AIS vs TIS vs Form 26AS: How to Reconcile Your Tax Information | Taxomic

AIS vs TIS vs Form 26AS: What Every Taxpayer Should Check Before Filing ITR

Filing an Income Tax Return is no longer simply a matter of taking your Form 16, entering your salary and submitting the return.

Today, the Income Tax Department has access to information reported by employers, banks, financial institutions, mutual funds, brokers and other reporting entities. Much of this information is made available to taxpayers through Annual Information Statement (AIS), Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Form 26AS.

And this is exactly where many taxpayers get confused.

You may see interest income in AIS that you had not considered. A mutual fund transaction may appear as a large amount even though your actual taxable gain is much lower. Your Form 16 may show one TDS figure while your understanding of Form 26AS is different. You may even find transactions that do not belong to you.

The important point is:

AIS, TIS and Form 26AS are verification tools. They should not simply be copied into your ITR without understanding the underlying transaction.

The Income Tax Department itself states that AIS contains information presently available with it, but taxpayers are still expected to check all relevant information and report complete and accurate information in their ITR. Income Tax Department

This guide explains the difference between AIS, TIS and Form 26AS, how they work together and how you should reconcile them before filing your return.

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1. What is AIS?

AIS stands for Annual Information Statement.

It is a comprehensive statement containing information available with the Income Tax Department in relation to a taxpayer.

The purpose of AIS is to give taxpayers visibility into information reported against their PAN before they file their return.

According to the Income Tax Department, AIS is intended to:

• display information available to the taxpayer before filing the return;
• facilitate taxpayer feedback;
• promote voluntary compliance;
• support pre-filling of the return; and
• deter non-compliance. Income Tax Department

AIS can contain information relating to categories such as:

• salary;
• interest;
• dividends;
• securities transactions;
• mutual-fund transactions;
• tax deducted at source;
• tax collected at source;
• specified financial transactions;
• other information reported by various entities.

However, AIS is not necessarily a complete statement of everything that happened financially during the year.

The Income Tax Department specifically states that there may be transactions relating to a taxpayer that are not presently displayed in AIS. Therefore, taxpayers are still responsible for checking their complete records and reporting accurate information. Income Tax Department

Important distinction

Suppose AIS shows:

Sale of shares: ₹10,00,000

This does not automatically mean taxable income of ₹10,00,000.

The ₹10 lakh may represent the reported transaction value. The actual capital gain requires consideration of factors such as acquisition cost, dates and applicable tax rules.

This is one of the most important reasons why taxpayers should reconcile AIS rather than blindly copy it.

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2. What is TIS?

TIS stands for Taxpayer Information Summary.

TIS operates within AIS and provides a more summarised view of information category-wise.

The Income Tax Department describes TIS as an information-category-wise aggregated summary.

It can show:

• the value reported by the source;
• the value processed by the system after applicable processing/deduplication; and
• the value accepted by the taxpayer or confirmed by the reporting source. Income Tax Department

For example, you may see categories such as:

TIS is therefore useful as a summary-level cross-check.

But again, it should not replace your underlying documents.

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3. What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is often called the Annual Tax Statement.

The Income Tax Department currently explains that Form 26AS available through the TRACES system displays TDS/TCS-related data, while broader information is available through AIS. Income Tax Department

This makes Form 26AS particularly important for checking tax credits such as:

• TDS deducted by your employer;
• TDS deducted by banks;
• TDS deducted by other deductors;
• TCS where applicable.

For example, if your Form 16 shows:

TDS = ₹2,40,000

you should verify the corresponding tax-credit information rather than assuming that everything has automatically flowed correctly into the return.

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4. AIS vs TIS vs Form 26AS — What's the Difference?

Here is the simplest way to understand them:

The Income Tax Department specifically distinguishes AIS from Form 26AS and states that Form 26AS displays TDS/TCS data while other information is available through AIS. Income Tax Department

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5. Why Should You Check All Three Before Filing?

Because your ITR is ultimately a declaration of your actual income and tax position.

Consider a taxpayer with:

• salary: ₹18 lakh;
• bank interest: ₹75,000;
• dividends: ₹30,000;
• stock sales: ₹12 lakh;
• mutual-fund redemptions: ₹5 lakh;
• TDS: ₹2.8 lakh.

Simply looking at the transaction values can create a completely misleading picture.

The taxpayer does not have:

₹18L + ₹75K + ₹30K + ₹12L + ₹5L

as taxable income.

The stock and mutual-fund figures may represent transaction values, while taxation depends on the relevant income/gain computation.

