AIS Shows Rent You Never Got: The 26QC Wrong-PAN Fix

Reviewed on: 2026-07-04.

It is the second week of July 2026, and Anjali, a salaried credit analyst in Pune, logs in to the Income Tax e-filing portal to download her AIS before filing her return for assessment year 2026-27 (financial year 2025-26). She scrolls to Part B, and there under the head Rent received sits Rs 6,00,000, with TDS of Rs 12,000 deducted against her PAN. She owns no house, has never let one out, and has never received a rupee of rent from anyone. The figure is large enough to move her into a higher tax slab if she ignores it.

What happened to Anjali is almost never fraud. Somewhere in a suburb of the same city, a corporate tenant paying monthly rent above Rs 50,000 deducted TDS under Section 194-IB and filed Form 26QC on TRACES. In the challan-cum-statement the tenant entered a landlord PAN that differs from the real landlord's by a single transposed character, and that wrong PAN is Anjali's. The Income Tax Department's system faithfully attached the rent and the TDS credit to her PAN, and pushed the entry into her AIS. A second, less common source is an HRA declaration: an employee somewhere quoted Anjali's PAN as their landlord's to claim house rent allowance exemption, and the employer reported that rent trail.

Both situations leave a rent trail on a stranger's statement. Both are fixable without a lawyer, without meeting any officer, and without paying anyone. This guide walks through the AIS-feedback route, the TRACES 26QC-correction route, the e-Verification Scheme 2021 trap that bites the careless, and the narrow but real place where the Right to Information Act forces the Income Tax Department to tell you why your grievance is stuck.

The Annual Information Statement is a consolidated statement of financial information reported about a taxpayer by third parties: banks, employers, mutual funds, registrars, and tenants who deduct TDS. It is governed by Section 285BB of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 114-I, and is generated by the Directorate of Systems under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The AIS feeds the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS), and the TIS values flow into the pre-filled return of income. A wrong entry in the AIS is not itself an assessment, but it shapes what the Department's risk system sees when it compares your return against reported information.

A rent entry with TDS in the AIS almost always traces back to a Form 26QC filing. Form 26QC is the challan-cum-statement used under Section 194-IB when an individual or HUF, who is not covered by a tax audit under Section 44AB, pays monthly rent exceeding Rs 50,000 to a resident landlord. The tenant deducts TDS once, for the last month of the financial year or the last month of the tenancy, whichever is earlier, and files Form 26QC on TRACES within 30 days from the end of the month in which the tax was deducted. No TAN is required; the filing carries only the tenant's PAN and the landlord's PAN, the rent amount, the property address, and the period of tenancy. A one-character error in the landlord PAN is all it takes to land the entire rent entry on the wrong person's AIS.

The Income Tax Department is a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005. It operates under the CBDT, the Department of Revenue, and the Ministry of Finance. Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) are designated at every level: the jurisdictional Income Tax Officer (ITO) ward or circle is the CPIO for assessment records, Deputy and Assistant Commissioners (DCIT/ACIT) are CPIOs for their circles, and Additional or Joint Commissioners (Addl./JCIT) serve as CPIOs and also as First Appellate Authorities at the range level. For CBDT policy and Directorate of Systems matters, the CPIO sits at the Department of Revenue headquarters at North Block, New Delhi. This matters later, because an RTI about a stuck grievance must go to the right CPIO.

Understanding the mechanics tells you what to ask for at each stage.

1. A tenant pays rent above Rs 50,000 a month to a resident landlord. Section 194-IB applies to individuals and HUFs not covered by a Section 44AB tax audit. The threshold is monthly rent, not annual.
2. The tenant deducts TDS once for the last month of the financial year or the last month of the tenancy, whichever is earlier. There is no monthly deduction cycle, which is why the entry often appears as a single lump in the AIS.
3. The tenant files Form 26QC on TRACES (traces.tdscpc.gov.in) within 30 days from the end of the month in which the tax was deducted. The form captures tenant PAN, landlord PAN, rent amount, property address, and the period.
4. A typo in the landlord PAN routes the rent and the TDS credit to a stranger's PAN. The Department's system has no way to know the PAN is wrong; it trusts the deductor's filing.
5. The entry flows into the stranger's AIS and TIS, and from there into the pre-filled return. It also appears in Form 26AS under Section 194-IB.
6. The real landlord gets no TDS credit and may refuse to adjust the rent, which is the tenant's own incentive to correct the filing fast.

