Tax

What should a freelancer do when AIS does not match their foreign income?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 28 October 2026
Last modified: 30 October 2026
Reading time: 7 min read

Short answer

The Annual Information Statement (AIS) shows information the Income Tax Department has received from reporting sources.¹ The AIS FAQs say it may not include every transaction.¹ A resident is taxed on income from all sources under section 5(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.² Wrong entries can be corrected through AIS feedback, which shows a modified value beside the reported one.¹

Applies to	Governed by	Deadline	Penalty	Last verified
Resident freelancers and exporters checking AIS before filing a return¹²	e-Filing portal AIS facility; Income-tax Act, 2025, section 5(1)¹²	Revised return within twelve months from the end of the tax year, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier (section 263(5))²	Not applicable	28 October 2026

Before filing a return, most freelancers open the Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the e-filing portal to see what the Income Tax Department already knows. For someone billing only foreign clients, the result is often confusing: no entry at all for the money that arrived from abroad, a GST turnover figure that does not match the bank credits, or a TDS entry from an Indian platform that looks like it belongs to another year.

This guide explains what AIS contains, why it rarely matches a service exporter's receipts line by line, and how to reconcile and respond. It is written for returns for FY 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) and tax year 2026-27 onwards; the AIS works the same way across the change of Act on 1 April 2026.³ Portal details are as checked on 28 October 2026.

What is the AIS and what does it contain?

The AIS is a statement of information the department holds about a taxpayer, with a facility to give online feedback before filing the return.¹ According to the e-filing portal's AIS FAQs, it has these parts:¹

Part	What it shows	Best for
General information	PAN, masked Aadhaar, name, date of birth, contact details	Checking identity details
TDS/TCS information	Tax deducted or collected at source, with information code and value	Freelancers paid by Indian platforms or clients
SFT information	Information from reporting entities under the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT)	Checking high-value transactions reported by banks and others
Payment of taxes	Advance tax and self-assessment tax paid during the financial year	Matching challans
Demand and refund	Refunds initiated (demand details not currently shown)	Tracking refunds
Other information	Data from other sources, such as interest on refund and outward foreign remittance or purchase of foreign currency	Checking payments made abroad

The Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) inside AIS aggregates the information by category, and the values accepted by you or confirmed by the source are used to pre-fill the return where applicable.¹

Who needs to reconcile AIS with foreign income?

Any resident freelancer or exporter with foreign receipts needs to reconcile AIS with their books, because a resident is taxed on income from all sources under section 5(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, whether or not AIS shows it.² The AIS FAQs list outward foreign remittances and purchases of foreign currency among "other information", but they do not list inward remittances from foreign clients.¹

Exporter situation	Reconciliation needed	Why	Best for
Freelancer paid only by foreign clients	Yes	Inward remittances are not listed among AIS information¹	Reporting full receipts from books and FIRAs
Freelancer also paid by Indian platforms or clients	Yes	TDS entries may sit in a different year from your invoice¹	Matching TDS to invoices
GST-registered exporter	Yes	GST turnover appears under EXC-GSTR3B and follows invoices¹	Reconciling GST turnover with receipts
Exporter paying for software or courses abroad	Yes	Outward foreign remittances are listed as other information¹	Confirming the entry is yours; it is information, not income

A missing entry is not a reason to leave foreign fees out of the return.¹² See income tax on foreign income.

How do you reconcile AIS with a freelancer's books?

You reconcile AIS with your books by downloading AIS, listing your foreign receipts, matching each AIS section against them, and giving feedback only on wrong entries.¹

Download AIS and TIS: in PDF, JSON or CSV.¹
List your foreign receipts: for the year from your books: invoice, date received, foreign amount, rupee amount credited, FIRA or bank advice reference. See bookkeeping for foreign income.
Match TDS entries: from Indian payers to invoices, and confirm the year.¹
Reconcile GST turnover: to income-tax receipts: invoices raised but unpaid at year end, advances received, credit notes, and exchange rate differences between the invoice date and the date of credit usually explain the gap.
Check tax payments: shown under "payment of taxes" against your challans for advance tax and self-assessment tax.¹ See advance tax for freelancers.
Give feedback and file: only on entries that are actually wrong, then file the return on your reconciled figures.

The reconciliation is your working paper if the department later asks about a difference.

What records and deadlines apply when AIS does not match foreign income?

The records you need are your AIS download, your books and bank evidence, and the feedback acknowledgement, and the main deadline is the revised return limit in section 263(5).¹²

Item	Detail	Source	Best for
AIS and TIS download	PDF, JSON or CSV	AIS FAQs¹	Starting the reconciliation
Feedback acknowledgement	Downloadable receipt, plus email and SMS confirmation	AIS FAQs¹	Proving feedback was given
AIS Consolidated Feedback file	One PDF of all feedback other than "Information is correct"	AIS FAQs¹	Keeping a single record
Evidence	Invoices, bank statements, FIRAs, GST returns	AIS FAQs¹	Supporting feedback on a wrong entry
Revised return	Within twelve months from the end of the tax year, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier	Income-tax Act, 2025, section 263(5)²	Correcting a missed receipt after filing

Keep the acknowledgement with your tax papers.¹

What happens if you file on AIS figures instead of your own books?

