Compliance
Quick answer: Every Quarter, Without Exception — That Is What TDS Compliance Means — The TDS return is not a filing you handle once. It runs four times a year, on a schedule that does not shift: 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May. Miss Q3 — filed in January for October to December deductions —…
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TDS / TCS deducted during the quarter compiled with deductee / collectee PAN-wise details.
TDS / TCS challans matched with deductee records to ensure correct credit.
Form 24Q / 26Q / 27Q / 27EQ utility generated with annexures — verified by expert.
Return uploaded on TRACES portal with TAN-based login and DSC / EVC verification.
Form 16 / 16A / 16B / 16C issued to deductees within 15 days of return filing.
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8 documents needed for tds return filing.
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Why file tds return filing with FinTax24 instead of doing it yourself.
| Aspect | DIY / Portal | Local Tax Consultant | FinTax24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing time | 7–14 days (typical) | Varies by availability and workload | 2-3 business days |
| Expert review | None | Depends on the consultant | Expert verified on every filing |
| Document check | You self-verify; rejected on portal | Manual review may vary | Pre-verified by our team before submission |
| Support | Email / chatbot | Appointment-based or office hours | WhatsApp + phone, Mon–Sat 10 AM–7 PM IST |
| Pricing | Government fees only | Consultant fee + government fees | Transparent: From ₹999 + govt fees |
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TDS return due dates for FY 2025-26, with assessment year AY 2026-27: Q1 (Apr–Jun 2025) — 31 July 2025; Q2 (Jul–Sep 2025) — 31 October 2025; Q3 of FY 2025-26 (Oct–Dec 2025) — 31 January 2026; Q4 (Jan–Mar 2026) — 31 May 2026. Form 24Q for salary, 26Q for non-salary, 27Q for foreign remittance, 27EQ for TCS — all due on these dates.
Section 234E penalty of ₹1,000 per day applies for late filing of TDS / TCS return, until the date of actual filing. Maximum penalty under Section 234E is the amount of TDS / TCS deductible for the quarter. Continued non-filing may attract prosecution under Section 276B (1-3 years imprisonment + fine).
Form 24Q — TDS on salary payments under Section 192. Form 26Q — TDS on non-salary payments (contractor, rent, professional, interest, commission) under Sections 193 to 196. Form 27Q — TDS on foreign remittance under Section 195 to non-residents. Form 27EQ — Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under various sections of Chapter XVII-BB.
Yes. TDS / TCS returns can be revised any number of times on the TRACES portal. Correction statement under Section 200(3) is filed using the same form (24Q / 26Q / 27Q / 27EQ). Late correction attracts Section 234E penalty. Original return must be filed before correction can be submitted.
TDS return filing starts from ₹999 per quarter at FinTax24 — covers Form 24Q / 26Q / 27Q / 27EQ compilation, challan 281 reconciliation, and TRACES filing. Form 24Q salary starts from ₹999. Form 26Q non-salary starts from ₹999. Form 27Q foreign remittance starts from ₹1,499. Form 27EQ TCS starts from ₹1,499. Multi-quarter packages available.
Form 16 (TDS on salary) must be issued by 15 June of the assessment year (or within 15 days of Form 24Q Q4 filing). Form 16A (non-salary TDS) must be issued within 15 days of Form 26Q filing. Form 16B (property) within 15 days of Section 194-IA TDS deposit. Form 16C (rental) within 15 days of Section 194-IB TDS deposit.
Form 16 (TDS certificate for salary) must be issued to employees by 15 June of the assessment year (15 June 2026 for AY 2026-27) or within 15 days of Q4 Form 24Q filing, whichever is later. Form 16 shows salary paid, exemptions, deductions (Section 80C to 80U), and TDS deducted for the full financial year. Employers must issue Form 16 to all employees from whom TDS was deducted — required for employees to claim TDS credit in their ITR.
TDS on salary is calculated on estimated annual salary after standard deduction (₹75,000 for AY 2026-27), exemptions (HRA, LTA, Section 80C to 80CCD(1B)), and deductions. Average TDS rate is applied month-wise and reconciled quarterly through Form 24Q Annexure II. Employers must validate employee PAN before filing — invalid PAN attracts Section 272B penalty of ₹10,000. PAN-Aadhaar linking must be confirmed for all employees.
Section 234E penalty ₹1,000 / day until filed. Section 271H penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh for filing incorrect / incomplete TDS return. Section 276B prosecution (1-3 years imprisonment + fine) for willful non-filing. Deductees cannot claim TDS credit in ITR without corresponding return filing — affects refund processing.
TRACES (TDS-CPC Administration) portal at tdscpc.gov.in is used for TDS / TCS return filing. Login using TAN-based credentials, validate the return JSON in the TDS / TCS file validation utility, and upload the file. PAN-based login is required for deductee downloads. DSC of authorised signatory mandatory for filing.
