How to Know If You Have an Income Tax Notice?

Receiving a notice from the Income Tax Department can be a worrying experience for many taxpayers. Sometimes, these notices are issued due to discrepancies in your tax return, missing information, or routine verification. Other times, they might result from random scrutiny or a mismatch in the data submitted by you and your employer or bank.

Did you know that there are many taxpayers who receive notices without knowing? With the movement towards digital communication, most notices are now sent electronically, not always through the United States Postal Service. This means that you may have an income tax notice sitting quietly in your online account or email that is just awaiting your attention.

Knowing how to look for, establish the existence of and confirm receipt of a tax notice can alleviate your penalty fees, response delays and general anxiety. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know to find out whether you have received an income tax notice and what to do.

Why Does the Income Tax Department Issue Notices?

Before we delve into how to tell if a notice is present, it is important to go over the reasons for notice issuance. The reasons for notice issuance through the Income Tax Department may include:

• Mismatch of Income or Tax Credit (Form 26AS or AIS): If the income you declare in your Income Tax Return (ITR) doesn’t match the data available with the department through Form 26AS, AIS (Annual Information Statement), or TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary).
• Non-Filing of ITR: If you are liable to file a return but haven’t done so for a particular year.
• Verification of High-Value Transactions: For example, large cash deposits, property purchases, or high-value investments not reflected in your return.
• Scrutiny or Assessment: To verify the correctness of the information filed in your return.
• Rectification or Defective Return Notice: If there’s an error or omission in your filed return.
• Demand or Refund Adjustments: When there’s a pending tax demand or a mismatch in refund claims.

Receiving a notice doesn’t always mean trouble — it can be a routine compliance measure. But knowing about it early ensures a timely response and avoids escalation.

How Are Income Tax Notices Issued?

The Income Tax Department has moved almost entirely to digital communication. Notices are generally issued through:

1. Email – Sent to the registered email ID mentioned in your ITR or linked to your PAN.
2. SMS – Alerts are sent to your registered mobile number.
3. Income Tax e-Filing Portal – All notices are stored in your account under the “e-Proceedings” or “e-Compliance” section.
4. Speed Post (in rare cases) – Some notices, especially from older assessments, may still arrive physically.

This is why checking your email, SMS, and income tax account regularly is essential.

How Do I Know If I Have an Income Tax Notice?

Here are the main ways to check whether you’ve received an Income Tax Notice:

1. Check Your Registered Email

The Income Tax Department sends most notices from official email addresses such as:

• donotreply@incometax.gov.in
• intimations@cpc.gov.in
• no-reply@insight.gov.in

Search your inbox (and spam folder) for keywords like Income Tax Department, ITR, CPC Bangalore, or Intimation.

If you find an email containing an attachment (usually a PDF), it’s likely an official notice or intimation.

Tip– The notice PDF is password-protected — you can open it using your PAN (in lowercase) + Date of Birth (in DDMMYYYY) format.

2. Log in to the Income Tax e-Filing Portal

This is the most reliable way to confirm whether you have received any official communication.

Steps:

1. Visit www.incometax.gov.in.
2. Log in with your PAN, password, and captcha code.
3. Go to ‘Pending Actions’ → ‘E-Proceedings’.
4. Click on ‘View Notices’ or ‘e-Communication’.

Here, you can view all communications, including notices, orders, or reminders issued to you.

If you see a new entry under e-Proceedings, it means the department has sent you a notice that needs your attention.

3. Use the ‘Compliance Portal’

The Income Tax Department also has a separate Compliance Portal where taxpayers can view communications related to unfiled returns, non-reporting of income, or high-value transactions.

How to Access:

• Go to the same Income Tax e-filing website.
• After login, select ‘Compliance Portal’ under the ‘Pending Actions’ tab.
• Check for any Non-Filing Compliance or High-Value Transaction alerts.

4. Check Through AIS/TIS Dashboard

The Annual Information Statement (AIS) provides a detailed record of your income and financial transactions as reported by various entities (banks, employers, etc.).

If the department finds any mismatch between your AIS and your ITR, a notice might be generated.

To view AIS:

1. Log in to www.incometax.gov.in.
2. Click ‘Services → Annual Information Statement (AIS)’.
3. Review your financial data for inconsistencies.

Any alert or mismatch could indicate a potential upcoming notice.

5. Verify SMS Alerts

The Income Tax Department also sends out SMS alerts from mobile numbers such as ITDEPT, CPCTAX, and INSIGHT.

An example of a text message would say:

“Income Tax Department has sent you a notice/intimation under section 143(1). Please login to your e-filing account for details.”

Always verify this type of message by logging in.

How to verify if a notice is authentic?

As fraudulent emails increase, it is important to establish whether a notice is legitimate or not. The Document Identification Number (DIN) helps with that.

Every valid notice issued by the Income Tax Department contains a DIN, usually printed on the top right corner of the notice.

To verify:

1. Visit https://www.incometax.gov.in.
2. Click on ‘Authenticate Notice/Order Issued by IT Department’ under the ‘Quick Links’ section.
3. Enter the DIN mentioned on your notice.
4. If valid, the system will confirm details of the document.

If the DIN does not exist, the notice is not genuine, and you should report it immediately.

Conclusion

With today’s digital communication landscape, your Income Tax Notice may not arrive via mail – it may simply be waiting for you in your online account or inbox. If you don’t find the notice, or if you ignore the notice entirely, your situation could get unnecessarily complicated, face penalties, or face lengthy communications with the tax department.

To avoid getting into such a situation, the easiest way is to keep an eye on your registered email, SMS and e-filing portal to know what is going on and respond accordingly if you see a notice. Find out the Document Identification Number (DIN) to be assured the notice is correct, and contact a professional unless you are able to decipher the notice and what the next steps are with the notice.

Most income tax notices would be considered just a notification type that can be resolved safely and easily with follow-up, with reasonable time periods and complying with the time periods — or in a timely way. Keeping your head up, organised, and compliant will help the entire income tax experience be as transparent and hassle-free as possible.

Related Services

• Respond to Income Tax Notice Online
• Income Tax Return Filing