual Information Statement) — contents of Part A and Part B, TIS processed and derived values, feedback flow, and the AY 2023-24 change to Form 26AS. incometax.gov.in (read 7 September 2026)
TRACES, FAQs on Form 16 — nature of the certificate, Part A and Part B, and the issue due date. tdscpc.gov.in (read 7 September 2026)