Therefore, the correct process is:

Source documents → AIS/TIS/26AS → reconciliation → tax computation → ITR

not:

AIS → copy everything into ITR

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6. What Should You Reconcile?

A professional pre-filing review should cover at least the following.

A. Salary

Compare:

Form 16 ↔ salary slips/payroll records ↔ AIS/TIS ↔ ITR

Check:

• gross salary;
• exemptions;
• taxable salary;
• perquisites;
• professional tax, where applicable;
• TDS;
• employer details.

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B. Bank Interest

Compare:

Bank statements ↔ interest certificates ↔ AIS/TIS ↔ ITR

Do not rely only on the interest figure you remember.

A taxpayer may have:

• savings-account interest;
• FD interest;
• recurring-deposit interest;
• interest from multiple banks.

A small bank balance across several accounts can create several separate interest entries.

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7. Capital Gains Need Special Attention

This is one of the biggest areas where taxpayers make mistakes.

Suppose AIS contains:

Sale of securities: ₹15,00,000

It does not mean:

Capital gain = ₹15,00,000

You need to determine the applicable capital-gains computation based on the underlying transactions.

For a stock investor, the working may involve:

• purchase date;
• sale date;
• acquisition cost;
• sale consideration;
• eligible expenses;
• corporate actions;
• short-term/long-term classification;
• applicable tax provisions;
• previous-year losses.

If you have multiple brokers, the problem becomes even more important.

You should consolidate all investment statements before finalising the return.

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8. Dividends Should Also Be Checked

Dividends are another area that taxpayers sometimes overlook.

If you hold shares or mutual funds, dividend income may be reported through financial institutions and may also appear in AIS.

Compare:

Dividend statements + bank credits + AIS/TIS

If you have investments through several platforms, consolidate the information.

Do not assume that the absence of a figure in one statement means the income does not need to be considered.

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9. What If AIS Shows an Incorrect Transaction?

This happens.

For example, AIS may show:

• a duplicate transaction;
• an incorrect amount;
• a transaction belonging to another person;
• information relating to another financial year;
• information that has been reported incorrectly by the source.

The Income Tax Department provides a facility for taxpayers to submit feedback on eligible information displayed in AIS. Income Tax Department

The important principle is:

Do not change your genuine financial records merely to make them match AIS.

Instead:

1. identify the transaction;
2. locate the source;
3. compare it with your records;
4. determine whether the information is actually incorrect;
5. submit appropriate feedback where required;
6. maintain supporting documentation; and
7. report the correct taxable position in the return.

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10. What Documents Should You Keep Ready?

Before starting your ITR, maintain a tax-document folder containing:

Income

• Form 16
• salary slips
• bank statements
• interest certificates
• dividend statements
• rental-income records
• business/professional income records

Investments

• broker statements
• capital-gains statements
• mutual-fund statements
• securities transaction records
• corporate-action records

Tax

• Form 26AS
• AIS
• TIS
• TDS certificates
• advance-tax challans
• self-assessment-tax challans

Other

• home-loan certificates
• deduction documents
• insurance records
• foreign-asset information, where applicable
• previous year's ITR
• previous year's tax computation
• carried-forward loss schedules

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11. The Taxomic 8-Step Pre-Filing Reconciliation Process

At Taxomic, we recommend approaching ITR preparation as a reconciliation exercise, not merely a form-filling exercise.

Step 1 — Identify all income sources

Start with your actual financial life.

Salary, business income, professional income, rent, interest, dividends, capital gains and other income.

Step 2 — Download AIS

Review the detailed information available against your PAN.

Step 3 — Review TIS

Use TIS to understand the summarised information after processing.

Step 4 — Verify Form 26AS

Check TDS/TCS information and tax credits.

Step 5 — Reconcile against source documents

Compare the information with:

• Form 16;
• bank statements;
• broker statements;
• mutual-fund statements;
• interest certificates;
• dividend records.

Step 6 — Investigate exceptions

Every material difference should have an explanation.

Step 7 — Calculate taxable income

Only after the underlying data is understood should the taxable income be determined.

Step 8 — Finalise and verify the ITR

Once the return is prepared, review the schedules, tax computation and tax credits before submission and complete e-verification.

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12. What Happens If You Ignore AIS?

Ignoring AIS does not necessarily mean that your return is automatically wrong.

But it can increase the risk of:

• omitted income;
• incorrect tax credits;
• unexplained transactions;
• capital-gain errors;
• duplicate reporting;
• refund delays;
• subsequent clarification or compliance requirements.

