Income Tax Form 168: Annual Information Statement of Financial Transactions

Form 168 (earlier Form 26AS) is the Annual Information Statement (AIS) introduced under Section 510 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, providing a comprehensive record of a taxpayer’s financial transactions linked to PAN. It is auto-generated by the Income Tax Department and updated dynamically throughout the year based on data received from banks, employers, mutual funds, and other reporting entities. The statement includes details of TDS/TCS, specified financial transactions, tax payments, refunds, and proceedings. Alongside AIS, the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) offers a simplified, category-wise summary of income and taxes to assist in accurate return filing. Taxpayers cannot file or edit AIS directly but can submit feedback to correct discrepancies, which then updates TIS. Form 168 enhances transparency, minimizes reporting errors, and helps avoid tax notices due to mismatches. It serves as a crucial tool for verifying income and ensuring accurate and compliant tax return filing.

Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India

FAQs on Income Tax Form 168 (Earlier Form No. 26AS (AIS)): Annual Information Statement of Financial Transactions Reported to Tax Department

Annual Information Statement (AIS)

Q1: What is AIS?

Ans. AIS stands for Annual Information Statement. It is a statement available on the Income-tax Department’s website that shows the financial transactions linked to PAN of taxpayer for a particular financial year. These details are reported to the department by banks, employers, mutual fund companies, stock brokers, property registrars, and other institutions. In simple words, AIS is a yearly record of what different organizations have informed the tax department about the taxpayer’s income and major financial activities.

Q2: What is TIS?

Ans. TIS stands for Taxpayer Information Summary. It is a summarized version of the AIS. While AIS contains detailed transaction-wise information, TIS shows the final category-wise totals such as total salary income, total rental income, total interest income, total capital gains, and total tax paid. TIS is mainly designed to help taxpayers use correct figures while filing their Income-tax Return (ITR).

Q3: How can AIS (Annual Information Statement) be accessed?

Ans. The taxpayer can access AIS by logging in to the Income-tax e-filing portal by following below mentioned steps:

Step 1: Login to e-filing portal ( https://www.incometax.gov.in/ ).

Step 2: After login to e-filing portal, –

Click on “View Annual Information Statement (AIS)” under “e-File” → “Income tax Returns” tab.

OR

Click on “AIS” tab.

OR

Click on “AIS” tile under “Compliance Portal” under “Pending Actions”

(For more details, kindly refer Annual Information Statement User Guide available under “Resources” section at AIS Homepage.)

Q4: How can TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) be accessed?

Ans. TIS is available on the same AIS dashboard. Once the taxpayer opens AIS, he needs to simply click on the “TIS” tab. It will display the summarized income and tax figures prepared from AIS data, which are useful while filing the Income-tax Return.

Q5: Why were AIS and TIS introduced by the Income-tax Department?

Ans. The Income-tax Department introduced AIS and TIS to improve transparency and accuracy in tax reporting. These facilities help taxpayers understand what information about their financial affairs is already available with the Income-tax department. They also help reduce mistakes, prevent income from being missed while filing returns, and minimize future tax notices due to mismatch.

Q6: What is the main difference between AIS and TIS?

Ans. AIS is a detailed statement that shows individual transactions reported by different sources. TIS is a simplified summary created from AIS data. AIS is mainly used for verification and correction, while TIS is mainly used as a reference while preparing and filing the Income-tax Return.

AIS is the detailed data source, TIS is the summarized reference, and ITR is the final legal declaration.

Taxpayer should review AIS carefully, submit corrections if required, verify updated TIS, and then file the return to avoid future notices on account of mismatch.

Q7: What type of information is shown in AIS?

Ans. The information shown in AIS is divided in two parts:

PART A- General Information

Part-A displays general information pertaining to the taxpayer, including PAN, name of the taxpayer, date of birth/ incorporation, contact number, e-mail id and address of Taxpayer.

PART- B

• TDS/TCS Information: – Information related to tax deducted/collected at source is displayed here. The Information code of the TDS/TCS, Information description and Information value is shown.
• SFT Information: – Under this head, information received from reporting entities under Statement of Financial transaction (SFT) is displayed. The SFT code, Information description and Information value is made available.
• Payment of Taxes: – Information relating to payment of taxes under different heads, such as Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax, is displayed here.
• Demand and Refund: – Information relating to the details of the demand raised and refund initiated (TY and amount) during a tax year is displayed here.
• Other Information: – Details of the information received from the other sources, such as data pertaining to Annexure II salary, Interest on refund, Dividend, Securities transactions, Mutual fund transactions, Outward Foreign Remittance/Purchase of Foreign Currency etc., is displayed here.

This makes AIS a very comprehensive financial statement for the year.

Q8: What type of information is shown in TIS?

Ans. TIS shows the final summarized income figures such as:

• Total salary income,
• Total rental income
• Total interest income,
• Total dividend income,
• Total capital gains,
• Total business income, and
• Total taxes paid.

These are consolidated figures that taxpayers can directly use while filling in their Income-tax Return.

Q9: How are AIS and TIS useful while filing the Income-tax Return?

Ans. AIS and TIS help taxpayers ensure that no income is forgotten or under-reported while filing the Income-tax Return. These allow taxpayers to cross-check their own records with the department’s data. This helps in filing accurate returns, reduces the chances of receiving notices on account of mis-match, and provides confidence that income and taxes are being reported correctly.

Q10: What should a taxpayer do if some information in AIS is incorrect?

Ans. If any entry is incorrect, duplicated, or does not belong to the taxpayer, it should be reported using the feedback option available in the AIS section of the portal. After logging into the portal, the taxpayer needs to open AIS, select the transaction, click on Give Feedback, choose the appropriate reason such as incorrect, duplicate, or not related, and submit the response.

