TAN Registration: How to Register TAN and Activate TAN on Income Tax Portal

By Ektha Surana

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Updated on: Jul 4th, 2025

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2 min read

TAN stands for Tax deduction and collection Account Number. Every person deducting tax from the payments are required to obtain TAN. TAN must be quoted in every return submitted to the department. 

After obtaining your TAN, it is extremely important to register your TAN on two websites: TRACES and income tax e-filing portal. Refer to this page to understand the process of registering TAN on TRACES. In this article, we will see how to register TAN on income tax site.

What is TAN?

  • Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number is a 10 digit alphanumeric number provided by the Income Tax Department.
  • Every person responsible for deduction TDS or collecting TCS is mandatorily required to obtain TAN, and is required to quote TAN in TDS/ TCS returns, certificates, and notices related to TDS/TCS returns.
  • Individuals not required to deduct or collect tax, or deductors under section 194-IA is not required to obtain TAN.

Prerequisites for Registering TAN on E-filing portal

You must complete the following process before registering TAN on income tax site:

  • Active and valid TAN
  • PAN of the principal contact must be registered on the e-filing portal

Step-by-step guide on TAN Registration on the Income Tax Portal

Step 1: Go to the income tax e-filing portal and click the ‘Register’ button.

INCOME TAX REGISTER

Step 2: Select the ‘Others’ option. Now, under Category, select ‘Tax Deductor and Collector’ from the dropdown menu.

tax deductor and collector

Step 3: Enter TAN and click on ‘Validate’.

tan number validation

Step 4: Now, there could be three scenarios:

Scenario 1: A valid TAN is registered on TRACES website, and a request for registration on the e-filing portal has also been made:

Step 4.1.1: Click ‘Continue’, and you will see that all your basic details are pre-filled.

Step 4.1.2: Ensure these details are correct and click on ‘Continue’.

basic details

Scenario 2: A valid TAN is not registered on the TRACES website, and no request for registration on the e-filing portal has been made:

Step 4.2.1: Follow this guide to register TAN on the TRACES website. On successful registration, you will be redirected to the e-filing portal.

Step 4.2.2: Fill in all the basic details like ‘PAN’, name, and date of birth and click on ‘Continue’.

fill basic details

Step 5: Enter all the contact details, including postal address, primary mobile number and email ID. After entering all these fields, click on ‘Continue’.

postal address details

Step 6: Two separate OTPs will be sent to your primary mobile number and email ID that was entered in Step 5. Enter both the 6-digit OTPs and click on ‘Continue’.

ENTER OTP AND MAIL ID

Step 7: On the next page, review the details. You may edit them, if necessary and click ‘Confirm’.

REVIEW AND CONFIRM DETAILS

Step 8: You will now be required to set a password. Enter your desired password in both the set password and confirm password textboxes, set your personalised message, and click ‘Register’.

tan registration password

A success message will be displayed along with a transaction ID. Please keep a note of the Transaction ID for future reference. The registration process is complete upon receiving approval from the competent authority.

REGISTERED SUCCESSFULLY

How to Activate TAN user ID on the Income Tax Portal?

If you try logging in with your TAN on the income tax portal, you may encounter an error, as shown in the image below. It reads, “The e-filing account associated with the above User ID has not been activated, kindly activate your user ID to login to e-filing portal.” 
 

Follow the below-mentioned guide to activate TAN on the e-filing portal:

activate tan user id

Step 1: Log in to your account using PAN.

Step 2: Go to the pending actions tab and click on ‘Worklist’. You can also see the pending actions section on the dashboard.

Step 3: Select ‘Approval/modification of TAN Deductor or Collector Registration’ and ‘Approve’ the action.

Step 4: On successful registration, you will see a success message with a transaction ID. Please make a note of it for future reference. You can log in with your TAN and password and proceed to ‘e-pay’ taxes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to activate my TAN login ID?

Login to e-filing portal using PAN credentials > Select Pending Actions tab  >Under ‘for your actions’ tab click on ‘Approval / modification of tax deductor and collector registration > Click ‘Approve’.

How to Register TAN and Activate TAN on Income Tax Portal?

Visit the Income Tax > Click "Register" on the homepage > Select "Others" > choose "Tax Deductor and Collector" > Enter your TAN and click “Validate.” > Enter details of the organization making payments or collecting tax. You will receive a confirmation email and activation link.

Who needs to obtain TAN?

Every person responsible for deducting TDS / TCS is required to obtain TAN. Tax deductors under section 194-IA are not required to obtain TAN. 

What is TAN?

TAN stands for Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number. It is a 10 digit alphanumeric code required to be obtained by tax deductors (TDS) and collectors (TCS).

About the Author
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Ektha Surana

Content Marketer
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Multitasking between pouring myself coffees and poring over the ever-changing tax laws. Here, I've authored 100+ blogs on income tax and simplified complex income tax topics like the intimidating crypto tax rules, old vs new tax regime debate, changes in debt funds taxation, budget analysis and more. Some combinations I like- tax and content, finance & startups, technology & psychology, fitness & neuroscience. Read more

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