May 31 SFT deadline: Wrong PAN, duplicate entries can affect your ITR

As the May 31 deadline for filing Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) approaches, taxpayers may need to pay closer attention to their tax records this year. Errors such as wrong PAN details, duplicate transaction entries, or incorrect reporting values by banks, mutual funds and other institutions can create mismatches in income tax records and eventually affect Income Tax Return (ITR) filing.

What is SFT?

SFT is a reporting system under which specified entities share details of certain financial transactions with the Income Tax Department through Form 61A under Section 285BA of the Income-tax Act.

May 31 SFT deadline

"Kind Attention Reporting Entities! The last date to file SFT (Statement of Specified Financial Transactions) for FY 2025–26 is May 31, 2026. To help ensure accurate and error-free filing, watch this short video highlighting some common mistakes noticed in SFT submissions and simple steps to avoid them. Filing complete and accurate information helps reduce reporting errors and facilitates smoother compliance for taxpayers," incom etax department posted on social media platform on May 26.

Why the May 31 deadline matters

SFT filings are submitted annually on or before May 31 following the financial year in which the transaction was recorded. However, transactions related to listed securities and mutual fund units are reported on a half-yearly basis.

What transactions are reported under SFT?

Specified entities are required to report a range of transactions, including high-value financial transactions, payment of dividends, payment of interest, and transactions involving listed securities and mutual funds.

Banks, NBFCs, post offices, forex dealers, sub-registrars, mutual fund trustees, and companies issuing dividends or buying back shares are among the entities covered under the reporting framework.

Common SFT errors taxpayers should watch for

Mistakes are more likely in cases involving joint accounts or jointly held investments, where values may sometimes get incorrectly attributed. Lack of reconciliation before filing, weak internal checks, and delays in submission are also among the common lapses identified by officials, the report further added.

What taxpayers should do before filing ITR?

Tax experts advise taxpayers to carefully review their AIS and Form 26AS before filing returns this assessment year. Any incorrect entry or mismatch should be flagged.

"With the May 31 ITR deadline kind of looming, don’t let SFT errors derail your filing. Wrong PANs, duplicate entries, or incorrect values in things like interest, dividends, or property sales will set off tax department mismatches. You may get an intimation notice, refunds could stall, and your return can end up being marked as ‘defective.’ Even worse, manual corrections mean revised SFTs, which is a time-consuming hassle that issuers rarely prioritise before the deadline. A proactive little tip: download your Annual Information Statement, the AIS, today. Now cross-check every single SFT detail. If something feels off, flag it right away through the online portal. A clean AIS usually means a smooth, penalty-free filing," said CA Gaurav Singh Parmar, Associate Director, Fincorpit Consulting.