Tax filing is a complicated task as it entails assessment of your taxable income, exemptions claim, tax liability calculations and the final process of filing. Tax filing process also involves use of different forms that makes it a confusing process. Thus, a proper understanding of all the forms is a must for a smooth filing process.

Form 26AS helps you figure out the total tax deducted at source (TDS) deposited for the various source of income you might have. It acts as a ready reckoner for finding your TDS already deposited with Income Tax Authorities. TDS deduction means tax already deposited by you, which lowers your tax liability. So, you must know the amount of TDS already deducted and deposited by you.
Let us understand the form 26AS in detail.

What is Form 26AS?

Section 203AA of the Income Tax Act governs the issuance of Form 26AS. This form is issued annually and is a consolidated statement which shows your sources of income and the amount of TDS deducted on such income. It is also called a Tax Credit Statement and it contains details about the tax collected by the Income Tax Department, the tax you have paid and any tax refunds which you might have received during the year.
Form 26AS contains various details which are as follows:

Taxes you paid during the year by way of TDS. TDS might be deducted on your salary, rent receivables, interest on deposits, etc. This information is found in Part A of the form.
TDS deducted when form 15G or 15H is submitted. This information is found in Part A1 of the form.

When you sell an immovable property during the financial year, the buyer pays you the money after deducting the relevant TDS. Any such TDS on sale of immovable property is available on Form 26AS in Part A2.
If you conduct high value transactions through a bank or a financial institution, they file an Annual Information showing such transactions. These high-value transactions are also shown on Form 26AS.
Advance tax or self-assessment tax paid by you during the financial year. This information is found in Part C.

Tax Collected at Source on your behalf. It is mentioned in Part B.

Getting Form 26AS

Form 26AS is available online, just like all the other tax filing related forms. You can download your form quoting your PAN umber from TRACES website i.e. http://contents.tdscpc.gov.in . Your bank's net banking facility can also enable you to download the form.

You can, alternatively, visit the Income Tax Department's e-filing website (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in ), log into your tax filing account using your user name and password and see the form. You would have to select the tab 'View Form 26AS (Tax Credit)' which can be found under 'My Account' or 'Quick Links' tab. Then you would have to specify the Assessment Year of which you want to see and download the form.

The form, downloaded from any website, is password protected. The password is your date of birth listed in DDMMYYYY format.

Importance of Form 26AS

As mentioned earlier, Form 26AS is a ready reckoner for all TDS deposited by you. The form helps you in filing your income tax easily as you can see the various sources of your income and the tax deducted on each source. The form shows both the amount of income and also the tax paid on that income. It also has details of tax refunds and Tax Collected as Source. Thus, it furnishes you with all the necessary details to calculate your tax liability. You should use Form 26AS to prepare your tax returns. The tax details in Form 26AS and your income tax return should match. Any discrepancy should be considered a red flag. You should find out the reason of the discrepancy and see if you have made any mistakes. Thus, the form also helps you to find out any possible tax filing mistakes.