TDS Return Filing — 24Q, 26Q, 27Q

The TDS return cycle is fixed: four statements a year, each due two months after its quarter ends, with March's return delayed to 31 May so the annual salary certificates can be issued first.

Every return is filed against a TAN, and every deductee line must carry a valid PAN — the two identifiers that generate most validation rejections.

The TDS return has its own fee clock separate from the deposit: ₹200 per day under s.427 (earlier s.234E) from the due date until the return is filed, capped at the quarter's TDS. A penalty under s.461 (earlier s.271H) adds ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 for continued default.

Beyond the fee, a late or rejected return blocks the deductee's credit in 26AS/AIS — which is how vendors and employees end up facing notices for tax you already deducted.

The certificates the return enables — Form 130 (earlier Form 16) for employees, Form 131 (earlier Form 16A) for vendors — carry their own deadlines: 15 June for Form 130 (Rule 215, Income-tax Rules 2026), and within 15 days of the return due date for Form 131 (Rule 215; earlier Rule 31).

A company that files the return late therefore defaults twice: once on the return fee, once on the certificate deadline — with a penalty of ₹500 for every day the certificate is not furnished, not exceeding the tax deductible, under s.465(2)(g) and s.465(3)(b), Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.272A(2)(g), Income-tax Act 1961).