In short: reconciling Form 26AS means matching the TDS that deductors have reported against your PAN with the TDS receivable in your books, deductor by deductor, for the whole financial year. Credit for TDS is allowed as it appears in Form 26AS, so any difference has to be found and fixed — usually by the deductor filing a correction statement — before the return is filed.
Most differences come from a TDS statement not yet filed or filed with a wrong PAN, a deduction booked in a different year, GST included in the base, or deductor names that do not match your ledger.
Form 26AS is the annual tax credit statement for a PAN. It lists the tax deducted at source by every deductor, quarter by quarter, with the deductor’s name and TAN, the section, the amount paid or credited and the TDS. It also shows TCS and the taxes the assessee paid directly, such as advance tax and self-assessment tax. It is downloaded from TRACES through the income-tax e-filing portal, as a PDF or a text file — the text file is the one to use for reconciliation.
Entries reach 26AS only after the deductor files the quarterly TDS statement and it is processed. A deduction made in June shows up only after the deductor’s statement for April–June is filed.
| What you see | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| In the books, not in 26AS | The deductor has not filed the TDS statement yet, quoted a wrong PAN, or did not deposit the tax |
| In 26AS, not in the books | TDS not booked, booked under another party, or deducted by a buyer under section 194Q on your sales |
| Amount differs | GST included in the base by one side, a different rate (for example a lower deduction certificate), or a partial deduction |
| Different year | The deductor deducted on a year-end provision or after 31 March, so the credit sits in another year’s 26AS |
| Name does not match | 26AS uses the name registered with the TAN; the ledger uses a trade name |
| Reversal rows | The deductor revised the statement; the original and the reversal net to zero |
On GST in the base: CBDT Circular 23/2017 says that when GST is shown separately on the invoice, TDS is deducted on the amount excluding GST. A deductor who deducts on the full invoice value creates a small difference on every bill.
Each TDS line in 26AS has a booking status. F (Final) means the deductor’s statement matched the tax deposited, and the credit can be relied on. U (Unmatched) means the deposit was not found — the deductor has not paid, or quoted wrong challan details. O (Overbooked) means the statement claims more than the challan covers. P (Provisional) applies to government deductors. Treat anything other than Final as a question for the deductor.
The Income-tax Act 2025 applies from 1 April 2026. From tax year 2026-27, the annual tax statement is Form 168 in place of Form 26AS, the TDS statements are Form 138 (salary, earlier 24Q) and Form 140 (other payments, earlier 26Q), and the TDS certificate for non-salary payments is Form 131 (earlier 16A). The reconciliation itself does not change: total by deductor, map the names, compare the year, explain the rest. Form 26AS still applies to FY 2025-26 and earlier years.
PaisaMatch Plus reads the TRACES text file and the TDS ledger exported from BUSY, Tally or Excel, nets the reversal rows, matches the deductors in several steps — exact name, then partial name confirmed by the amount, then amount alone, each flagged with how it was matched — and compares the year’s totals, deductor by deductor. It runs on your computer; nothing is uploaded.
Free for 15 days, every feature, no card. Works offline on Windows 10 and 11.
Get it from Microsoft Store See all featuresUsually because a deductor has not filed the quarterly TDS statement yet, quoted a wrong PAN, or did not deposit the tax. It can also be timing — a deduction booked in your year that the deductor reported in the next.
TDS that was never booked, TDS booked under another party, or TDS deducted by a buyer under section 194Q on your sales. Check each extra deductor against your sales and receipts.
In practice, credit is allowed as it appears in Form 26AS. If the TDS was deducted but is missing, the deductor has to file a correction statement so that it appears.
Form 168 is the annual tax statement under the Income-tax Act 2025, in place of Form 26AS, from tax year 2026-27. For FY 2025-26 and earlier, Form 26AS continues.
Once after each quarterly TDS statement is due, so that missing deductions can be chased while the deductor can still correct them, and once more before filing the return.
Log in to the income-tax e-filing portal and open Form 26AS (it takes you to TRACES). Choose the year and download the text file for reconciliation.