What is the story about?
PAN-Aadhaar Linking: Your PAN card is an essential part of your financial identity in India. It is required for filing income tax returns, opening bank
accounts, for investment purposes, and carrying out high-value transactions. Without an active PAN, many financial services can come to a halt. Now imagine visiting a bank or trying to file your taxes, only to be told that your PAN has been deactivated because it wasn’t linked to your Aadhaar. This situation could soon become real if you haven’t linked both documents yet. But there is more to it. Read the story below to find out.
PAN-Aadhaar Linking: Check status online
To check your Aadhaar-PAN link status, visit the official Income Tax e-Filing website. Under Quick Links, click on Link Aadhaar Status. Enter your PAN and Aadhaar number, then click View Link Aadhaar Status. The screen will show whether your PAN is already linked with Aadhaar or not.
How to link Aadhaar with PAN card?
- Visit the Income Tax e-Filing website.
- Click on “Link Aadhaar” under Quick Links.
- Enter your PAN and Aadhaar numbers and validate.
- If details are correct, click “Submit”.
- You will receive a confirmation message once linking is successful.
Aadhaar-PAN linking deadline: What will happen if you don’t link it now?
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a new set of rules, effective from November 1, 2025, aimed at making the Aadhaar update process easier. One of the key changes is that linking your Aadhaar card with your PAN card has now been made mandatory.
All PAN holders must complete this linking by December 31, 2025. If the linking is not done by the deadline, the PAN card will become inactive starting January 1, 2026, according to the guidelines issued by the UIDAI and the Income Tax Department.
Pan-Aadhaar linking deadline for certain taxpayers
The January 1, 2026, deactivation date applies only to a specific group of people. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has given extra time to those who received their PAN using an Aadhaar Enrolment ID (AEID) before October 1, 2024. They must link their PAN with their Aadhaar number by December 31, 2025. If they don’t complete this linking by the deadline, their PAN will become inactive from January 1, 2026.
Also read: ITR Refund 2025: What happens if your refund is not processed by December 31?
