Filing for AY 2024-25 is coming soon
Filing for AY 2024-25 is coming soon
Keep calm and sign up for early access to our super filing platform

How to Locate your IT Ward No./ Circle/ Range/ AO Code online

Updated on: Jan 13th, 2022

|

6 min read

social iconssocial iconssocial iconssocial icons

There are crores of taxpayers filing their income tax returns every financial year. The government has divided these taxpayers into smaller jurisdictions in order to handle the cases better. Read through to know the procedure to find out the jurisdiction you belong to.

What is income tax ward /circle /range

As said above, income taxpayers are divided into various offices and areas for better management. Each income tax officer is assigned a specific area and a specific category of taxpayers. Income tax ward and circle are sub-categorisation under an area in order to locate the assigned assessing officer for a particular taxpayer. Range determines the income range of the taxpayer.

Who is an assessing officer

An assessing officer (AO) is a person who is authorised to assess income tax returns filed. If AO finds out any discrepancy in the filed returns, he can issue a notice to the taxpayer seeking clarification. Assessing officers work from across the country for the jurisdiction they are assigned.

What is AO code

AO code/area jurisdiction consists of the area code, AO type, range code, and AO number.

Area Code: A code is assigned to every area. You can find the area code based on the area to which your jurisdiction belongs to.

AO Type: It determines the type of AO a taxpayer comes under -Type C for circle and Type W for the ward. For example, taxpayers with an income above Rs 10 lakh will be Type C. Range Code: It says the income range a taxpayer belongs.

AO Number: This denotes the assessing officer number assigned to that particular ward/circle. Such AO code is required to be quoted in PAN application. You can get the information from the income tax department. Alternatively, you can find this information online.

What is AO code

AO code varies based on taxpayers’ occupation. Individuals in air force/army have specific AO codes as given in the following table:

  DescriptionArea CodeAO TypeRange CodeAO Number
Air ForceITO Ward 42(2)DELW722
ArmyITO Ward 4(3), GHQ, PNEPNEW553
Applicant TypeCriteria
IndividualsFor income sources such as:

Salary or one of the sources is salary
Business or one of the sources is business

Then, the AO code is based on the office address.
Otherwise, the AO code will be based on the residential address.
Company, local authority, partnership firm, trust, Hindu undivided family (HUF), a body of individuals, association of persons, limited liability partnership, artificial judicial person, and government.AO code will be based on office address.

When it comes to people with an occupation other than air force/army or organisations, the AO code is determined based on the criteria given in the table below:

Further, the AO code may change over time according to the changes in the income tax policies. Contact the local income tax office to find out the AO assessing your case.

How to find out your income tax ward (Method 1)

You can determine the jurisdiction you belong to by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Visit the income tax e-filing portal at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

Step 2: Click on ‘Verify Your PAN Details’ option on the left-side menu as shown in the image below.

Step 3: Enter the necessary information such as PAN, full name, date of birth, and the type of taxpayer as shown in the image below.

Step 4: Click ‘Submit’.

Step 5: You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP on the screen and click ‘Submit’.

Step 6: A screen will be displayed with the details – PAN, first name, middle name, surname, citizenship status, jurisdiction, and remarks (if the PAN status is active or not).

Finding income tax ward (Method 2)

Step 1: Log in to the income tax e-filing portal at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

Step 2: Click ‘My Profile’ under the ‘Profile Settings’ tab.

Step 3: Click on the ‘PAN’ tab to get the necessary details of your jurisdiction.

inline CTA
File your returns in just 3 minutes
100% pre-fill. No manual data entry
CONTENTS

Clear offers taxation & financial solutions to individuals, businesses, organizations & chartered accountants in India. Clear serves 1.5+ Million happy customers, 20000+ CAs & tax experts & 10000+ businesses across India.

Efiling Income Tax Returns(ITR) is made easy with Clear platform. Just upload your form 16, claim your deductions and get your acknowledgment number online. You can efile income tax return on your income from salary, house property, capital gains, business & profession and income from other sources. Further you can also file TDS returns, generate Form-16, use our Tax Calculator software, claim HRA, check refund status and generate rent receipts for Income Tax Filing.

CAs, experts and businesses can get GST ready with Clear GST software & certification course. Our GST Software helps CAs, tax experts & business to manage returns & invoices in an easy manner. Our Goods & Services Tax course includes tutorial videos, guides and expert assistance to help you in mastering Goods and Services Tax. Clear can also help you in getting your business registered for Goods & Services Tax Law.

Save taxes with Clear by investing in tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) online. Our experts suggest the best funds and you can get high returns by investing directly or through SIP. Download Black by ClearTax App to file returns from your mobile phone.

Cleartax is a product by Defmacro Software Pvt. Ltd.

Company PolicyTerms of use

ISO

ISO 27001

Data Center

SSL

SSL Certified Site

128-bit encryption