PAN Card Aadhaar Link Status: Check and Link Before Deadline

There's a very important update for taxpayers that requires immediate attention. This update concerns Aadhaar and PAN cards. The update is that the last date to link your PAN card with your Aadhaar card has arrived. The final and crucial deadline for this linking process is here. If you do not link your Aadhaar and PAN cards by this date, your PAN card will become inactive. This could lead to financial and compliance-related problems.

This article provides clear answers to all your questions. Your questions might include: How to link Aadhaar and PAN cards, what happens if you don't link them, what are the penalties, what is an inactive PAN card, etc.

PAN-Aadhaar Linking Is Mandatory?

The Income Tax Department has made it mandatory to link PAN cards with Aadhaar cards to eliminate the problem of duplicate PAN cards and improve KYC compliance. According to the notification issued by the CBDT in April 2025:

You must link your PAN card with a valid Aadhaar number using your Aadhaar enrollment ID as soon as possible. The last date for this is December 31, 2025. If you do not link your Aadhaar card and PAN card by January 1, 2026, your PAN card will become inactive.

What Happens If PAN Becomes Inoperative?

Your PAN card could become inactive and negatively impact your ability to earn an income, as it will not allow you to file your Income Tax Return (ITR) as well as potentially preventing any outstanding tax refunds from being processed. TDS/TCS rates are typically higher on an inactive PAN, and the amount withheld may not be reflected in your Form 26AS, resulting in potential tax complications later on. 

In addition, you may have difficulties opening bank accounts, large cash deposits/withdrawals, purchasing shares/mutual funds, operating your demat accounts, or completing your KYC Verification. Therefore, linking your PAN with your Aadhaar before the deadline is essential, as an inactive PAN will cause disruption in the following areas: business transactions, investments and salary payments.

Who Needs to Pay the ₹1,000 Penalty?

If you haven't linked your PAN card and Aadhaar card yet, and you're waiting until the last minute, please keep in mind that if you don't complete this task before the original deadline, you may have to pay a fine of up to ₹1000. If you want to avoid this fine, you need to keep a few things in mind. The points to remember are listed below:

• If your PAN card and Aadhaar card are not linked.
• Your PAN card was allotted earlier, but it wasn't linked within the original timeline.
• And if you think it's already linked, please note that the linking request is not processed without paying the fee.

How to Check PAN-Aadhaar Link Status 

The following instructions will guide you through the process of determining whether or not your Aadhaar Card is linked to your PAN Card (Permanent Account Number). To begin, please follow these 6 steps in order to verify this information.

1. Access the Income Tax e-filing web site.
2. Locate the section labeled "Quick Links" and select "Link Aadhaar Status", on the right side of the page.
3. Enter the PAN Number and Aadhaar Number wherever the space is provided on the screen.
4. Select "View Status".
5. A confirmation message will be sent for the linking of aadhar card and pan card 
6. If the two documents are not linked, then there will be additional instructions provided for completing the linking process.

How to Link PAN and Aadhaar Online 

Step 1: Pay a ₹1,000 Fee  

• Go to the e-Filing website.  
• Click “Link Aadhaar” and pay using “e-Pay Tax” under Other Receipts (500) for Assessment Year 2026-27.  
• You can pay the fee through UPI, net banking or debit card.  
• Please allow 4-5 business days for the payment to process before proceeding.  

Step 2: Submit Link Aadhaar request  

• To find out how to link your Aadhaar to your PAN number online, once you make the payment, go to “Link Aadhaar” and enter your PAN number and your Aadhaar number (and validate), click next and fill out your name as it appears on your Aadhaar document, as well as your mobile number.  
• You will receive an OTP texted to the mobile number you provided when you entered your Aadhaar information.  
• When you receive the OTP, click validate.

Other Ways to Link PAN and Aadhaar

If you want to link your PAN and Aadhaar together, you can choose between two simple methods: Linking by SMS will only work if the names, dates of birth, and genders of both documents agree completely. To link your documents via SMS, you will need to send an SMS message from your mobile device containing UIDPAN and your Aadhaar number (12 digits) and PAN number (10 digits) to either 567678 or 56161. Your linking status will then be updated.

If the SMS or online linking option does not work due to mismatched information, there is an offline option available. You can go to either an NSDL (Protean) PAN service center or a UTIITSL PAN service center. At the service center, you need to fill out the application form (Annexure-I) and provide photocopies of your current Aadhaar and PAN cards. Depending on the circumstances, you may also be required to complete a biometric verification check. Although this option may take longer to process, it provides an excellent method for correcting any data mismatches.

Urgent PAN-Aadhaar Linking Deadline

The date for linking your PAN and Aadhaar number is approaching fast. All PAN cards that aren’t linked to Aadhaar will become inactive as of January 1, 2026. This will cause taxpayers to have many major financial and administrative issues. According to the most current Income Tax Department guidelines, linking your PAN to your Aadhaar number is now a requirement for any PANs that were issued prior to October 1, 2024. If you miss the deadline, your PAN will become nonfunctional, directly affecting your ability to file your taxes, use banks and invest.

Important Things to Remember

For PAN-Aadhaar linking to occur successfully, there must be no mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar information (name, date of birth, and gender). Mismatches in either of these descriptors may lead to delays; therefore, if you see "pending with UIDAI" in your status, please wait a few days and check your status again. This process may take some time to complete, once both are successfully linked and verified, your status will reflect 'active' for both documents.

Impact of Inactive PAN and Why Immediate Action Matters

If a PAN becomes inactive, one cannot file an Income Tax Return, TDS and TCS will be deducted at much higher rates and Tax Credits will not show up on Form 26AS. In addition, opening bank accounts, making large cash deposits or withdrawals, operating Mutual Funds and Demat accounts and completing KYC verifications will also not be permitted. Right now, a late fee of ₹1,000 is applicable for linking but completing this process on time is important to ensure you do not face any future financial disturbances.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Day

The last day to combine your PAN and Aadhaar is December 31st, 2025. If you do not do this by then, your ability to use money may be restricted in a variety of ways: increased taxes or no access to a tax refund in 2026; having restrictions put on your financial accounts, etc. seem like they will also have negative consequences for you. Enroll as soon as possible to ensure that you get access to their many benefits before the deadline. You can save yourself a lot of headaches by completing this process early.

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