Tax deducted at source (TDS) is tricky business. Since this is tax that is deducted by individuals, companies or institutions that make payments to you, it is a common thing that you would forget about some of the TDS you can claim. In some cases, you would not even know that tax has been deducted on some income that you receive. The easiest way to figure out the details of tax deducted on your behalf is by looking at your Form 26AS.
Meaning of Form 26AS
Form 26AS is your Tax Credit Statement. The Income Tax Department allows all PAN holders to view their Form 26AS online. Apart from details of TDS, the form also gives information on tax collected on your behalf, deposits of tax paid by you, refunds received and high value transactions made in shares, mutual funds, etc.
Use of Form 26AS
As mentioned earlier, the most useful purpose of viewing your tax credit statement is to understand details of tax deducted on payments made to you. TDS is deducted not only on the salary or work-related payments you receive, but various other places like interest on securities, dividends, winnings on lotteries or horse races, payment by contractors, rental income, commision, brokerage, etc. You might not be aware of some of the TDS on your income, which is why Form 26AS becomes useful to you. You can learn about all the tax deducted on your behalf and claim the same.
How to view Form 26AS
You need your PAN to view your tax credit statement on the Income Tax Department’s website or your bank’s net banking facilities.