The department already has your data — match it before you file
Filing your return is no longer the first move in the conversation with the tax department; it is the reply. Through the Annual Information Statement (AIS), the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Form 26AS, the department already has a detailed picture of your interest, dividends, salary, share sales, mutual-fund redemptions and high-value purchases. The single best way to stay off the notice list is to reconcile your return to these statements before you file, not to discover the mismatch when a 143(1) intimation arrives.
What each statement actually contains
Form 26AS is the tax-credit passport: TDS and TCS deducted on your PAN, advance tax and self-assessment tax paid, and certain high-value transactions. It is what ensures you get credit for tax already paid.
AIS is far wider. It captures interest from savings and fixed deposits, dividends, securities and mutual-fund transactions, foreign remittances, rent received, and large credit-card or property transactions — each tagged with the reporting source.
TIS is the simplified, category-wise summary of the AIS, showing a "processed" and a "derived" value that flows into pre-filling. Think of 26AS as your tax credits, AIS as the raw evidence, and TIS as the summary the system uses to pre-fill your return.
Where mismatches come from
Most mismatches are not evasion — they are timing and duplication. A fixed deposit's interest may appear on an accrual basis in the AIS while you declared it on receipt. A mutual-fund switch can be reported as a sale you didn't think of as one. A joint bank account can show the full interest against one holder. Sale consideration on a property can appear in full against each co-owner. Each of these is explainable, but only if you catch it first.
How to give feedback on a wrong AIS entry
If an AIS entry is wrong or double-counted, you can submit feedback directly in the AIS portal — marking it "information is duplicate", "relates to other PAN/year", "income is not taxable", or "denied". The figure isn't auto-corrected, but your feedback is recorded and the modified value flows to the TIS, creating a documented trail that protects you if the entry is later questioned.
The reconciliation routine we follow
Before filing, line up three columns: what the AIS shows, what your own records show, and what you are about to declare. Resolve every gap. Claim every TDS credit in 26AS. Where the AIS overstates income, file feedback and keep the proof. Only then choose your form and regime and file. This 30-minute discipline prevents the months-long cycle of notice, response and rectification.
Why AIS reconciliation is the highest-value pre-filing step
A return that ties cleanly to the AIS is the return least likely to attract a 143(1) adjustment, a 143(2) scrutiny, or a refund hold. For anyone with multiple income sources — salary plus investments, or more than one bank — the reconciliation is where a professional pays for themselves, because the department's data is only as useful as your ability to interpret it correctly.
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Pune note
Pune taxpayers: we reconcile before we file. A large share of the notices we resolve for Pune clients trace back to a single uncorrected AIS entry — FD interest from a Pune cooperative bank reported on accrual, dividend from a demat account, or a property sale where the full consideration shows against each co-owner. At RDA Tax Advisory Services in Baner, our pre-filing routine starts with a line-by-line reconciliation of your AIS, TIS and 26AS against your own records. For Pune's salaried investors and dual-income households, this is where most silent mismatches hide. Where the AIS overstates income, we file the correct feedback and preserve the proof, so your return stands up if questioned later. The result is a clean, defensible return — and a refund that isn't held up by a data gap. Bring us your statements before you file: Office No. 102, Snehraj Apartment, Baner, Pune 411045, or call +91 77570 45059. A 30-minute reconciliation now saves a multi-month notice cycle later.
File with RDA
Found a mismatch in your AIS? We reconcile every entry against your records before filing, so your return doesn't trigger a notice. Book a pre-filing review at rdatax.in or call +91 77570 45059 — RDA Tax Advisory Services, Baner, Pune.