If you file on AIS figures instead of your own books, you risk under-reporting foreign income that AIS never showed, or over-reporting an entry that was wrong.¹²

AIS shows less than you earned: file on your actual income. The AIS FAQs say the taxpayer is expected to check all related information and report complete and accurate information in the return.¹ Under-reporting because AIS was blank is still under-reporting.
Missed receipt after filing: the 2025 Act allows a revised return within twelve months from the end of the tax year, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier (section 263(5)).²
AIS shows more than you earned: give feedback on the specific wrong entry with an explanation, keep your evidence (invoices, bank statements, FIRAs, GST returns), and file on your reconciled figures.¹

If the mismatch is large or relates to TDS credit you are claiming, a chartered accountant (CA) can help word the feedback and the return disclosure.

How does AIS feedback work for a wrong entry?

AIS feedback is given entry by entry: you open the information, click the feedback option for that entry, choose the relevant option and enter details.¹ After submission:¹

Modified value: the feedback is displayed with the information, and a modified value appears next to the reported value.¹
History and receipt: the activity history is updated and you can download an acknowledgement receipt.¹
Confirmation: you receive email and SMS confirmations.¹

There is currently no limit on how many times you can modify feedback.¹

What are the common AIS mismatches for service exporters?

The common AIS mismatches for service exporters are missing foreign receipts, a GST turnover figure that differs from receipts, and TDS entries in a different year.¹ These are the patterns exporters most often meet when comparing AIS sections (TDS, SFT, other information and GST turnover) with their own records:¹

What you see	Usual reason	What to do	Best for
No entry for foreign client payments	Inward remittances not reported to AIS	Report full receipts from your books and bank or FIRA records	Freelancers paid only from abroad
GST turnover (EXC-GSTR3B) higher or lower than receipts	GSTR-3B follows invoices; income-tax receipts follow your accounting method and rupee values credited	Prepare a reconciliation; no feedback needed if the GST figure is correct as filed	GST-registered exporters
TDS entry from an Indian platform or client in a different year	Deductor reported it in the year of credit or payment	Check the deductor's year and amount; give feedback if wrong	Freelancers paid by Indian platforms
Same transaction shown twice	Reported by two sources	Give feedback on the duplicate entry	Anyone with a duplicate
Entry relating to someone else	Wrong PAN quoted by the source	Give feedback on the entry with the correct position	Anyone with a stranger's entry
Outward foreign remittance listed	Payments abroad, such as software subscriptions or courses paid in foreign currency	Check it is yours; it is information, not income	Exporters paying for tools abroad

The GST turnover entry is drawn from the FAQ's reference to information code EXC-GSTR3B.¹ The remaining rows describe typical causes; the AIS FAQs do not list specific causes for exporters.¹

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 30 October 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

My foreign client payments do not appear in AIS. Do I still report them?+

Yes. The AIS FAQs say AIS includes only information presently available with the department, and that taxpayers are expected to report complete and accurate income in the return. A resident is taxed on income from all sources under section 5(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, so report foreign receipts from your own books.¹²

Why does AIS show my GST turnover?+

AIS displays GST turnover under information code EXC-GSTR3B. The figure reflects what you reported in GSTR-3B, which follows invoices, so it can differ from income-tax receipts because of timing, unpaid invoices, advances and exchange rate differences between the invoice date and the date the rupees were credited.¹

How do I correct a wrong entry in AIS?+

Open the information in AIS, use the feedback option for that entry, choose the relevant feedback type and submit. AIS then shows the modified value next to the reported value, updates the activity history, and lets you download an acknowledgement receipt. You also receive email and SMS confirmations of the feedback.¹

Can I change AIS feedback after submitting it?+

Yes. The AIS FAQs say there is currently no limit on the number of times you can modify feedback you have given on an AIS entry. The AIS Consolidated Feedback file gathers all your feedback, other than Information is correct, into one PDF that you can keep with your tax papers.¹

What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?+

From assessment year 2023-24, Form 26AS on TRACES shows only TDS and TCS data. Other information about the taxpayer, such as SFT data, tax payments, refunds and outward foreign remittances, is in the AIS on the e-Filing portal, according to the portal's AIS FAQs checked for this guide.¹

Does the AIS pre-fill my income tax return?+

Partly. The Taxpayer Information Summary inside AIS aggregates the information by category, and the values accepted by you or confirmed by the source are used to pre-fill the return where applicable. Foreign receipts that AIS does not show will not be pre-filled, so add them yourself from your books.¹

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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