The second source, an HRA declaration, works differently. An employee claims house rent allowance exemption by submitting rent receipts and the landlord's PAN to their employer. If the employee quotes a wrong PAN, the employer's TDS return carries rent paid “to” that PAN, and an HRA-related entry can surface in the AIS. There is no TRACES correction for HRA reporting; the only fix there is AIS feedback plus a request to the employee to correct their declaration with their employer.

Two changes shape how you handle this in 2026.

1. The Section 194-IB rate was cut from 5 per cent to 2 per cent effective 1 October 2024. The Finance Act 2024, announced in the Budget of 23 July 2024, reduced the TDS rate on rent under Section 194-IB from 5 per cent to 2 per cent with effect from 1 October 2024. For tenancy periods that straddle the change, the 5 per cent rate applies up to 30 September 2024 and the 2 per cent rate from 1 October 2024. During the temporary COVID relief period (14 May 2020 to 31 March 2021) the rate was 3.75 per cent. For financial year 2025-26, which is what most readers filing in July 2026 are dealing with, the applicable rate is 2 per cent. A rent entry in your AIS for FY 2025-26 showing TDS at 5 per cent is itself a red flag that the filing was botched, because the 2 per cent rate should have applied. Conversely, 2 per cent of Rs 6,00,000 is Rs 12,000, which is the figure Anjali saw.

2. The e-Verification Scheme, 2021 carries a 15-day response window. Notified by the CBDT on 13 December 2021 (Notification No. 137/2021) under Section 135A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the scheme allows the Department to issue a notice under Section 133(6) when a mismatch is found between your return and third-party reported information. The default response due date is 15 days from the date of the notice, extendable on request to the Prescribed Authority. A separate 90-day period applies at the initial information-confirmation stage before a case escalates to the CIT(e-Verification). If you ignore a wrong rent entry and the Department's risk engine flags it, you can be pulled into this scheme, and the 15-day clock is far shorter than the 30-day RTI clock. Submitting AIS feedback before you file your return usually prevents the mismatch from being raised at all.

