How to read your Income Tax PAN?

The Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number, issued in the form of a laminated card, by the Indian Income Tax Department.
A typical PAN for an individual would be AABPS1205E.
However, this appears to be a mysterious coded number to most of the people, there are some elements which would help you to validate a PAN.
The fourth letter of your PAN reflects your status. As such for an individual the letter will be 'P' for an HUF it will be an 'H', for firms - 'F' and for companies - 'C'.
The fifth letter of your PAN is the first letter of your surname in case of individuals and the first letter of the name in other cases. For example, in Nikhil Kumar's PAN the fourth letter will be 'P' and the fifth letter will be 'K'.
The other alphabets and numbers are allotted based on the Income Tax Department's series database.
More information on PAN

Also Read:

• Do all PAN Card Holders Need to File Income Tax Return?
• PAN Holders- View Your Income Tax Credit Status Online
• Online PAN Verification- Step Taken to Check PAN Frauds
• Individuals- How to file your Income Tax Returns Electronically?
• Your Transactions that Income Tax Department Checks