Form 168 - Tax Passbook reading guide

Form 168 is the consolidated tax statement that replaced Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS from AY 2027-28 onwards. It has eleven schedules (the 1961-Act AIS had eight). Here's how to read each one without missing money the department already knows about.

Schedule 1 - TDS / TCS

The classic 26AS view. Every TDS deduction reported in 24Q/26Q/27Q/27EQ shows up here, indexed by deductor TAN and Section 393 sub-code. Two things changed:

1. Sub-codes - the old "Section 192" line is now "393(A)(1) - salary"; bank interest is "393(B)(3)"; rent is "393(C)(2)". The PDF download has a footer mapping sub-code → narrative description.
2. Refund-claim flag - each TDS row carries a chip: CLAIMABLE, CLAIMED, DOUBLE-CLAIM-PREVENTED, REFUNDED. The third chip appears if the same deduction was claimed in two assessment years (common across employer-switch quarters).

Schedule 2 - Advance tax + Self-assessment

Quarterly advance tax challans + the final self-assessment challan in one chronological strip. The Total tax paid before filing banner at the bottom is the number that feeds Section 234B/C interest computation.

Schedule 3 - Specified financial transactions (SFT)

Big-ticket transactions reported by banks, brokers, registrars:

• Cash deposits > ₹10 lakh in savings; > ₹50 lakh in current
• Property transactions > ₹30 lakh (registrar reporting)
• Mutual fund purchases > ₹10 lakh
• Credit card payments > ₹1 lakh (cash) / ₹10 lakh (any mode)
• Foreign-currency dealings > ₹10 lakh

Trap #1: SFT rows are informational, not deductive. They do not reduce your tax. They do raise scrutiny risk if undeclared income matches them.

Schedule 4 - Foreign remittances

Outward (15CA/15CB) and inward (LRS) data from authorised dealers. Includes the purpose code (S0001-S1499 ECONOMIC code set). Useful for reconciling Form 67 foreign-tax-credit claims.

Schedule 5 - Investment income (interest, dividend, MF gains)

Pulled from registrars (CAMS, KFintech), depositories (NSDL, CDSL), and banks. Capital gains here are estimated; the actual ITR computation must use broker reports.

Schedule 6 - Salary

Employer-reported salary (24Q) is itemised here. Two cross-checks:

• Compare with Form 130 (the new Form 16) Part B
• Compare aggregate with payroll software

Trap #2: Salary employees with multiple employers in the year see all 24Qs aggregated. Some software still adds Standard Deduction twice - Form 168 explicitly shows Standard Deduction allowed at source: ONCE.

Schedule 7 - High-value cash withdrawals

New in Form 168. Every cash withdrawal that crossed Section 194N thresholds (₹20 lakh / ₹1 crore depending on prior-year ITR-filing status). Each row shows the TDS that was deducted under 393(F)(1) - usually 2% / 5%.

Schedule 8 - Crypto / VDA transactions

Reporting entities (registered VDA exchanges) push every transaction into Schedule 8. Includes the flat 30% tax under Section 194S withheld at sale, separately disclosed.

Trap #3: If your client transferred crypto between two of their own exchanges, both legs may show up. Net out before computing tax.

Schedule 9 - Refund / interest history

Refunds issued in the preceding three AYs, plus the interest under Section 244A (1% per month from 1 April of the AY to date of refund). Useful for clients chasing delayed refunds - the page also shows the CPC processing status for the current AY.

Schedule 10 - Demands raised and outstanding

Section 156 demand notices, including stay status (if granted by CIT(A) or ITAT). Trap #4: A "STAYED" demand still reduces your refund eligibility for the current AY. The department adjusts refunds against stayed demands unless you've filed a Form 35/35A specifically requesting non-adjustment.

Schedule 11 - Compliance flags

Free-text flags raised by the risk-management system (RMS): under-reporting probability, peer-group income comparison, lifestyle-vs-declared-income gap. Most flags are advisory; some trigger 142(1) scrutiny.

What ThynkTax does

• Auto-fetches Form 168 nightly for every client on file (via ERI when configured, otherwise manual upload prompt).
• Diff'd against the prior month - new TDS, new SFT, demand changes surfaced in the client dashboard.
• Section 8 (crypto) cross-referenced against the broker import for the same client.

• Reviewed by CA Vikram Shah, Head of Tax Research