Last date for filing income tax return approaches: What is Form 26AS? How it can help you claim refunds

Have you filed your income tax return (ITR) for assessment year 2017-18? The last date to file the ITR is July 31. A taxpayer is also required to disclose information of cash deposited in their bank account aggregating to Rs 2 lakh from November 11 to 30 December,2016, said the Income Tax Department.

Income Tax Filing always requires Form 16 issued by employers. But salaried people should also pay attention to another document - Form 26AS.

Here are all the details you should know about form 26AS:

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is a document that a salaried individual should access before filing tax returns. This is a tax credit statement which includes all taxes received by the Income Tax Department, the same can be accessed from the tax department's website: incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in .

If you have paid taxes on your income or tax has been deducted from your income, the Income tax department already has these details in their database.

Form 26AS also facilitates the detailed information about your income on which taxes have been deducted. The information also includes the taxes that have been paid by or on your behalf by the deductor( which could be your employer or bank) to the Government.

It has all the information of the taxes that a taxpayer has paid. Also, it contains the information about tax refunds which an assesee has got during the relevant financial year.

How to access your Form 26AS

• Log in to your account on the income tax department's website for tax filing (incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in ).
• Go to 'My Account' tab and select Form 26AS from the drop down menu.
• The taxpayer will then be directed to TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES) website.
• The taxpayer can then select the assessment year and format in which he/she would like to view Form 26AS.
• The Password for Form 26AS PDF/text file is Date of Birth as printed on PAN card.
• Taxpayers can view Form 26AS through net banking facility also. Some selected banks offer this facility.