PAN-Aadhaar linking: The Permanent Account Number (PAN) is one of the most important documents for Indian citizens including being mandatory for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) besides offering other benefits including claiming tax refunds avoiding higher tax deduction at source and serving as an identification document. But did you know that you could lose access to your PAN card if you do not link the document to your Aadhaar details? According to new Aadhaar rules recently notified by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) users are required to link their PAN card to Aadhaar before December 31 2025 failing which your PAN card will be deactivated on January 1 2026. While most PAN card users may already have linked their accounts to Aadhaar those who havent done so need to complete the PAN-Aadhaar linking before the deadline. Follow the step-by-step guide below to link your PAN with Aadhaar and to check whether your two documents are already linked. How to link PAN card to Aadhaar? Visit the official Income Tax e-filling portal (https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/) Click on Link Aadhaar in left side panel. Enter your PAN number and Aadhaar number and hit validate to link your PAN to Aadhaar. Thats it you have successfully submitted request to link your Aadhaar details to your PAN card. How to check PAN-Aadhar link status online? You can check whether your PAN and Aadhaar are already linked by following the steps below; Visit the Income Tax Portal (https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/) Click on “Link Aadhaar Status” and enter your PAN and Aadhaar details. Hit View Link Aadhaar Status to check whether your PAN and Aadhaar are linked. How to check PAN-Aadhaar link status via SMS? Additionally you can also check the status of the your Aadhaar-PAN link via a simple SMS. Heres how; Type UIDPAN <12-digit Aadhaar> <10-digit PAN> Send the text to 567678 or 56161. Youll receive a confirmation message about the status of your Aadhaar-PAN link. Why you must link your PAN card to Aadhaar? Under new Aadhaar rules which came in to effect from November 1 2025 its now mandatory for users to link their PAN card to Aadhaar or your PAN card will be deactivated on January 1 2026 if you dont complete the PAN-Aadhaar link by 31 2025 11:59 PM. Notably  your mobile number must be linked to Aadhaar to complete the Aadhaar-PAN linking which is now mandatory to prevent the deactivation of your PAN. .