The Income Tax Department's own description of AIS makes clear that it is intended to help taxpayers review information before filing and promote accurate voluntary compliance. Income Tax Department

The broader compliance environment is also becoming increasingly data-driven, making reconciliation more important than simply submitting the return before the deadline. The Economic Times

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13. AIS Is Not Your Tax Computation

This deserves emphasis.

Imagine:

AIS reports: ₹20 lakh of securities transactions.

Your actual capital gain might be:

₹2.5 lakh

The difference isn't an error merely because the two numbers are different.

Likewise:

Bank credits ≠ taxable income

Sale consideration ≠ capital gain

TDS ≠ total tax liability

AIS information ≠ final ITR

These distinctions are critical when preparing an accurate return.

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14. What About Foreign Investments?

Taxpayers with overseas financial interests need to be particularly careful.

The Income Tax Department announced in 2026 that certain foreign-asset information received through CRS/FATCA can be made available through AIS. Income Tax Department

This makes foreign-asset reporting an increasingly important part of the pre-filing review for taxpayers who have:

• foreign bank accounts;
• foreign shares;
• overseas brokerage accounts;
• foreign mutual funds;
• RSUs/ESOPs involving overseas entities;
• other reportable foreign financial interests.

The correct ITR form and disclosure requirements should be assessed based on the taxpayer's complete facts.

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15. A Simple Example

Consider Rahul, a Bangalore-based technology professional.

During FY 2025-26 he had:

His AIS may contain the ₹12 lakh securities transaction.

A taxpayer unfamiliar with AIS might assume:

"My AIS shows ₹12 lakh, so I have another ₹12 lakh of income."

That is incorrect.

The ₹12 lakh is a transaction figure. The taxable capital-gains computation must be prepared using the underlying investment records and applicable tax provisions.

This is precisely why reconciliation should happen before ITR preparation.

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16. AIS, TIS and 26AS Checklist Before You Click "Submit"

Before filing, ask yourself:

Income

☐ Have I included all salary income?

☐ Have I checked interest from every bank?

☐ Have I checked dividend income?

☐ Have I considered rental/business/professional income?

Investments

☐ Have I consolidated all brokers?

☐ Have I checked mutual-fund transactions?

☐ Have I reviewed capital gains?

☐ Have I checked previous-year capital losses?

Tax credits

☐ Does TDS reconcile with Form 16?

☐ Have I checked Form 26AS?

☐ Have I checked AIS/TIS?

☐ Have I verified advance/self-assessment tax payments where applicable?

Compliance

☐ Is the correct ITR form being used?

☐ Have I checked foreign assets/income?

☐ Have I reviewed all relevant disclosures?

☐ Have I retained supporting documents?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is AIS the same as Form 26AS?

No.

AIS is broader and contains various information reported against the taxpayer. Form 26AS primarily displays TDS/TCS-related information. Income Tax Department

Is TIS different from AIS?

TIS is a summarised, category-wise view within AIS. It presents processed/accepted information at an aggregated level. Income Tax Department

Should I report every amount shown in AIS as income?

No.

You need to understand the underlying transaction and determine its correct tax treatment.

What should I do if AIS is incorrect?

Verify the transaction against your records and, where appropriate, submit feedback through the AIS facility. Keep supporting evidence.

What if AIS does not contain some income?

You are still responsible for reporting complete and accurate income. The Income Tax Department specifically states that AIS may not contain all transactions relating to a taxpayer. Income Tax Department

Should I wait for an AIS correction before filing?

Not automatically. The appropriate course depends on the nature of the discrepancy, available evidence and applicable filing deadlines. Do not under-report genuine income simply because AIS is incomplete or incorrect.

Can a stock transaction in AIS be treated as capital gain?

Not directly. The transaction value and taxable capital gain are different concepts and the gain needs to be computed from the underlying investment records.

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Final Takeaway

AIS, TIS and Form 26AS should work together as part of your ITR pre-filing review.

The objective isn't to make your ITR "match AIS" at any cost.

The objective is to make your ITR reflect your actual, complete and correctly computed tax position, while identifying discrepancies in the information available to the Income Tax Department.

A good pre-filing process therefore looks like:

Source documents → AIS/TIS/26AS → Reconciliation → Tax computation → ITR → Review → E-verification

For taxpayers with salary alone and simple finances, this may be relatively straightforward.

For taxpayers with multiple investments, capital gains, foreign assets, rental income, freelance income, ESOPs/RSUs or multiple sources of income, a professional pre-filing review can become particularly valuable.

Need help reviewing your ITR?

Taxomic — Chartered Accountants

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Website: https://taxomic.com/services/tax-compliance/income-tax-filing