You open the e-filing portal a week before you file and find two statements that do not agree. Form 26AS shows TDS from six clients. The AIS shows those six, plus a bank interest entry you forgot and a payment you are sure nobody made to you. Most freelancers pick one statement, trust it and move on. That is how a return ends up with income that does not match what the department already holds.
AIS vs Form 26AS is not a contest. They record different things, and each has one job in your filing. This post explains what each statement holds, which one decides your TDS credit, how to fix a wrong AIS entry, and a short routine to match both against your own invoices and bank credits before you file your ITR.
AIS and Form 26AS record different things
Form 26AS is mainly the record of tax deducted and collected at source and tax already paid in your name. The Annual Information Statement (AIS) is wider. It carries the same TDS data and adds items such as interest, dividends, securities transactions, rent and foreign remittance information. Because AIS collects data from many reporting sources, it can contain duplicates and entries that belong to another PAN. You can open both statements from the income tax e-filing portal.
Form 168 is the 26AS successor, but this year's return still uses 1961 Act numbering
Form 168 is the Income-tax Act 2025 equivalent of Form 26AS, under Rule 245 of the new rules. The 2025 Act applies from 1 April 2026, but you still file your assessment year 2026-27 return (financial year 2025-26) under the Income-tax Act 1961, and 26AS belongs to that Act. Open your portal's Form 26AS and Form 168 views and download whichever one lists your TDS for FY 2025-26. File with the 1961 Act form, and claim TDS credit from the 26AS figures.
Download both and match them to your invoices and bank credits
Download AIS and Form 26AS before filing, then check each against your own records. Log in at the e-filing portal and open the AIS menu, or use the "AIS for Taxpayer" mobile app. The statements tell you what others reported about you. Only your invoices and bank statements tell you what actually happened.
Start with your invoice list for the year and total what each client paid. Then compare that client by client with the AIS and 26AS entries. The routine is the same one the guide on Form 16A and TDS credit uses for TDS, widened to cover every income line.
An illustration for AY 2026-27, with made-up numbers: your records show TDS of ₹30,000 across three clients, and Form 26AS shows ₹24,000. The gap of ₹6,000 sits with one client. That is a specific question to put to one deductor, not a vague worry about the whole return.
Read TIS, not just AIS, to see what flows into prefill
The Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is the condensed view of AIS. For each item it shows a processed value, which the system reaches after removing duplicates by its own rules, and a value accepted by you after any feedback you give. The department says the revised TIS values are what prefill your return, so a wrong figure in TIS can end up in your draft ITR.
So open TIS after AIS. If the prefilled income for a head does not match your books, look at the TIS line behind it before you overwrite anything in the form.
What to do about a wrong or duplicate AIS entry
Submit feedback on the entry from within AIS. The portal lets you say the information is correct, not fully correct, relates to another PAN or another year, is a duplicate, or is denied, and income-type entries also get an option saying the income is not taxable. There is also an offline route, described on the department's AIS pages. Your feedback updates the accepted value in TIS.
Pick the option that matches the facts. A payment reported under your PAN that a client made to someone else belongs under another PAN. The same payment shown twice is a duplicate. An amount that is real but reported higher than you received is not fully correct, and you should give the right figure. Feedback does not guarantee that the entry changes at the source or that you will never get a notice, so keep your own records. If an entry later turns into a letter, the guide to intimation and notice under Section 143 explains the next steps.
When the entry is right but your records disagree, or TDS is missing
If an AIS entry is correct and your books are wrong, fix your books and report the income. If your books are right and TDS is simply absent from 26AS, the problem is on the deductor's side. You claim credit on the basis of 26AS, not AIS or TIS, so a TDS line that shows only in your own records will not carry a credit.
Chase the client who deducted the tax. The guide on TDS deducted but missing from 26AS covers the request for the challan details and the grievance route. Do this early, because a deductor needs time to correct a filing.
Keep a dated receipt and TDS record all year
Record each invoice, each payment received and each TDS certificate on the day it happens, so you only compare them in October instead of rebuilding them. For the tax side, the freelance tax estimator gives a rough yearly figure to plan around, and the guide to ITR-4 for freelancers covers the return itself.
Rinto lets you mark invoices paid and always know who owes you what, so your invoice list is in one place when you compare it with your own bank statement. Rinto does not file returns, give tax advice, compute your final tax or reconcile statements for you. This post is general information, not tax advice, so confirm your own position with a CA or the official portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?
Form 26AS is mainly the record of TDS, TCS and tax already paid against your PAN. AIS is a wider statement. It includes the same TDS data and adds items such as interest, dividends, securities transactions, rent and foreign remittance information. AIS can also contain duplicate or wrong-PAN entries, which is why it comes with a feedback facility. Form 26AS is the statement you use to claim credit for tax deducted. AIS helps you see what has been reported about your income. Download both before you file and compare each against your own invoices and bank credits.
Is Form 26AS replaced by Form 168?
Not for this return. Form 168 is the 2025 Act's version of 26AS, under Rule 245 of the new rules, and the 2025 Act applies from 1 April 2026. But you still file your assessment year 2026-27 return (financial year 2025-26) under the 1961 Act, so 26AS remains the TDS record you check. Download both from the portal and compare the TDS lines. If a TDS line appears in one and not the other, note it and chase the deductor before you file.
How do I correct a wrong entry in my AIS?
Log in to the e-filing portal, open AIS and submit feedback on the entry. You can mark it as correct, not fully correct, relating to another PAN or year, a duplicate or denied, and income entries also offer an option saying the income is not taxable. Give the right figure where the amount is wrong. Your feedback updates the accepted value in TIS, which the department says is used to prefill your return. An offline route also exists, described on the department's AIS pages. Keep your invoices and bank credits as proof for any entry you dispute.
Which should I trust for claiming TDS, AIS or 26AS?
Claim TDS credit on the basis of Form 26AS, not AIS or TIS. If tax was deducted from your fees but does not show in 26AS, the credit does not appear on its own, so the fix sits with the deductor, who must report and deposit it correctly. Ask the client for the challan details and use the grievance route if they do not respond. AIS is still worth reading because it shows what else has been reported about you. Match both against your invoices and bank credits, and use your own records to spot what is missing.
Do I need to reconcile AIS before filing ITR if my income is only freelance?
Yes, it is worth doing. The department's filing checklist says to download both AIS and 26AS before you file. Freelancers often have items beyond fees, such as savings interest, and TDS from several clients, so the statements rarely match your books by default. Compare client-wise receipts from your invoices and bank statement with both statements, fix or give feedback on wrong entries, and chase any missing TDS early. If you filed late or are unsure of your position, the guide to what to do after missing the ITR deadline and a CA can help.