TDS Return Filing

A quarterly statement filed by a deductor reporting the TDS deducted, the deductees and the challans through which it was deposited. The forms are 24Q (salary), 26Q (other), 27Q (non-resident) and 27EQ (TCS).

Anyone who deducts TDS — employers, and businesses paying rent, contractors or professionals above thresholds — using a TAN.

Quarterly, generally by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May (the last quarter has a later date). Dates can change by notification.

The Income-tax Act, 2025, if the earlier of credit or payment fell on or after 1 April 2026. Salary is section 392, other payments are the section 393 tables and TCS is section 394. Payments credited or paid up to 31 March 2026 stay under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and its 194-series numbering — including any correction statement for those quarters, which is still filed in the old format.

No. The Income Tax Department states the rates and monetary thresholds for all categories of payment have been retained. Only the citation changes — for example a contractor payment is now section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 6(i) rather than section 194C. Quoting the old number on a post-April deduction can cause a validation error and force a correction statement.

You deduct at the higher of the rate in the provision, the rates in force, or a statutory floor. That floor is 5% for purchase of goods and e-commerce payments, and 20% otherwise. A flat 20% for every section is a common and expensive error. Where rent is involved, the higher-rate deduction cannot exceed the rent for the last month of the year or of the tenancy.

By the 7th of the month following deduction, except tax deducted in March, which a non-government deductor deposits by 30 April. Challan-cum-statement cases — property, rent by an individual or HUF, and similar — run on 30 days from the end of the month of deduction.

For delay alone, yes. No penalty is levied for late filing if you can show the tax, the fee and any interest were paid to the government and the statement was delivered within one month of its due date. The ₹200-a-day fee itself is not waived by this — it still runs, and it has to be paid before the statement can be filed.

No. An individual deducting on the purchase of immovable property, on rent above ₹50,000 a month, or on contractor and professional payments above ₹50 lakh is expressly exempt from applying for a TAN, and files a challan-cum-statement instead of a quarterly return. You still have to deduct, deposit and issue the certificate.

₹200 per day under Section 234E until the return is filed, capped at the amount of TDS, plus interest on any late deduction or deposit.

Certificates issued to deductees: Form 16 for salary TDS and Form 16A for non-salary TDS. They let the deductee claim TDS credit in their own return. Form 16 is annual and due 15 June after the financial year; Form 16A is quarterly, due about a fortnight after each statement. Salary-side mechanics are covered under TDS on salary.

Invalid or missing PANs lead to higher TDS rates and mismatches, and the deductee may not get credit. We validate PANs before filing.

A return filed to fix errors or defaults in an original TDS return — for example a wrong challan or PAN. We file corrections to clear TRACES defaults.

Yes. You need a Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) to deduct TDS and file returns — see TAN registration. One exception: a person deducting on a property purchase, on rent as an individual or HUF, or on individual contractor and professional payments is exempt, and files a challan-cum-statement instead.

The filed return with its token, the challan-deductee mapping, and the Form 16/16A certificates.