Your PAN card is required for many important financial and tax-related activities. But if your PAN is required to be linked with Aadhaar and the linkage has not been completed, your PAN can become inoperative.

The Income Tax Department continues to provide an online facility through which taxpayers can check their PAN-Aadhaar linking status and complete the process if required.

Who needs to link PAN with Aadhaar?

The Aadhaar-PAN linking requirement generally applies to individuals who were allotted a PAN on or before July 1, 2017 and are eligible to obtain Aadhaar.

There are certain exempt categories, including individuals residing in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir or Meghalaya, non-residents under the Income-tax Act, individuals aged 80 years or more during the relevant previous year, and people who are not Indian citizens.

What happens if PAN is not linked?

An eligible PAN can become inoperative if the required Aadhaar linkage has not been completed.

An inoperative PAN can create problems with certain tax-related transactions. For example, the Income Tax Department states that tax refunds may be withheld and higher rates of TDS or TCS can apply in applicable cases until the PAN becomes operative again.

The department has also issued communications to taxpayers whose refunds are being held because their PAN is inoperative due to non-linking with Aadhaar.

How can you check whether PAN and Aadhaar are linked?

You don't necessarily need to visit an office.

The Income Tax e-filing portal provides a "Link Aadhaar Status" facility. Taxpayers can use their PAN and Aadhaar details to check whether the two documents are successfully linked.

The portal also allows eligible users to submit the linking request online.

What if your PAN and Aadhaar details don't match?

A mismatch in details such as your name, date of birth or other information can prevent successful linking.

In such cases, the Income Tax Department advises taxpayers to correct the details in the PAN or Aadhaar database so that the information matches. If the linking request still cannot be completed, additional verification through authorised service providers may be required.

Is there a fee for late linking?

For cases where the applicable delayed-linking fee is required, the Income Tax Department's current guidance states that a ₹1,000 fee applies to make an inoperative PAN operative by intimating the Aadhaar number.

After making the required payment, taxpayers can submit the Aadhaar-PAN linking request through the e-filing portal.

New PAN applicants have a different process

People applying for a new PAN from April 1, 2026 are subject to the new PAN application forms prescribed under the Income Tax Rules, 2026.

However, existing PAN numbers remain valid. The new forms apply to fresh PAN applications and do not mean that existing PAN numbers need to be replaced.

Don't ignore your PAN status

If you use your PAN for income-tax returns, refunds, investments or other financial transactions, it is worth checking whether your PAN is active and whether Aadhaar linkage has been completed.

The Income Tax Department also provides a separate "Verify Your PAN" service that can be used to check whether your PAN is active and whether the details in the PAN database are correct.

Before paying anyone to "activate" your PAN, check the status yourself through the official Income Tax e-filing portal. This can help you avoid unnecessary charges and potential scams.