What is the fee for linking Aadhaar with PAN now?

₹1,000, paid on the e-filing portal under "Other Receipts (500)" before you submit the link request.

How long does it take for an inoperative PAN to become operative?

Generally up to 30 days after the link is completed. The fee payment itself takes a few working days to show against your PAN.

Who does not need to link Aadhaar with PAN?

Residents of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya, non-residents, people who are not Indian citizens, and people aged 80 or more.

Can I file my return with an inoperative PAN?

You may be able to file, but refunds are not issued and no interest is paid on them while the PAN is inoperative. It is better to link first.

How to link Aadhaar with PAN

Updated 11 October 2026

Most individuals with a PAN must link it to their Aadhaar number. If you have not, your PAN is treated as inoperative: refunds are held back, and tax is deducted or collected at higher rates. You can still link it now by paying a fee of ₹1,000 on the income tax portal and then submitting the link request. Your PAN becomes operative again within about 30 days of linking.

Who has to link

Every person who has a PAN and is eligible for Aadhaar must link the two. The main deadline was 30 June 2023; PANs not linked by then became inoperative from 1 July 2023. People who were allotted PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID (instead of the Aadhaar number itself) were given until 31 December 2025 to link, as reported.

These people are exempt from linking:

Residents of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya.
Non-residents as defined in the income tax law.
People who are not citizens of India.
People aged 80 or more.

If you are exempt but your PAN shows as inoperative, for example an NRI who has not updated residential status, contact your jurisdictional assessing officer with proof.

Check your status first

On the e-filing portal, use the "Link Aadhaar Status" option (no login needed). Enter your PAN and Aadhaar number. It tells you whether they are linked, whether a request is pending, or whether they are not linked.

How to link (with the ₹1,000 fee)

Pay the fee. On the e-filing portal, use the e-Pay Tax option. Choose the income tax payment, select the assessment year shown for the current period, and pick the payment type "Other Receipts (500)". Pay ₹1,000 by net banking, card or UPI.
Wait for the payment to show. It usually takes four to five working days to be reflected against your PAN.
Submit the link request. Choose the "Link Aadhaar" option, enter PAN and Aadhaar, confirm your name as on Aadhaar, and verify with the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile.
Check status again after a few days. Once linked, the PAN becomes operative, generally within 30 days.

If your name, date of birth or gender differ between PAN and Aadhaar, linking fails. Correct the record that is wrong first: Aadhaar through UIDAI, or PAN through the PAN correction service (see our PAN card guide).

What an inoperative PAN means

Area	Effect
Refunds	Not issued while the PAN is inoperative, and no interest is paid for that period
TDS	Deducted at the higher rate, usually 20% or twice the normal rate
TCS	Collected at a higher rate
Forms 15G and 15H	Not accepted, so banks deduct TDS on interest
Investments	Banks, brokers and fund houses may restrict new accounts and transactions

Worked example. Mohan's PAN became inoperative because it was not linked. He earns ₹60,000 of FD interest. The bank deducts 20% instead of 10%: ₹12,000 instead of ₹6,000, an extra ₹6,000. He also has a refund of ₹15,000 pending from last year's return, which is held back. Paying the ₹1,000 fee and linking brings back his normal TDS rate and lets the ₹15,000 refund be processed. The extra ₹6,000 TDS is not lost: it counts as tax paid and is adjusted when he files his return.

After linking

Once the status shows the PAN as operative, tell your employer, bank and broker so that they go back to normal TDS rates, and submit a fresh Form 121 (which replaced Forms 15G and 15H from 1 April 2026) if you use one. Extra tax already deducted at the higher rate is not refunded by the bank: it appears in your Form 26AS and you claim it when you file your return. Linking does not change your PAN number or your Aadhaar details.

Tips

Link before the end of a quarter if you can, because banks and employers deduct TDS based on the PAN status at the time of payment.
Keep the fee challan. If the portal does not show the payment after a week, use the challan details to raise a grievance.
New PANs issued through Aadhaar-based e-KYC, including the instant e-PAN, are linked automatically.
If you are a senior citizen relying on Form 15H to avoid TDS on interest, check your link status early; an inoperative PAN makes the form invalid.

For the official process, see the income tax e-filing portal. For what to do with excess TDS, read income tax refund and TDS vs TCS.