AIS
TaxAnnual Information Statement
A comprehensive financial information statement launched by the Income Tax Department in 2021, showing all financial transactions reported against a taxpayer's PAN — including bank interest, dividends, mutual fund transactions, property purchases, and foreign remittances.
Definition
AIS (Annual Information Statement) is a comprehensive financial information statement issued by the Income Tax Department of India, available on the IT portal against every taxpayer's PAN. Introduced in FY 2021–22, AIS aggregates financial transaction data reported by multiple third parties — banks, AMCs, brokers, registrars, and other financial intermediaries — to give both the taxpayer and the tax department a 360-degree view of the taxpayer's financial activity.
AIS goes significantly beyond the older Form 26AS (Tax Credit Statement) by including not just tax deductions but actual income earned, investments made, properties transacted, and foreign remittances. It is the foundation for pre-filled ITRs under the income tax department's modernisation initiative.
AIS is accessible on the IT e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in) under the 'Annual Information Statement' section.
Formula
No mathematical formula — AIS is an information statement.
ITR Pre-fill (simplified):
Reported Income in AIS + Unreported/Exempt income (taxpayer-added) − Deductions − Capital Losses = Net Taxable Income
The IT department's automated processing compares AIS-reported income with ITR-declared income. Discrepancies trigger scrutiny notices.
Worked Example
Sathya files her ITR for FY 2025–26. She logs into the IT portal and reviews her AIS:
| Category | AIS Reported | Sathya's Records |
|---|---|---|
| Salary (employer-reported) | ₹12,00,000 | ₹12,00,000 ✓ |
| FD Interest (bank-reported) | ₹82,000 | ₹82,000 ✓ |
| Dividends received | ₹18,000 | ₹18,000 ✓ |
| Equity MF redemptions | ₹4,50,000 | ₹4,50,000 ✓ |
| Property rent (tenant TDS) | ₹96,000 | ₹96,000 ✓ |
Everything matches. She accepts the pre-filled ITR, adds Section 80C deductions (₹1,50,000), and files.
If the AIS showed an FD interest of ₹1,20,000 but Sathya's actual interest was ₹82,000: She submits feedback on the AIS ("Information is not fully correct"), files based on actual ₹82,000, and keeps bank statements as supporting documentation.
Key Things to Know
- TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary): TIS is derived from AIS — it aggregates and deduplicates AIS entries by income category to generate a cleaner version used for ITR pre-fill. AIS has raw data with all reported transactions; TIS has the processed summary.
- Feedback mechanism is essential: AIS errors are common — third parties report incorrectly (wrong PAN mapping, duplicate reporting, wrong transaction amounts). Use the AIS feedback mechanism to flag errors. This also creates a paper trail if the IT department questions the discrepancy later.
- High-value transaction reporting (SFT): Banks, mutual funds, and other entities file Statements of Financial Transactions (SFT) with the IT department for high-value activities: bank deposits above ₹10 lakh, mutual fund investments above ₹10 lakh, property purchases above ₹30 lakh, and credit card payments above ₹1 lakh/month. These all appear in AIS.
- Form 26AS vs AIS — which to trust? For TDS credits, Form 26AS is authoritative (it comes from TDS returns filed by deductors). For reported financial transactions, AIS is the primary document. Both should be reviewed before filing. Where they conflict, investigate the source data.
- AIS for advance tax planning: AIS from the previous year helps estimate current year advance tax obligations by showing all income sources. It also helps identify tax-saving opportunities — for example, checking if LTCG from equity has crossed the ₹1.25 lakh threshold and whether further LTCG harvesting should be deferred.