Your PAN May Get Deactivated from January 1, 2026: Here’s What You Must Do Before the Deadline
According to the new rules issued by the government of India, from January 01, 2026, your PAN will become inoperative if you fail to link it with Aadhaar before the due date, i.e., December 31, 2025. As we are all aware, PAN is a crucial document used at the time of ITR (Income Tax Return) filing; even this can affect your salary credit or SIP.
Taxbuddy has also shared a post on its Twitter handle (Platform ‘X’), sharing the consequences of a deactivated PAN. It has also recommended various ways to link a PAN card with Aadhaar.
🚨Your PAN card will be deactivated from Jan 1 2026.
No ITR filing. No refunds.
Even your salary credit or SIP could fail.
Check this one important detail before 31st December 2025 deadline🧵👇
— TaxBuddy (@TaxBuddy1) November 3, 2025
The government has repeatedly pushed back the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar, but it still has not announced a new date. Now, individuals have all kinds of questions regarding what the implications of a deactivated PAN like will their salary will be stopped? Will it restrict them from making investments or redeeming them? Will it lead to the blockage of their bank accounts? Some experts have given answers to some of the frequently asked questions in the context of PAN deactivation:
Question 1: Do all people need to link their PAN with their Aadhaar card?
- Answer: According to a recent notification dated April 03, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Central Government of India has informed us that every individual who has been allotted a Permanent Account Number (PAN) based on their on the basis of the Enrolment ID of the Aadhaar application form filled before October 01, 2024, must link their Aadhaar number with the Income Tax Department by December 31, 2025, or by any new date that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) may announce later.
Question 2: What if someone obtained a PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID – do they also need to link it again?
- Answer: Yes, individuals who have obtained their PAN using their Aadhaar enrolment ID, they are also need to link their Aadhaar with their PAN again before December 31, 2025. Such users are allowed by the Income Tax e-filing portal to link their Aadhaar with PAN online.
Question 3: What happens if PAN is not linked with Aadhaar before the deadline? Can you file your ITR?
- Answer: If someone fails to link their Aadhaar with PAN before the due date, i.e., December 31, 2025, their PAN will be deactivated from the next date, i.e., January 1, 2025. After that, you will not be able to file or verify your Income Tax Return (ITR), your refund will not be released, the department will stop processing pending returns, TDS/TCS credits may not appear in Form 26AS, TDS/TCS may be deducted/collected at higher rates, etc. Even if someone links their Aadhaar with PAN after the due date, their PAN can again become operative within 30 days after linking.
Question 4: Who can link an Aadhaar card and a PAN card to the Income Tax portal?
- Answer: According to the official website of the Income Tax Department, linking of Aadhaar with PAN is for individual taxpayers; these include both registered and unregistered users on the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.
Question 5: How can you link your PAN with your Aadhaar card?
Here’s the detailed step-by-step procedure to link Aadhaar with PAN:
- Step 1: Visit the official website of the Income Tax Department.
- Step 2: On the homepage, click on “Link Aadhaar”.
- Step 3: Enter your PAN, Aadhaar, and mobile number.
- Step 4: Verify your OTP.
- Step 5: If your PAN is already deactivated, then you will need to pay Rs. 1000 first to proceed.
- Step 6: You can also check the status under ‘Quick Links → Link Aadhaar Status’.