Form 26AS TDS Reconciliation with Books (India)

About the Form 26AS TDS Reconciliation with Books (India)

When your customers deduct TDS from what they pay you, the credit reaches you only through Form 26AS — and only when each customer files its TDS statement with your PAN and the right amounts. This tool compares Form 26AS with your books, deductor by deductor and quarter by quarter. Drop the 26AS you downloaded from TRACES — the Text file, the Excel file or the password-protected ZIP (type the password; it is opened on your device) — and your TDS receivable ledger or customer ledger from Tally, Zoho Books, Busy or a spreadsheet.

Each customer in the books is linked to a deductor of 26AS by the TAN, by a link you saved, or by a closely matching name. You get matched, short credit, in 26AS but not in the books, in the books but not in 26AS, and credits not yet final (booking status U, P, O or Z), with a ready request for each deductor to send yourself, the totals for your return’s TDS schedule, and an Excel report. Nothing is uploaded.

Common uses

• Year-end TDS receivable reconciliation before closing the books or signing the tax audit.
• Claiming the right TDS in the income tax return, and following up customers who have not filed.
• CA offices reconciling many clients: links between customer names and TANs are saved per client PAN.

How the comparison works

1. Form 26AS is read by its headings: each deductor line (name, TAN, totals) and the transactions under it (section, transaction date, status of booking, amount paid or credited, tax deducted, TDS deposited). Parts with TDS credited to you are compared (Part I and the TDS part for sellers and landlords); TCS (Part VI) is listed separately; Form 15G/15H lines and the parts where you are the deductor are left out. The tool checks that each deductor’s lines add up to its printed totals.
2. The books are read by their headings; total and opening-balance lines are skipped, and rows of other years are kept out when 26AS names its year.
3. Linking a customer to a deductor: the TAN in the books first, then a link you saved for this client, then a close name (Pvt, Ltd, Limited, M/s and punctuation are ignored; at least 82% similar). Anything else is listed to link by hand.
4. Comparing: the TDS in the books against the final TDS in 26AS (status F or M), for the year and for each quarter, within the difference you allow (₹10 by default).

Status of booking

Form 26AS marks each transaction: F final (the deductor’s payment matched its statement), M matched, U unmatched (the deductor has not deposited the tax or gave wrong challan details), P provisional (government deductors, until the accounts office verifies it), O overbooked (the statement claims more from a challan than it holds) and Z mismatch. Only F and M count as final here; the others are shown as not final, to follow up with the deductor.

Where to get the files

Form 26AS: log in to the e-filing portal, choose e-File → Income Tax Return → View Form 26AS and continue to TRACES, then View / Verify Tax Credit → View Form 26AS (Annual Tax Statement), choose the year and the Text or Excel format. TRACES protects the download with the date of birth or incorporation as DDMMYYYY (TRACES e-tutorials). The Annual Information Statement (Form No. 168 under rule 245 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026) also lists TDS; if you have its TDS lines as a table, add them as a sheet with headings such as TAN, Name of deductor, Section, Date, Amount and Tax deducted.

Limitations

• It compares totals by deductor and quarter, not invoice by invoice: Form 26AS has no invoice numbers.
• The quarter in 26AS is the deductor’s date of payment or credit; the books may date the same TDS by the invoice, so quarters can differ while the year agrees.
• The text and Excel downloads are read by their headings. A file from another source must keep the same headings (or use the generic sheet layout above).
• It does not log in to TRACES, download 26AS or send messages: you download the files and send the requests yourself.
• Saved links between customers and TANs stay in this browser’s storage on this device.
• An aid for reconciliation, not tax advice; the credit you may claim depends on the law and your return.

Privacy

Form 26AS, its password and your ledger are read in this browser and never uploaded. The password is used only to open the ZIP and is not kept. Links you save between customer names and TANs stay in this browser’s local storage.