Quarterly TDS returns: new forms, due dates, late fees and corrections
The July to September 2026 TDS statement is due on 31 October 2026, the first second-quarter statement in the new forms under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Here is what changed, what it costs to be late, and how to keep your statements clean.
By Ryan Vaz, FCA · · 8 min read
The short answer
Every deductor with a TAN files a TDS statement each quarter: by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. From tax year 2026-27 the forms are renumbered under the Income-tax Act, 2025: Form 138 for salary, Form 140 for other resident payments, Form 144 for non-residents and Form 143 for TCS. A late statement costs ₹200 a day, capped at the tax in the statement, and errors can now be corrected only within two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was due.
The statement for July to September 2026 is due on 31 October 2026, and it is the first second-quarter statement filed in the new forms. This guide sets out what changed, the due dates, the cost of filing late, and the routine that keeps statements clean, so that deductees get their credit in Form 26AS (now Form 168) and the deductor does not get default notices.
What a quarterly TDS statement is
Depositing TDS is only half the obligation. The deductor must also file a statement each quarter that links every challan to the deductees, their PANs, the amounts paid and the tax deducted. The tax department uses this statement to give each deductee credit for the tax. If the statement is late, wrong or missing, the deductee's credit does not appear in their tax credit statement, and the deductor receives a default intimation.
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the obligation to file the statement sits in section 397. The content of the statements is broadly the same as before; what changed on 1 April 2026 is the form numbers, their names and the section references inside them.
Old and new form numbers
| Statement | Until 31 March 2026 (1961 Act) | From 1 April 2026 (2025 Act) |
|---|---|---|
| TDS on salary | Form 24Q | Form 138 |
| TDS on other payments to residents | Form 26Q | Form 140 |
| TDS on payments to non-residents | Form 27Q | Form 144 |
| TCS | Form 27EQ | Form 143 |
| Salary TDS certificate | Form 16 | Form 130 |
| Non-salary TDS certificate | Form 16A | Form 131 |
| TCS certificate | Form 27D | Form 133 |
The tax year decides which form to use, not the filing date. Statements and corrections for quarters up to January to March 2026 are filed in the old forms under the 1961 Act, even if filed today. Quarters from April 2026 onwards use the new forms. Returns software and the File Validation Utility (FVU) have been updated accordingly; make sure you are on the current version.
Due dates
| Quarter | Period | Statement due | Non-salary certificates due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April to June | 31 July | 15 August |
| Q2 | July to September | 31 October | 15 November |
| Q3 | October to December | 31 January | 15 February |
| Q4 | January to March | 31 May | 15 June |
The TCS statement now follows the same dates as TDS. Under the old rules it was due on the 15th of the month after the quarter. The annual salary certificate (Form 130, formerly Form 16) is due by 15 June after the end of the tax year.
Tax deducted in a month must be deposited by the 7th of the following month, and tax deducted in March by 30 April. A statement can only be as good as its challans, so late or wrong challans show up as defaults in the statement.
Who must file
- Every person who has a TAN and has deducted tax, or was required to deduct it, during the quarter: companies, firms, LLPs, trusts, societies, government offices, and individuals and HUFs liable to tax audit.
- Employers file the salary statement for every quarter in which salary TDS was deducted.
- Payers to non-residents file the non-resident statement, in addition to the remittance forms required before payment.
- Individuals who deduct tax on buying property, paying rent above the threshold or certain contract and professional payments do not file quarterly statements; they use the one-time challan-cum-statement within 30 days from the end of the month of deduction.
If no tax was deducted in a quarter, a nil statement is generally not required, but it is good practice to record a declaration of non-filing on the TRACES portal, so that the system does not treat the quarter as missing.
What filing late costs
Late filing fee
A fee of ₹200 for every day of delay applies from the due date until the statement is filed, but the total cannot exceed the tax deducted that is reported in the statement. Under the 2025 Act this is section 427, which replaces section 234E. The fee has to be paid before the late statement is filed, otherwise the statement is processed with a demand.
| Case | TDS in the statement (₹) | Days late | Fee at ₹200 a day (₹) | Fee payable (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 18,000 | 45 | 9,000 | 9,000 |
| B | 15,000 | 120 | 24,000 | 15,000 |
| C | 2,40,000 | 10 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
Penalty
Separately, a penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 can be levied for not filing a statement, or for filing one with incorrect particulars such as wrong PANs or amounts. Under the 2025 Act this is section 461, which replaces section 271H. Penalty is generally not levied where the tax has been deposited, the fee and interest have been paid, and the statement is filed within the relaxation period allowed by the law, so the fastest way out of a delay is to pay and file.
Interest
Interest applies to the tax itself, not the statement: 1 per cent a month for tax not deducted when it should have been, and 1.5 per cent a month for tax deducted but deposited late. Interest must be paid before the statement is filed, or it appears as a demand in the processing intimation.
Corrections: the window is now two years
A correction statement is filed when PANs, amounts or challans in an original statement were wrong. From 1 April 2026, section 397(3)(f) of the 2025 Act allows a correction only within two years from the end of the tax year in which the original statement was due. That is much shorter than the six-year limit that applied before.
- The statement for April to June 2026 was due on 31 July 2026, within tax year 2026-27, so it can be corrected until 31 March 2029.
- The statement for January to March 2027 is due on 31 May 2027, within tax year 2027-28, so it can be corrected until 31 March 2030.
After that, a deductee whose PAN was wrong may lose the credit altogether. Correcting errors as soon as the processing intimation arrives is far easier than finding them years later.
A quarterly routine that keeps statements clean
- Before the quarter ends, reconcile TDS deducted in the books with challans deposited, month by month.
- Verify PANs and their status on the e-filing portal. An inoperative PAN, usually one not linked with Aadhaar, attracts a higher rate of deduction.
- Check that every challan's BIN details (BSR code, date and serial number) match the bank's records.
- Prepare the statement in the correct form for the tax year, validate it with the latest FVU, and file it before the due date.
- Download the processing intimation and the justification report from TRACES, and resolve short deduction, late payment and PAN errors with a correction statement.
- Issue Form 131 certificates within 15 days of the statement due date, and Form 130 by 15 June.
- Keep Forms 15G and 15H, lower deduction certificates and the deductees' PAN declarations on file for the period of limitation.
Common mistakes
- Filing a tax year 2026-27 quarter in the old Form 24Q or 26Q, or a correction for an earlier year in the new forms.
- Quoting a wrong or inoperative PAN, which denies the deductee credit and triggers higher-rate demands.
- Paying TDS under the wrong section code or assessment year, so the challan does not match the statement.
- Filing late without first paying the fee and interest, which turns a small cost into a demand notice.
- Ignoring TRACES default intimations until the two-year correction window has closed.
For help with deduction, deposits, statements and corrections, see income tax services, and for current due dates, the compliance calendar. If your credits do not appear in your tax credit statement, see AIS and Form 26AS mismatches.
This article is general information based on the law as understood on 22 October 2026. Rules, thresholds and form numbers change, and the facts of each case matter. It is not professional advice.