PAN-Aadhaar linking: The Central Board of Direct Taxes has clarified that in case of non-compliance, there will be financial consequences, which may also include suspension of income tax refunds.

For PAN card holders, it is necessary to link their card with their Aadhaar before the deadline, i.e., December 31, 2025. It is crucial, as the Income Tax Department is likely to declare all PANs that remain unlinked as inoperative from January 1, 2026. According to the Notification No. 26/2025, issued on April 3, 2025, users who received their PAN card using an Aadhaar Enrolment ID before October 1, 2024, are required to complete the process of Aadhaar linkage using their permanent Aadhaar card number by the end of 2025.
 
Along with this, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has clarified that in case of non-compliance, there will be financial consequences, which may also include suspension of income tax refunds as well as application of higher tax deduction at source rates from January 1, 2026.
 
In order to complete the linkage, taxpayers are required to have a certain set of documents, including a valid PAN, an Aadhaar number, and a registered mobile phone to receive one-time passwords (OTPs). The process entails a fee of Rs 1,000 in cases where the PAN card was issued before July 1, 2017, and has not been linked earlier, an ET report said.
 
To start the process of linking PAN with Aadhaar Card, a mandatory fee has to be paid through the Income Tax Department’s e-Filing portal. 
 
How to pay fee:
 
• Pay a visit to the portal’s homepage, https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.
• Now, go to the Link Aadhaar option displayed under Quick Links. 
• Enter the details of PAN cards and Aadhaar cards.
• After selecting the option to pay through e-Pay Tax, PAN has to be re-entered, followed by mobile number verification through an OTP. 
• Now, select the Income Tax option, and proceed to payment.
• Notably, the assessment year has to be selected, while the payment category needs to be marked as Other Receipts (500). ]
 
As the Rs 1,000 amount is auto-filled, it can be paid through multiple options, using net banking, debit card, or UPI. The status of payment may be reflected in four to five working days in the system. After the payment is done, taxpayers can proceed to the linking request.
 
How to link Aadhaar with PAN
 
• Go to the Link Aadhaar section.
• Enter your PAN and Aadhaar details and validate them.
• Ensure the message “Your payment details are verified” appears.
• Enter your name as per Aadhaar and mobile number.
• Confirm Aadhaar validation and specify if only the year of birth is mentioned on your Aadhaar.
• Enter the six-digit OTP sent to your registered mobile number to complete the process.