AIS shows extra interest I did not earn

AIS showed interest I did not see in my passbook. I sat in the shop after closing. I thought someone used my PAN. Then I thought the portal is drunk. Then I opened the bank app.

Usually it is not a ghost. It is a joint account. Or an old account I closed late. Or TDS on a line I forgot. Or the bank reported a year in a way I did not expect.

I dont file a war on AIS the same night. I check bank first. Then 26AS. Then I talk.

If TDS is sitting on that interest, I want a rupee sense before I shout. I use TDS quick estimate on PayByDate. Amount and rate. Rough cut. This is an estimate. Confirm on the official portal.

What AIS is in my head

AIS is the list other people sent about me. Bank. Employer. Maybe a buyer. It is not my books. It is their report.

TIS is the summary flavour. I look at both when I file.

If AIS has a line, the department already has a line. If I ignore it, a notice can come later. I wrote how I open those mails here: Notice after filing, first thing to check.

AIS can be wrong. Banks make mistakes. Joint accounts get reported on both PANs sometimes. I have seen that in Jaipur more than once.

AIS can be late. I downloaded in June. Bank added a line in July. I download again before I click submit.

I dont treat AIS as my ITR. I treat it as a checklist.

The extra interest I actually found

Last year AIS had 22,400 as savings interest. My two live accounts in the passbook were about 11,000 together. Gap of eleven thousand. I felt sick.

I opened an old PNB passbook in the almirah. Account I thought I closed in 2023. Bank closed it in 2024 after a small balance sat there. Interest had still ticked. I had forgotten the passbook in a plastic bag behind GST files.

That was eight thousand.

The rest was a joint account with my mother. SBI. Her money. My PAN was second holder. Bank reported something on my PAN. We sat with the branch on MI Road. Took a letter. I did not put her full interest in my ITR like a fool. I also did not ignore AIS. I used the feedback path on the portal and I kept the letter.

I am not telling you your case is the same. I am telling you I check bank before I add 22,400 as my income because a PDF said so.

A cloth merchant near Bapu Bazaar had FD interest on AIS for an FD he broke. He had the closure paper. AIS was stale. He waited for a refresh. He did not file on the stale number.

TDS on interest I did not plan

If bank cut TDS on interest, 26AS usually shows it. Rate people talk about depends on the situation. I dont print a rate as law here.

I type the interest and a rate in TDS quick estimate so I can see the cut in rupees. Then I look at 26AS for the real credit.

If I include the interest in my ITR, I also take the TDS credit if it is mine. If the interest is not mine, I dont take the credit like a bonus. That is how people get into a mess.

Advance tax people ask if TDS reduces the 15 September cut. Often yes, credit is credit. I wrote that here: TDS deducted, do I reduce it from advance tax. Different season. Same habit. Dont pay twice in a panic.

If I already filed and then I find this AIS line, I am in revise talk. Belated return vs revised return. I dont revise at 11 night without the bank letter.

LTCG and other lines that sit next to interest

AIS is not only interest. Mutual fund sale can sit there. I have a page for that scare: LTCG line in AIS, simple check before filing. Broker statement first. Not a guess.

Salary can sit. Form 16 can fight AIS. If HR is late, I still estimate from slips. Form 16 not given, can I still estimate tax.

I do one line at a time. If I try to fix interest, LTCG, and salary in one evening, I mix the diary.

How I check without losing the evening

I download AIS as PDF. I print the interest table or I copy it into the shop notebook.

I list my accounts. Bank name. Last four digits. Interest I see in the app for that financial year.

I match. Green tick. Question mark. Extra.

For each extra, I ask. Closed account. Joint. Wrong PAN. Duplicate. Year mismatch.

I call the bank if the branch is near. I dont fight AIS only with a tweet.

On the portal there is a way to say I disagree. I use it when I have paper. I dont use it because I am angry.

I keep screenshots. Notice later will not remember my anger. It will remember paper.

Mistakes I hear on the phone

“AIS is wrong so I will not file.” Filing still has a due date. Typical 31 July window. Official date can move.

“I will put the full AIS number so they dont notice me.” If it is not your income, you may pay tax that is not yours.

“I will put zero because I did not see it.” If it is yours, notice can come.

“My CA will handle AIS, I dont need passbooks.” CA is not a magician. Give the passbooks.

Copying last year’s interest. Banks change. FD breaks. I download fresh.

Giving a cyber cafe uncle my login to “fix AIS”. I dont.

If I already filed with the wrong interest

I check e-verify first. E-verify pending, is my ITR even filed.

Then I decide if the difference is worth a revise. Fourteen rupees I dont wake the CA. Fourteen thousand I do.

If a notice already came, I dont only revise. I read the notice. First check stays first.

Late fee is a different door if the original file was late. ITR filed late, late fee on 7 lakh income. Adding interest later can change tax. It does not rewrite July.

I use Old vs new regime estimate if the extra interest pushes me and I want a rough regime feel. Still a guess.

Shop routine I keep now

In April I download AIS once. Early. Just to see ghosts.

In June I download again. Before I start the ITR draft.

In July I download the week I file. Last look.

I keep passbooks in one shelf. Not behind the GST files. I lost two hours that way.

I write joint accounts on a slip. Whose PAN. Whose money. So I dont argue with my mother in the shop.

If TDS is there, I keep the bank certificate if they give one. 26AS is the main page.

Dates I dont mix

AIS work is income tax. GST has its own portal. GSTR-1 around 11. 3B around 20. I dont hunt AIS on gst.gov.in. I have seen a man try.

Advance tax 15 September is money out. AIS is information in. If extra interest is real, my annual tax estimate can change. Then September cut can change. I dont ignore that.

EPF date is a salary story. Not this page.

I am not CBDT. PayByDate is a helper. Official incometax.gov.in wins.

AIS extra interest is a bank job first, a tax job second. Passbook. Letter. Then portal feedback. Then ITR.

Use TDS quick estimate if a cut is sitting on the line. This is an estimate. Confirm on the official portal.

I still check the old PNB bag when a number looks cursed. Usually the cursed number has a passbook.