PAN-Aadhaar linking: Do it before January 1 to avoid disruptions

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Why your PAN can become inoperative

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set December 31, 2025 as the deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar. If you miss it, your PAN becomes inoperative from January 1, 2026, which can disrupt routine financial tasks like filing returns, receiving refunds, or completing high-value transactions.

Who must link PAN and Aadhaar

Linking applies to most PAN holders who are eligible for Aadhaar. Exempt categories include non-residents under the Income-tax Act, individuals over 80 (super-senior citizens), residents of Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya, and persons who are not Indian citizens.

What happens if your pan is inoperative

An inoperative PAN is treated as “not furnished” for many purposes: you may be unable to e-file ITRs, pending refunds can fail, and higher TDS/TCS may apply under sections 206AA/206CC until you link and make the PAN operative again (with limited relief windows recently notified by CBDT).

How to link PAN with Aadhaar (online, in minutes)

Go to the Income Tax e-Filing portal and use Link Aadhaar (from Quick Links or via your profile after login). Enter your PAN and Aadhaar, validate, pay the linkage fee (see below) through e-Pay Tax, then submit the link request. The department’s user manual walks you through the screens step-by-step.

The fee and previous due-date context

CBDT has stipulated a linkage fee (up to ₹1,000). Historically, PANs not linked by the earlier due date were rendered inoperative until linkage and fee payment—those fundamentals remain, with the new hard deadline now set at December 31, 2025.

How to check status and get back to “operative”

After submitting, you can check the PAN-Aadhaar link status on the portal. Once your PAN becomes operative again, normal processing (including refunds) resumes; the portal explicitly flags refund failures when PAN is inoperative. Recent CBDT clarifications also allow reversal of higher TDS/TCS in certain cases once PAN is made operative within specified timelines.

Bottom line

Mark December 31, 2025 as your non-negotiable cutoff. If you’re not in an exempt category, link PAN and Aadhaar now to avoid an inoperative PAN from January 1, 2026 and the ripple effects on taxes, refunds, banking and investments.