How to File TDS Returns in India

As a general schedule: Q1 (April–June) is due July 31, Q2 (July–September) is due October 31, Q3 (October–December) is due January 31, and Q4 (January–March) is due May 31. These are the standard statutory due dates historically notified for TDS statements — always cross-check the current year's notified due dates before filing, since the department occasionally extends deadlines for specific quarters.

Yes. Correction Statements can be filed on TRACES to fix PAN errors, challan mismatches, or deductee data issues. Multiple corrections can be filed against the same original statement, each numbered sequentially, and there is no fixed cap on how many correction rounds you can submit as long as the underlying default is genuine.

A penalty applies for failure to issue TDS certificates within the prescribed time, computed per day of default and capped at the amount of TDS deducted — this is Section 465(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced Section 272A(2)(g) of the 1961 Act (the substance of the penalty is unchanged). Beyond the monetary exposure, delayed certificates also delay your deductees' ability to file their own returns and claim credit.

This usually happens when TDS was deposited against the wrong PAN, an incorrect challan, or a challan that wasn't correctly tagged to the deductee in the return. File a Correction Statement on TRACES to re-map the TDS to the correct PAN/challan. Once processed, the credit generally reflects in the deductee's Form 26AS/AIS within a few working days, though timing can vary.

In most cases, yes — a NIL statement or a formal declaration of no deduction is expected as long as the TAN is active, to avoid the department treating the quarter as a non-filing default. If you genuinely expect no TDS activity for an extended period, discuss with your CA whether a declaration of non-applicability is appropriate instead of repeated NIL filings.

Form 140 (renumbered from Form 26Q under the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective Tax Year 2026-27) covers TDS on payments to residents for non-salary items such as rent, professional fees, and contractor payments. Form 144 (renumbered from Form 27Q) covers TDS on payments made to non-residents and foreign companies, which typically involves different rates, treaty considerations, and additional reporting fields for the payee's foreign address and tax residency. Statements for periods before Tax Year 2026-27, including corrections to them, still use the legacy Form 26Q/27Q numbering.

Any person or entity responsible for deducting tax at source — employers paying salary above the exemption threshold, businesses paying rent, professional fees, or contractor payments above the applicable limits, and others covered under the TDS provisions — must obtain a TAN and file the relevant quarterly returns. Thresholds and applicability vary by payment type, so confirm against the current provision for each category of payment.

Yes, returns can typically be filed through a TIN Facilitation Centre without a DSC, or online using registered net-banking-based authentication where that option is enabled for the deductor. A DSC is generally required for fully online submission through the e-filing portal in most cases.

Retain filed FVU files, challans, acknowledgments, and correction history for at least the period aligned to the assessment's limitation window under the applicable tax law — commonly several years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Longer retention is prudent if the deductor has a history of scrutiny or has open assessments for related years.

Fees vary by deductee count, complexity, and whether corrections are involved; a modest quarterly filing for a small deductor typically falls in a few thousand rupees, scaling up for larger deductee bases or multiple correction cycles. Confirm the current fee schedule with your CA firm rather than assuming a fixed number, since it depends on the specific engagement.

Yes. The Income-tax Act, 2025 is in force from Tax Year 2026-27 (i.e. periods starting 1 April 2026) and has renamed the quarterly statement forms — Form 24Q is now Form 138, Form 26Q is now Form 140, Form 27Q is now Form 144, and Form 27EQ (TCS) is now Form 143. "Financial Year" on the statements is now labelled "Tax Year," and surcharge/cess are folded into the reported TDS/TCS amount rather than shown separately. Familiar section citations have also been renumbered — for example Section 234E (late-filing fee) is now Section 427, Section 272B (PAN defaults) is now Section 467, and Section 272A(2)(g) (certificate-issuance defaults) is now Section 465(2)(g) — though the underlying amounts and mechanics are unchanged so far. The core filing workflow — RPU/FVU preparation, TRACES processing, Form 16/16A issuance — continues in substance on the new forms. Statements for periods before Tax Year 2026-27, including corrections to them, still use the legacy forms and section numbers. Confirm current form and section numbers with your CA before relying on older material.

TDS on payments to a deductee whose PAN is inoperative is generally required to be deducted at a higher rate, and the return may flag such PANs during validation. Ask deductees to complete PAN-Aadhaar linking before the payment cycle where possible, and consult your CA on the applicable higher-rate treatment for any quarter where the PAN remains inoperative.