Q11: Can TIS be edited directly by the taxpayer?

Ans. No. TIS cannot be edited directly. It is updated automatically after the department processes feedback submitted in AIS.

Q12: Should income be reported even if not shown in AIS?

Ans. Yes. All actual incomes must be reported in the ITR, even if it is missing from AIS.

Guidance Note on Income Tax Form 168 (Earlier Form No. 26AS (AIS)): Annual Information Statement of Financial Transactions Reported to Tax Department

Form 168 – Annual Information Statement (AIS)

Purpose

Form 168, notified under Rule 245 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. is a comprehensive annual tax information statement reflecting all tax-related and specified financial transactions linked to a taxpayer’s PAN. It enables taxpayers and the Income Tax Department to verify taxes paid, income sources, and compliance history.

Form 168 consolidates information for transparency, data accuracy, and ease of compliance, including:

• Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)
• Tax Collected at Source (TCS)
• Payment of advance, self-assessment, and regular taxes
• Specified Financial Transactions (SFTs)
• Demand and refund details
• Status of pending and completed proceedings
• Any other information as prescribed under Income Tax Rule 245.

Key update: The header now uses “Tax Year” instead of “Financial Year” to align with modernized forms under the 2025 Act.

Who should file Form 168

• Form 168 is auto-generated by the Income-tax Department.
• It is uploaded in the registered e-filing account of the taxpayer by:
• Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems)
• Director General of Income-tax (Systems)
• Or any authorised person designated by them
  Note: Taxpayers do not file Form 168 manually.

Frequency and Due Date

• Form 168 is dynamically updated throughout the year as underlying TDS/TCS returns, SFT statements, and other tax payments are filed and processed.
• It is available in real-time in the taxpayer’s account on the Income Tax e-filing portal.
• There is no fixed filing frequency; updates depend on the reporting timelines of deductor, collectors, and other entities.

Structure of Form 168

Part A – Particulars of the Person

1. Name (full, no abbreviations)

2. Date of Birth / Incorporation

3. Address (Flat/Door/Block, Premises, Road/Street/Lane, Area/Locality, Town/City/District, State, PIN)

4. PAN

5. Email ID

6. Contact Number (Country Code + Number; multiple numbers allowed)

Part B – Nature of Information

1. Information relating to tax deducted or collected at source (TDS/TCS)

2. Information relating to specified financial transactions (SFT)

3. Information relating to payment of taxes (advance, self-assessment, regular)

4. Information relating to demand and refund

5. Information relating to pending proceedings

6. Information relating to completed proceedings

7. Any other information under sub-rule (2) of Rule 245, 2026

Key updates:

• Header changed to Tax Year
• Standardized identification fields and contact numbers
• Minor formatting refinements for clarity

Data Sources

Form 168 is compiled from multiple sources:

1. TDS/TCS Data: Submitted by deductor/collectors through quarterly returns (Forms 24Q, 26Q, 27Q, etc.)

2. Tax Payment Details: From challans (OLTAS/online payments)

3. SFT Information: From banks, mutual funds, registrars, and other reporting entities

4. Refund/Demand Data: From CPC-ITR module

5. Proceedings Information: From Assessment Units / Faceless Assessment Centres

Filing Count

Form 168 is not a form that is filed by the taxpayer. Instead, it is an auto-generated annual tax statement made available by the Income Tax Department based on information uploaded by various deductor, collectors, and reporting entities. Its availability is dependent on the periodic filing of TDS/TCS returns, SFT statements, and other statutory reports by these entities. Therefore, Form 168 does not have a filing frequency of its own; it is updated dynamically throughout the year as and when the underlying statements are filed and processed by the Department.

Process Flow of Form 168

1. Generation by Reporting Entities:

• • Deductor, banks, mutual funds, and other entities submit TDS/TCS/SFT/other statements.
  • Tax payments (advance, self-assessment, regular) recorded through challans.

2. Processing by the Department:

• • CPC-TDS and CPC-ITR match PAN-based transactions and process tax credits.
  • SFT, demand, refund, and proceedings data consolidated.

3. Compilation of Form 168:

• • Automatic generation for each PAN.
  • Data categorized into TDS, TCS, SFT, tax payments, refunds, and proceedings.

4. Availability to the Taxpayer:

• • Accessible via the Income Tax e-Filing portal.
  • Reflects real-time updates as underlying filings are processed.

Outcome of Processed Form 168:

For the Taxpayer:

• Gains access to a consolidated statement of all tax credits, TDS/TCS details, advance/self- assessment tax payments, and specified financial transactions.
• Helps in accurate filing of return of income and verification of tax credits.
• Enables early detection and correction of mismatches with deductor or reporting entities.

For the Department:

• Provides a single verified repository of a taxpayer’s tax-related information.
• Facilitates pre-filled ITRs, cross-verification, and compliance monitoring.
• Ensures transparency and accuracy in credit giving, reducing disputes and rectification requests.

Brief Note on Broad or Qualitative Changes Proposed

Form 168 has been recently amended, Hence the proposed Form 168 introduces only minor textual and formatting refinements such as “Financial Year” replaced with “Tax Year” to maintain uniformity across the restructured Income-tax forms .

Challenges and Solutions

Fragmentation of Data Sources

• Issue: Data originates from multiple systems (CPC-TDS, CPC-ITR, Insight, and OLTAS), leading to delays or mismatches.
• Solution: Establish a unified, real-time data pipelines across platforms.

Common Changes Made Across Forms

1. “Financial Year” replaced with Tax Year.

2. Identification fields standardized and formatted (PAN, Name, Address, Contact, Email).

3. Minor textual and layout refinements to improve readability and system integration.