The Mismatch Nightmare
You download your Tax P&L from Zerodha or Groww, ready to file your ITR. Then you check your Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the tax portal, and the numbers don't match.
The AIS shows a massive "Sale of Securities" figure, but your broker statement shows a different number. Which one do you use?
Quick stat: The AIS typically reports gross sale value of securities, not your actual gain, which is why it almost always looks larger than your broker's computed profit (Source: Income Tax Department AIS framework).
Why do they mismatch?
Mismatches between broker statements and AIS are incredibly common. Here is why:
- Reporting Gross vs. Net: The AIS often reports the gross sale value of your shares. It does not know your purchase price, so it cannot calculate your actual profit or loss. Your broker statement calculates the exact capital gain.
- Timing Differences: A trade executed on March 31st might settle in April. Your broker might count it in the current financial year, while the AIS (based on depository reporting) might push it to the next year.
- Corporate Actions: Stock splits, bonuses, or mergers can confuse the automated reporting systems feeding the AIS, leading to duplicated or missing entries.
- Multiple Brokers: If you use Zerodha, Upstox, and an old ICICI Demat account, the AIS aggregates all of them. You need to combine all your broker statements to match the AIS total.
How to Reconcile
Rule #1: Trust your broker's Tax P&L for the actual tax calculation. The broker has the exact buy dates, buy prices, and grandfathered FMV values required to calculate STCG and LTCG accurately. The AIS does not.
Rule #2: Match the Sale Value. The Income Tax Department's computers look at the "Sale of Securities" total in your AIS. If the total sale value you report in your ITR (across all schedules) is significantly lower than the AIS figure, you will likely get a notice asking for an explanation.
The Process: 1. Download the AIS JSON/PDF. 2. Sum up all "Sale of Securities" entries in the AIS. 3. Sum up the total sale value from all your broker Tax P&L statements. 4. If they are close (minor timing differences), proceed with the broker data. 5. If there is a massive gap, you must find the missing trade. Did you sell mutual funds through a different app? Did you sell unlisted shares?
Let LastMinute ITR do the heavy lifting Manual reconciliation is tedious. When you use LastMinute ITR, you can upload your broker statements, and we help you structure the data exactly as the tax portal expects it, minimizing the chances of an automated mismatch notice.
Start with LastMinute ITR · import your broker statements · fix an AIS mismatch.
What you should do
- Use your broker Tax P&L for the actual gain (it has buy dates, costs, and grandfathered FMV).
- Match your total reported sale value to the AIS "Sale of Securities" total.
- If there is a big gap, hunt for the missing source (another app, mutual funds, unlisted shares).
Common mistake
Filing straight off AIS numbers. The AIS shows gross sale value, not gain. Reporting that as income massively overstates tax. Compute gains from your broker statement and only reconcile the sale value.