TDS Deducted But Not Showing in Form 26AS? How to Fix It

Who this guide is for

This guide is for anyone in India from whom tax was deducted at source (TDS) but who finds that the deduction is not reflecting in their Form 26AS or Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income tax portal. The credit is the proof that lets you claim the tax already paid on your behalf. When it is missing, your refund or self-assessment tax can go wrong. You are in the right place if you are:

• A salaried employee whose payslip shows TDS, but Form 26AS shows little or nothing against the employer.
• A landlord whose tenant deducted TDS on rent but the credit has not appeared.
• A property seller from whose sale proceeds the buyer deducted TDS, with no entry in your Form 26AS.
• A freelancer, professional, or contractor whose client deducted TDS on fees that does not show up.
• A depositor whose bank or company deducted TDS on interest that is missing from your statement.

The common thread is that the person or organisation who deducted the tax — the deductor — controls whether and how it appears against your PAN. You cannot fix the TDS return yourself; your job is to push the deductor to act and to protect your own filing in the meantime. Where the entry exists but the amount or details are wrong, see our companion guide on the AIS and Form 26AS mismatch action plan.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Log in to the income tax e-filing portal and open both your Form 26AS (through the e-filing portal, which redirects to the TRACES view) and your AIS. Download both as PDF for the relevant financial year. Note exactly which deductions are missing — the deductor name, the amount, the month, and the type of income.

Now gather the proof that tax was actually deducted from you. For salary, that is your payslips and any Form 16 already issued. For rent or fees, the credit note or payment advice. For a property sale, the buyer's payment proof and any Form 16B. The deduction must be visible in the money you received versus the gross amount due.

Write down the deductor's PAN and TAN if you have them. TDS is filed under the deductor's TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number), and that is the key that links the deposit to your PAN.

Saturday

Contact the deductor in writing. Phone first if you like, but always follow up by email so there is a record. Ask three specific things: did you deposit the TDS with a challan; did you file the TDS return quoting my PAN; and will you issue my TDS certificate. State your full name and PAN clearly so they can check their records.

For a salary case, write to the HR or payroll/accounts team and ask them to confirm the challan details and the quarter in which the return was filed. For a tenant or buyer, ask them to confirm the challan and the statement they filed. A wrong PAN in the return is the single most common reason a deduction does not reach you.

If the deductor confirms they filed but quoted a wrong PAN, an incorrect amount, or the wrong assessment year, ask them to file a correction statement on TRACES. Only the deductor can do this. Be polite but specific, and put a reasonable date by which you expect confirmation.

Sunday

Prepare your evidence file in case the deductor does not cooperate. Index your payslips or payment proof, any TDS certificate, your bank statement showing the net amount received, and a copy of your written request to the deductor. This bundle is what you will rely on if you have to file a grievance.

Draft your formal written request using the template in this guide. If a return-filing deadline is close, speak to a Chartered Accountant or tax practitioner about whether to file now and revise later, or to wait for the credit to appear. The choice depends on your deadline and the deductor's response, and the stakes can be high, so get a professional view.

Keep a simple log: date you contacted the deductor, what they said, and what they promised. This timeline becomes important if you escalate to a grievance or to the TDS assessing officer.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Confirm the gap in Form 26AS and AIS

Log in to the income tax e-filing portal and open Form 26AS (it opens the TRACES view) and your AIS for the relevant financial year. Compare the TDS recorded there with what was actually deducted from you, deductor by deductor. List each missing entry with the amount, month, and income type. If even part of the credit is missing, treat it the same way — the deductor needs to act.

Step 2 — Understand why TDS goes missing

TDS reaches your Form 26AS only when two things happen: the deductor deposits the tax using a valid challan, and the deductor files a TDS return (for example Form 24Q for salary, 26Q for many non-salary payments, or the Form 26QB challan-cum-statement for property purchase) that correctly quotes your PAN. The most common reasons your credit is missing are:

• Wrong PAN in the return: a single wrong character routes the credit to someone else or to nobody.
• Return not yet filed or filed late: the deductor deducted and even deposited, but has not filed the statement, so nothing maps to your PAN.
• Challan mismatch: the challan amount, assessment year, or section does not match the return, so TRACES cannot process it.
• Tax deducted but not deposited: the deductor withheld your tax but never paid it to the government — a serious default by the deductor.

Identifying which of these applies tells you exactly what to ask the deductor to fix.

Step 3 — Put a clear request to the deductor in writing

Email the deductor and send the same letter by registered post. Quote your full name, PAN, the amount deducted, and the period. Ask them to confirm the challan and the TDS return they filed, to file a correction statement on TRACES if any detail is wrong, and to issue your TDS certificate. For salary, write to payroll or accounts; for rent, to the tenant; for a property sale, to the buyer. Keep it factual and give a reasonable date for their reply.

