Pan Card: Income Tax Return (ITR) forms have been notified! The process of filing ITR is also going to start soon, the last date of which will be July 31, 2025. But, if your Permanent Account Number (PAN) is inactive or not linked to your Aadhaar card, then you will not be able to file an ITR. You will also have trouble claiming TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) credit.
Many people do not know whether their PAN card is active or not, and many times ITR gets canceled due to non-linking. Let’s find out how you can check your PAN status, what is the way to link it with Aadhaar, and what can be the effect of not linking. This information is extremely important for your financial future.
How to check PAN card status
You can check yourself whether your PAN card is active or not by visiting the official site of Income Tax! For this you do not need to go to any agent or CA.
Go to the income tax portal: https://www.incometax.gov.in.
Click on the “Verify Your PAN” section.
Enter your PAN number, date of birth, and mobile number.
You will receive an OTP on your mobile, fill it and submit it. Now the status of the PAN will appear on the screen – Active or Inactive.
If the PAN is not active, it means that it has been temporarily deactivated in government records and cannot be used in any legal financial activity.
To re-activate the PAN, it has to be linked to the Aadhaar card. This is an important process that should not be ignored.
What to do if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked
If you have not yet linked the PAN to the Aadhaar number, the status of your PAN will appear as “Active but Inoperative”. That is, the PAN number is active, but cannot be used at the moment. However, you can still link it by paying a fine of ₹1,000. Within 7 to 30 days of paying the fine, your PAN will be activated and operational again. After this, your TDS credit will also start appearing in Form 26AS and you will be able to claim it correctly while filing taxes. This is a chance for you to improve your financial situation.
How to link PAN with Aadhaar
The government has made it mandatory to link PAN with Aadhaar. If you have not done this yet, it may make your PAN inactive. The method to link PAN with Aadhaar is also quite easy:
Login to the Income Tax Department website!
Click on the “Link Aadhaar” option.
Fill in PAN, Aadhaar number, and CAPTCHA here.
Now verification has to be done through OTP.
Your Aadhaar will be linked in a few minutes.
If you have not already done the linking, a late fee of ₹ 1,000 will be charged. You can pay it online from the “e-Pay Tax” section of the website. The last date to link PAN with Aadhaar is December 31, 2025.
Complete this important task on time.
Who is exempted from linking with Aadhaar
The government has currently exempted some special categories from this linking! For example:
Senior citizens of 80 years or above
Residents of Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir
NRIs living abroad
Foreign citizens who have an Indian PAN
If you fall into any of these categories, you do not currently need to link. But it is still necessary to check the status. This provides clarity of rules.
What can be the loss if PAN remains inactive
Linking PAN with Aadhaar and keeping it active is not just a formality. If your PAN is inactive or not linked to Aadhaar, many types of problems can arise:
TDS and TCS will be deducted at higher rates.
Hinder in financial transactions.
Restrictions on investments and trading
No benefit of TDS exemption