PAN · Aadhaar Link
Aadhar Card And PAN Card Link Fees (India, 2026)
Linking your Aadhaar with your PAN is mandatory for most taxpayers in India, and for a long time it was free. That free window has now closed for most people, so linking today usually means paying a fee first and then submitting the request. This guide explains the fee as currently notified, who does not have to pay or link at all, what happens if you ignore it, and the exact steps to pay and link online.
- Fee: a one-time late fee, Rs 1,000 as currently notified, confirm on the portal.
- Free part: the linking itself is free; the charge is the late fee after the free deadline.
- Exempt: NRIs, non-citizens, residents of specified states, and those aged 80 or more.
- If not linked: PAN goes inoperative, refunds can hold, and TDS can be deducted higher.
- Not cancelled: an inoperative PAN becomes operative again after you link.
- Common blocker: a name or date of birth mismatch with Aadhaar makes a paid link fail.
01Is there a fee to link Aadhaar and PAN?
Yes, for most people there is now a fee. Linking Aadhaar with PAN was free until the government set a last date for free linking. After that date passed, the Income-tax Act started charging a late fee for linking under the relevant rule.
So the honest position in 2026 is simple: unless you fall in an exempt group, you pay the notified fee first, and only then can you submit the link request on the income tax portal. The fee is a one-time late fee for the link, not a yearly charge.
The fee is for the link, not for Aadhaar or PAN
Getting an Aadhaar is free, and holding a PAN costs nothing. The charge discussed here is only the late fee for linking the two after the free deadline passed.
02How much the link fee is
The late fee for linking Aadhaar and PAN is a fixed amount notified by the government, payable as a single payment before you raise the link request.
As currently notified, the fee is Rs 1,000. You pay it under the income tax e-Pay Tax service, choosing the correct head for the fee, and then the payment is matched to your PAN before the link goes through.
| Item | Position in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Link fee | Rs 1,000 as currently notified (confirm on the portal) |
| How often | One-time late fee, not recurring |
| Where you pay | e-Pay Tax service on incometax.gov.in |
| When the link reflects | Usually within a few days of payment matching |
Because the amount can change when the government revises it, treat Rs 1,000 as the figure to confirm on the portal at the time you pay, rather than a permanent number.
03Who is exempt from linking
Not everyone has to link, and those who are exempt do not pay the fee. The commonly recognised exempt groups are:
- Non-resident Indians (NRIs) as per the Income-tax Act.
- People who are not citizens of India.
- Residents of the specified states (Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya) covered by the exemption notification.
- Individuals aged 80 years or more at any time during the year (super senior citizens).
If you fall in one of these groups, your PAN should not be treated as inoperative for want of a link. Even so, your status on the portal can be set wrongly, so it is worth checking the link status and getting it corrected if it shows the wrong thing.
04What happens if PAN is not linked
If a PAN that should be linked is not linked, it becomes inoperative. An inoperative PAN causes real problems:
- You cannot file your income tax return with it smoothly, and refunds can be held.
- TDS and TCS can be deducted at a higher rate, because the deductor treats the PAN as unavailable.
- Many bank, mutual fund and demat actions that need a valid PAN can be blocked.
The good news is that an inoperative PAN is not cancelled. Once you pay the fee and complete the link, the PAN becomes operative again, usually within a short period after the payment is matched.
If your PAN itself has an error that is blocking the link (for example a name or date of birth mismatch with Aadhaar), you may need to correct the PAN first. See updating a PAN from minor to major online for a related correction flow, and check the Aadhaar and PAN link last date for the current deadline position.
05How to pay the fee and link
The whole process is online and you can do it yourself for free (apart from the notified fee). The usual steps are:
- Go to the income tax portal at incometax.gov.in.
- Open the e-Pay Tax service and pay the link fee under the correct head for the assessment year.
- Wait for the payment to be matched to your PAN (this can take a short while).
- Go to the Link Aadhaar option, enter your PAN and Aadhaar, and submit.
- Check the link status after a few days to confirm it has gone through.
If the name, date of birth or gender on your PAN and Aadhaar do not match, the link will fail until the mismatch is fixed. Fixing a mismatch is a correction job, not a link job.
Linking itself is free on the government portal. The only cost for most people is the one-time late fee, and a mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar is the usual reason a paid link still fails.
06How Claw Tax helps
Claw Tax and Accounts is an online tax, GST and accounting service for India that connects you with a verified chartered accountant at a fixed, published price, with a Claw reviewer checking every filing before it is submitted.
Linking Aadhaar and PAN is something you can do yourself for free on the government portal once the fee is paid, and for a clean record that is the right route. Claw Tax is for the cases around it that get messy: a PAN with a name or date of birth mismatch that keeps the link failing, a fresh PAN needed for an NRI, a minor, a firm, a trust or an HUF, or a correction that has to be done before any link will work.
A verified chartered accountant from a network of 300+ partner CAs can apply for or correct the PAN at a fixed, published price, with a Claw reviewer checking the application before it is submitted and reminders before related due dates. You can see the services and prices and start at clawlaw.in/tax. For NRI-specific filing help, see NRI tax services in India.
This is general information, not tax advice; a verified CA handles the specifics of your case.
07Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay to link Aadhaar and PAN in 2026?
For most taxpayers, yes. Linking was free until the government set a last date for free linking. After that date, a one-time late fee applies, notified as Rs 1,000 at the time of writing. You pay it through the e-Pay Tax service on the income tax portal before raising the link request. Confirm the live amount on the portal, as it can change.
How much is the Aadhaar PAN link fee?
It is a fixed late fee notified by the government, Rs 1,000 as currently notified. It is a one-time charge, not a yearly fee, and it is paid once before you submit the link. Because the figure can be revised, check the amount shown on incometax.gov.in when you pay rather than relying on a fixed number.
Who does not need to link Aadhaar and PAN?
The commonly recognised exempt groups are non-resident Indians, people who are not citizens of India, residents of the specified states (Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya) covered by the notification, and individuals aged 80 years or more during the year. If you are exempt, your PAN should not be treated as inoperative for want of a link.
What happens if my PAN becomes inoperative?
An inoperative PAN can hold up return filing and refunds, and can cause TDS or TCS to be deducted at a higher rate because the deductor treats the PAN as unavailable. Many bank, mutual fund and demat actions that need a valid PAN can also be blocked. The PAN is not cancelled, and it becomes operative again once you pay the fee and complete the link.
Why does my link fail even after I paid the fee?
The usual reason is a mismatch between your PAN and Aadhaar in the name, date of birth or gender. The portal matches these fields, and if they differ the link fails even when the fee is paid. You have to correct the mismatch first, then link. Paying again does not fix a mismatch.
Can I link Aadhaar and PAN myself for free?
The linking step itself is free on the income tax portal. The only cost for most people is the one-time late fee. If your PAN and Aadhaar details match, you can do the whole thing yourself. If there is a mismatch or you need a fresh or corrected PAN, that is a separate correction or application, which is where professional help is useful.