Section 194Q (effective 1 July 2021) requires a buyer to deduct 0.1% TDS on purchases of goods exceeding ₹50 lakh from a single seller in a financial year. The buyer must have aggregate turnover or gross receipts exceeding ₹10 crore in the previous financial year. TDS is deducted at the time of credit to the seller's account or at the time of payment, whichever is earlier. The seller receives a TDS credit certificate (Form 16A or 26Q annexure) and can claim credit in their ITR. FinTax24 handles Section 194Q compliance including Form 26Q filing with 194Q schedules and challan 281 reconciliation.
Form 16A (TDS certificate for non-salary payments) must be issued within 15 days of Form 26Q filing for each quarter. It shows the payment made, TDS deducted, surcharge, education cess, and TDS deposited details. Deductees — contractors, professionals, landlords — use Form 16A to claim TDS credit in their income tax returns. FinTax24 generates and issues Form 16A within the statutory 15-day window as part of the Form 26Q filing engagement.
Form 15CB is a certificate issued by a chartered accountant confirming that a foreign remittance is eligible under the Income Tax Act, the TDS rate applied is correct (whether statutory rate or DTAA treaty rate), and the remittance complies with FEMA regulations. Form 15CA is a separate self-declaration filed by the remitter with the bank before the remittance is processed. Both are required for any remittance to a non-resident under Section 195 — including royalty, technical fees, interest, dividend, or management charges. FinTax24 coordinates with your CA for Form 15CB preparation and handles the complete Form 27Q filing with DTAA treaty rate application.
Yes. Form 27Q can be revised any number of times on the TRACES portal using the correction statement. The original return must be filed before a correction can be submitted. Late corrections attract Section 234E penalty of ₹1,000 per day. If a revised Form 15CB is needed due to a correction in the remittance details or DTAA treaty rate, the revised certificate must also be obtained from the CA. Revised Form 16C can be re-issued to the non-resident payee after the correction is processed on TRACES.
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Every Quarter, Without Exception — That Is What TDS Compliance Means — The TDS return is not a filing you handle once. It runs four times a year, on a schedule that does not shift: 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May. Miss Q3 — filed in January for October to December deductions — and Section 234E levies ₹1,000 per day from the due date until the return is filed. Miss the challan deposit on time — 7th of the following month for salary, 7th or 14th for non-salary — and interest under Section 201(1A) accrues. These are not edge cases. For a business with ten employees and fifteen contractors, a quarter's worth of TDS activity involves hundreds of line items, any one of which — a wrong PAN, a mismatched challan serial — can block a deductee's TDS credit for months.
FinTax24 handles the complete quarterly cycle: compilation of TDS and TCS deducted, challan 281 reconciliation, preparation of Form 24Q (salary), Form 26Q (non-salary), Form 27Q (foreign remittance under Section 195), and Form 27EQ (TCS), TRACES validation, upload, and DSC-based filing. The ₹1,999 per quarter rate covers 24Q and 26Q. Form 27Q and 27EQ are charged separately.
Form 26Q requires matching every deductee PAN against every challan 281 entry. This is not a formality. TRACES validates each row: if the PAN is wrong, or the challan serial number does not match what the NSDL database holds, the entry is marked invalid and the TDS credit is frozen for that deductee. When the deductee — a contractor, a landlord, a professional — files their own ITR and finds their TDS credit missing, they will claim it from the deductor. The deductor then has to file a correction, wait for it to be processed, and re-issue the certificate. This chain can take two to four months.
A Bhavnagar engineering firm discovered this when their main contractor's Form 16A showed TDS credit of ₹87,000 that the contractor could not find in his 26AS. The contractor's PAN had been entered correctly in the books but incorrectly in the challan 281 — a digit transposed in the challan serial number. The correction took eleven weeks to process. FinTax24 avoids this by running a full 26Q reconciliation before filing: every PAN validated, every challan matched, every mismatch flagged and corrected before the return goes to TRACES.
Form 24Q is the quarterly salary TDS return. Its companion obligation is Form 16 — the annual TDS certificate issued to each employee by 15 June of the assessment year. Form 16 is what employees use to claim TDS credit in their own ITR. If the Q4 Form 24Q is filed late, Form 16 is late. If Form 16 is wrong — wrong PAN, wrong periods, wrong TDS amount — every employee's ITR is wrong. FinTax24 tracks the entire chain from quarterly filing through annual certificate issuance and ensures each deadline is met in sequence.
Contractors and professionals who expect their income to be below the threshold often apply for a lower or nil TDS certificate under Section 197. If the certificate is obtained but the challan is prepared at the full rate — because the accounts team did not know the certificate had been issued — the excess TDS has to be reclaimed through the deductee's ITR, not in the deductor's return. FinTax24 checks for any live Section 197 certificates at the start of each quarter and applies the correct rate before the challan is prepared.
The ₹1,999 per quarter covers the full filing and reconciliation. Additional charges apply only if correction rounds are required, or if the quarter involves Form 27Q (DTAA treaty rate application, Form 15CB coordination) or Form 27EQ (TCS on sale of goods, scrap, or motor vehicles under Chapter XVII-BB).
Sources & authority: For regulations on tds return filing, refer to gst.gov.in, incometax.gov.in, tds.nic.in.
Last reviewed by: FinTax24 Compliance Desk · Reviewed on:
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