1. Step 1 - Read the entry and capture evidence. Log in to incometax.gov.in, go to Services, AIS, open Part B, and click the rent entry. Note three things: the reported amount, the source (TDS under Section 194-IB means a 26QC filing; an employer-sourced entry means an HRA claim), and the deductor or reporting entity details shown. A 26QC-based entry carries the tenant's particulars, which makes the person who made the error traceable. Take a screenshot and download your AIS PDF before anything changes.
2. Step 2 - Submit AIS feedback the same day. On the AIS screen, click the feedback column on the rent entry and choose the option that fits: Information relates to other PAN/Year if the rent is simply not yours, Information is not fully correct if part of it is genuine, or Information is denied if you flatly reject it. The portal offers six feedback types in total, including Information is correct, Information is duplicate/included in other information, and Customized Feedback. When you select “relates to other PAN/Year”, the system saves the modified value in your AIS after reducing the amount attributed to the other PAN, and the TIS derived value is modified accordingly, flowing into your pre-filled ITR. Download the AIS Consolidated Feedback (ACF) PDF. This timestamped record is your defence if a verification query comes later.
3. Step 3 - Identify and contact the tenant. If the AIS entry shows deductor particulars (common for 26QC-based TDS), write to the tenant with the facts: their Form 26QC challan quoted your PAN instead of their landlord's, the real landlord is not getting TDS credit, and they should file a 26QC correction on TRACES. A PAN card copy and a one-paragraph explanation are enough.
4. Step 4 - Have the tenant file the 26QC correction on TRACES. The tenant logs in to traces.tdscpc.gov.in, goes to Statements/Forms, Request for Correction, selects Form Type 26QC, enters the financial year and acknowledgement number, and waits 24 to 48 hours for the request to show as “Available”. Once available, the tenant enters the challan details and edits the landlord PAN (and any other correctable field: tenant PAN, dates, rent amount, property details). Correction is validated by e-Verify through internet banking, Aadhaar OTP, or DSC. If the landlord PAN shows as “Unknown” or PANNOTAVBL, the correction needs Assessing Officer approval, for which the tenant must submit the rent agreement, the corrected PAN, and the challan to the AO within 14 days. A second-time correction always goes through the TDS AO. Once processed, the rent and TDS move off your PAN and your AIS clears at the next refresh.
5. Step 5 - File your return excluding the rent, keeping the ACF PDF. Declare your actual income. The pre-filled return may still carry the rent entry until the AIS refreshes; override it with the correct figure and retain the ACF PDF as the reason. You are not liable for tax on income you never earned, but the documentary trail protects you if the CPC or an officer asks.
6. Step 6 - File a portal grievance if the tenant is untraceable. If the deductor is a stranger you cannot contact, raise a grievance on the e-filing portal under Services, Grievances, stating that an unknown deductor has reported rent against your PAN and asking the Department to verify the 26QC filing. Note the grievance number and date.
7. Step 7 - File an RTI if the grievance goes unanswered. If 30 days pass with no action on your grievance, file an RTI application on rtionline.gov.in for Rs 10 to the CPIO of the jurisdictional Assessing Officer (for assessment-side matters) or to the CPIO of the Directorate of Systems / DGIT(Systems) for AIS and 26AS infrastructure matters. Ask only for the status and action taken on your grievance, not for the third party's PAN or tenant details. The CPIO must reply within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. If the reply is evasive or absent, file a first appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days of the expiry of the reply period. The first appeal carries no fee.

For drafting the application, the AI RTI drafting tool at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html can structure your questions, and the PIO reply checker at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html will tell you whether the reply you get is complete or a deflection. Use the timeline calculator at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html to track your 30-day reply and 30-day first-appeal deadlines so neither lapses.

1. AIS PDF downloaded on the day you first spotted the entry, with the rent row visible.
2. AIS Consolidated Feedback (ACF) PDF generated after you submitted feedback.
3. Screenshot of the rent entry showing the deductor or reporting entity details and the TDS amount.
4. Copy of your PAN card (sent to the tenant, not to the RTI CPIO).
5. Form 26AS for the relevant financial year, showing the Section 194-IB line.
6. Portal grievance acknowledgement showing the grievance number and date, if you filed one.
7. Proof of property ownership status (municipal records or a self-declaration) confirming you own no let-out property, useful only if an AO queries you.
8. For the tenant's 26QC correction: rent agreement, corrected landlord PAN, and the original challan, to be submitted to the AO if the PAN shows as PANNOTAVBL.

1. Do not declare the rent as your income to “match” the AIS. You are taxed on your real income under Section 4 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, not on a stranger's misdirected filing. Declaring it creates a false income trail and a refund problem later.
2. Do not ignore the entry. An unexplained Rs 6,00,000 of rent can trigger a compliance communication, a Section 133(6) notice under the e-Verification Scheme 2021, and eventually a notice asking why income was not disclosed. The 15-day response window under the scheme is far harder to meet than a 30-second feedback submission.
3. Do not ask the RTI CPIO for the tenant's name, address, or full PAN. Personal information of a third party is exempt under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005 unless larger public interest justifies disclosure, which a private rent dispute does not. The application will be rejected and the rejection will be lawful.
4. Do not file the RTI before filing a portal grievance. RTI is a backstop for a stuck grievance, not a first step. Without a grievance number, there is no “status and action taken” to ask for.
5. Do not assume the rate is always 2 per cent. For periods before 1 October 2024 the Section 194-IB rate was 5 per cent, and for 14 May 2020 to 31 March 2021 it was 3.75 per cent. A rate mismatch in the AIS is a clue, not a defence by itself.
6. Do not pay any “agent” who promises to clear your AIS. The AIS feedback and the 26QC correction are free, online, and self-service. Offers to “fix” your AIS for a fee are a common scam layered on top of an already annoying problem.
7. Do not let the first-appeal deadline lapse. Under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, the first appeal must be filed within 30 days of the expiry of the CPIO's reply period. Missing it closes the cheap escalation route.