Step 4 — Ask for the right correction or certificate

If the deductor filed with a wrong PAN, wrong amount, or wrong assessment year, only a correction statement by the deductor can fix it; you cannot file it for them. If they have not filed at all, ask them to file the original return and then download and give you the certificate. For property purchases, the buyer corrects the Form 26QB details and gives the seller Form 16B; for detail on that flow see our guide on Form 26QB errors and seller credit. For salary cases where Form 16 was never issued, see what to do when an employer does not issue Form 16.

Step 5 — Protect your income tax return while you wait

Do not casually claim TDS that is not in Form 26AS — the system matches your claim against that record, and a gap can produce a smaller refund, a demand, or a notice. If a filing deadline is approaching, speak to a tax professional about whether to file with the credit you can support and revise later, or to wait. Keep your TDS certificate and bank proof, because they are your evidence that the tax was deducted even if the credit is lagging. For employer-specific salary cases, our guide on TDS not deposited by an employer and the 26AS mismatch goes deeper.

Step 6 — Re-check after the deductor confirms filing

Once the deductor says the correction or original return has been filed, give it time to process and then re-open Form 26AS and AIS. Credit usually reflects within a few weeks of a processed return, but exact timing depends on the deductor and on TRACES processing. Keep checking until the entry appears and matches what was deducted from you.

Step 7 — Escalate if the deductor stalls or refuses

If the deductor ignores you or refuses, raise a grievance on the income tax e-filing portal describing the deduction, the deductor, and your evidence. For salary and other cases, you can also bring the matter to the attention of the jurisdictional TDS assessing officer, because failing to deposit or correctly report deducted TDS is a default by the deductor. For wider government-grievance escalation, our guide on CPGRAMS and RTI explains how the public-grievance system works.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste request template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities — which includes the Income Tax Department and any government body that itself acted as your deductor. RTI can be useful in a missing-TDS situation in specific cases:

• When a government office is your deductor: if a government department, public-sector undertaking, or other public authority deducted your TDS and has not reported it, you can file an RTI with that body's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) asking for the challan details, the TAN used, and the quarter and return in which your PAN was reported.
• Tracking your own grievance with the tax department: if you filed a grievance or complaint and have heard nothing, RTI to the relevant income tax office can ask for the status, file notings, and any action taken on your complaint about the defaulting deductor.
• Records of action against a defaulting public deductor: where the deductor is a public authority, RTI can ask whether the department took or initiated action for non-deposit or non-reporting of TDS that was deducted.

To file an RTI online, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. If your RTI is not answered in time, our guide on the first appeal under RTI Section 19 and the broader first and second appeal guide explain the next steps. For strategy on using RTI in records-heavy disputes, The RTI Playbook goes deeper.

When RTI will not help

RTI has clear limits when the deductor is private:

• A private employer, company, landlord, or buyer is not a public authority: RTI cannot compel them to file a correction or issue a certificate. Use the written demand, the e-filing grievance, and the TDS assessing officer instead.
• RTI cannot itself add the credit to your Form 26AS: only the deductor's correct filing can do that. RTI is for information and to support your case, not to substitute for the correction.
• RTI does not speed up a refund: if your return is held up by the mismatch, the faster route is the deductor correction and the e-filing grievance, not an RTI that has its own 30-day response window.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the income tax portal will fix it: the portal only displays what the deductor filed. Nobody at the department edits your Form 26AS to add a deductor's missing entry — the deductor must file the correction.
• Trying to claim the missing TDS anyway without proof: claiming credit not in Form 26AS can trigger a reduced refund, a demand, or a notice. Get the credit reflected first, or be ready to support the claim with your certificate and bank proof.
• Not getting it in writing: a phone call to HR or the tenant leaves no record. Always confirm by email and registered post so you can prove you asked.
• Ignoring the deductor's TAN: TDS is filed under the deductor's TAN. Without the TAN and your correct PAN, nobody can trace where your deduction went.
• Confusing the certificates: Form 16 is for salary, 16A for non-salary payments, 16B for property purchase, and 16C for certain rent. Asking for the wrong one wastes time. Match the certificate to the income.
• Letting deadlines pass silently: if a return-filing deadline is near, decide early — with a professional — whether to file now and revise later or to wait for the credit. Doing nothing risks a late return and lost interest on a refund.
• Filing RTI against a private deductor: RTI does not apply to a private company, landlord, or individual buyer. Spend that effort on the written demand and the grievance system instead.

If the deductor deducted TDS but never deposited it, that is a serious default; our guide on TDS not deposited by an employer covers the salary version of that problem. For the related concept of a TAN and how deductors register, see applying for a TAN for TDS deduction.