Use this only after you have filed a portal grievance and 30 days have passed without a meaningful response. Replace the bracketed fields with your details.

To
The Central Public Information Officer
[ITO Ward/Circle, City] / Directorate of Systems (DGIT Systems),
Income Tax Department, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Sub: Application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Sir/Madam,

I, [Full Name], PAN [XXXXXXXXX], resident of [Full Address], hereby seek the
following information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, in respect of
grievance no. [grievance number] dated [date] submitted by me on the Income Tax
e-filing portal regarding a wrong rent entry of Rs [amount] with TDS of Rs
[amount] under Section 194-IB reflected in my Annual Information Statement for
financial year [YYYY-YY], against a property I do not own and rent I have never
received.

1. The present status of grievance no. [grievance number] dated [date].
2. The name and designation of the officer handling the said grievance.
3. The action taken, if any, on the said grievance, with dates.
4. If no action has been taken, the reasons recorded for the inaction.
5. The expected date by which the wrong entry will be removed from my AIS or
   the matter will be taken up with the deductor under the e-Verification
   Scheme, 2021.

I clarify that I am not seeking the personal information, PAN, address, or
tenant particulars of any third party, which I understand is exempt under
Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. I seek only the status and action taken
on my own grievance.

The application fee of Rs 10 is being paid online through the RTI Online portal
(rtionline.gov.in). I request that the information be supplied to me
electronically, in the form of a written reply, as is my right under
Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. If the information is denied in whole or in
part, I request that the specific section of the RTI Act on which the denial is
based be cited, and that my right to file a first appeal under Section 19(1)
within 30 days be intimated to me.

Date: [date]
Place: [city]
[Full Name], PAN [XXXXXXXXX], [email], [mobile]

No. You declare your actual income under Section 4 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Submit AIS feedback so the record reflects your position, keep the ACF PDF, and file your return with the correct figures. The pre-filled return may still carry the rent until the AIS refreshes; override it with the right number.

No. AIS entries are information, not assessments. Notices come when large reported amounts stay unexplained after the Department's risk engine compares your return with third-party information. Feedback submitted before you file usually closes the gap and prevents a Section 133(6) notice under the e-Verification Scheme, 2021.

For a 26QC-based entry, the AIS itself shows the deductor or reporting entity details. Beyond that, RTI will not give you another person's particulars, because personal information of a third party is exempt under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. Route identification through a portal grievance instead, and use RTI only to ask for the status of that grievance.

Use the Information is not fully correct feedback option and enter the true amount you actually received. Then ask your actual tenant to file a 26QC correction on TRACES updating the rent figure and, if needed, the landlord PAN. Keep the ACF PDF showing both the reported and modified values.

Under Section 194-IB, the rate is 2 per cent from 1 October 2024 onwards, after the Finance Act 2024 cut it from 5 per cent. For FY 2025-26 the 2 per cent rate applies throughout. A 5 per cent figure on a FY 2025-26 entry is a clue that the filing was botched. For older years, remember the 3.75 per cent COVID rate applied from 14 May 2020 to 31 March 2021.

Submit the same AIS feedback. There is no TRACES correction for HRA reporting, so the feedback plus a portal grievance is the route. If a colleague or relative used your PAN, ask them to correct their rent declaration with their employer so the next quarter's TDS return carries the right PAN.

No. After feedback, the entry stays visible with both the reported value and your modified value side by side. The reported value disappears only when the deductor corrects the source filing, that is, the 26QC on TRACES. This is why feedback alone is not enough for a 26QC-based entry; the tenant's correction is the real fix.

Usually it is a typo. But if the same PAN appears in multiple HRA claims or rent entries you never received income for, someone may be using your PAN to fabricate rent receipts. Submit AIS feedback for each entry, keep copies, and state in your portal grievance that you suspect misuse. You are not liable for tax on income you never earned, but the documentary trail protects you. Persistent misuse can be reported in writing to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

File the RTI only after you have filed a portal grievance and 30 days have passed without a meaningful response. The RTI asks for the status and action taken on that grievance, not for the third party's identity. Pay Rs 10 on rtionline.gov.in, address it to the CPIO of your jurisdictional ITO ward (or the DGIT Systems CPIO for AIS infrastructure issues), and expect a reply within 30 days under Section 7(1). If the reply is evasive, file a first appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days.

The Rs 10 fee applies to Central public authorities like the Income Tax Department under the RTI Rules, 2012, payable online through rtionline.gov.in. Below-poverty-line applicants are exempt on producing a certificate. First appeals carry no fee. For state public authorities the fee varies; see rti-fees-by-state for the state-wise schedule.

1. Section 194-IB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Finance Act 2024 - rate reduction from 5 per cent to 2 per cent effective 1 October 2024. EY alert and TaxGuru summary confirm the rate change and the mechanics: https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-in/alerts-hub/2025/04/recent-updates-regarding-compliance-on-section-194-ib.pdf and https://taxguru.in/income-tax/tds-rent-fy-2024-25-section-194-ib-rate-5-percentor-2-percent.html
2. Form 26QC correction on TRACES - official e-tutorial and procedure: https://traces61contents.tdscpc.gov.in/en/e-tutorial-taxpayer.html ; Quicko guide: https://learn.quicko.com/traces-form-26qc-correction-dsc-ao-approval
3. AIS feedback types - official AIS FAQ and Income Tax India AIS page: https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/annual-information-statement and https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/sites/default/files/2022-07/Click%20Here_1.pdf
4. e-Verification Scheme, 2021 - CBDT Notification No. 137/2021 dated 13 December 2021 under Section 135A; ITD Quick Reference Guide confirms the 15-day default response window: https://itgoawbunit.org/pdf/41502-e-verification-instruction-no.-1-2024.pdf
5. RTI fee Rs 10, Central authorities - RTI Rules, 2012 and rtionline.gov.in guidelines: https://legalaffairs.gov.in/rti/fee-required-under-rti-act and https://rtionline.gov.in/guidelines.php?pageid=c9f0f895fb98ab9159f51fd0297e236d&request=
6. Income Tax Department CPIO list - Department of Revenue: https://dor.gov.in/files/rti_documents/CPIOlist-converted.pdf and https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/intelligence-and-criminals-investigation/cpio-appellate-authority
7. RTI Act, 2005 - Sections 6(1), 7(1), 8(1)(j), 10, 19(1): standard provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

• TDS on rent deposited against the wrong landlord PAN - the tenant-side counterpart of this exact problem.
• A high-value transaction in your AIS that is not yours - the same AIS-feedback mechanism for non-rent entries.
• AIS or Form 26AS mismatch: property sale, FD interest, salary TDS - broader AIS and 26AS mismatch guide.
• Challan payment made under the wrong PAN - wrong-PAN correction in a tax challan, related mechanism.
• Wrong capital gains in your AIS from a share or mutual fund sale - AIS wrong-entry feedback, same flow.
• PAN misuse: unknown GST company, loan, or bank account - the deliberate-PAN-misuse angle.
• Landlord refuses rent receipts or an agreement copy - landlord and rent-documentation cluster.
• HRA or LTA salary exemption disallowed in an income tax notice - the HRA side of the same employer-reported rent trail.
• Income tax demand notice or refund adjustment: action guide - downstream notice handling.
• RTI for TDS and IT refund delayed and RTI for income tax refund delay in 2026 - RTI for the income tax refund cluster.
• RTI for PAN card status - PAN-related RTI.

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*This page explains the statutory and procedural position as of July 2026. It is not a substitute for a tax practitioner. If a wrong rent entry has appeared in your AIS, act on the same day, in writing, and keep every acknowledgement.*

If this guide helped you, draft your application with the AI RTI tool at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html , check any reply you receive with https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html , and track your 30-day deadlines with https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html .