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TDS Return Filing Services

Quarterly TDS returns under the new Income Tax Act 2025 (Form 138, 140, 144, 143) plus monthly TDS payments and Form 130/131 issuance, handled end-to-end by a dedicated CA. No defaults, no notices, no penalties.

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Response within 30 mins during business hours

The Recurring Rhythm.

Monthly TDS payment by the 7th. Quarterly returns by the 31st of the month following the quarter-end. Form 130/131 issued after annual return.

Monthly
TDS deducted & paid
TDS deducted on every payment. Tax deposited to the government by the 7th of the next month via Challan ITNS-281. Late deposit triggers interest immediately.
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Quarter-End
We prepare returns
Form 138 (salaries, formerly 24Q), Form 140 (resident non-salaries, formerly 26Q), Form 144 (non-residents, formerly 27Q), and Form 143 (TCS, formerly 27EQ) prepared, validated against TRACES, and reviewed for deductee mismatches.
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By 31st
We file quarterly returns
Returns uploaded on the TIN-NSDL portal. Acknowledgement received and shared with you. Any defaults flagged by the system corrected before sign-off.
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Post Q4
Form 130 / 131 issued
Form 130 (employees, formerly Form 16) and Form 131 (vendors, formerly Form 16A) downloaded from TRACES and distributed. Annual summary delivered to you.
↺ Monthly TDS payment + quarterly return filing. Form 130 (formerly Form 16) issued by 15 June after Q4 each year.

What Is TDS Return Filing?

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is the system under which a payer (the deductor) deducts a fixed percentage of tax before making certain payments and deposits that tax with the government on the recipient's (the deductee's) behalf. It applies to salaries, vendor payments, rent, professional fees, interest, dividends, contract payments, and many other transactions specified under the Income Tax Act.

TDS compliance has two halves: monthly payment of TDS deducted (due by the 7th of the following month) and quarterly filing of returns (due by the 31st of the month following each quarter-end). Both halves are unforgiving: late deduction or late payment attracts compounded interest, and late filing carries a daily penalty of ₹200. Beyond money, TDS defaults damage your relationship with deductees, who lose visibility on their tax credits until you file.

What returns and forms are involved

Under the Income Tax Act 2025 (operational from 1 April 2026), four quarterly returns based on the type of payment: Form 138 for salaries (formerly Form 24Q, under Section 392), Form 140 for non-salary payments to residents (formerly Form 26Q, under Section 393(1)), Form 144 for payments to non-residents (formerly Form 27Q, under Section 393(2)), and Form 143 for Tax Collected at Source (formerly Form 27EQ, under Section 394). After filing, the system generates Form 130 for employees (annual, formerly Form 16) and Form 131 for vendors (quarterly, formerly Form 16A), which deductees use to claim credit in their own returns. Property and similar PAN-based deductions now use the consolidated Form 141 (merging the former 26QB, 26QC, 26QD, 26QE).

Why outsource vs do it in-house

TDS is the most error-prone of the regular compliances. The rates change frequently across budget cycles, deductee PANs need validation against the TRACES portal, lower-deduction certificates need to be tracked, and 26AS mismatches generate notices for both sides. A single quarterly default with 50 deductees can take 20+ hours of clean-up. Delegating to a compliance firm replaces this scattered work with one predictable handoff per quarter.

What Gets Done Each Cycle.

Six recurring activities. Monthly deduction and payment, quarterly returns, annual Form 16. Anything not listed is an add-on.

TDS computation
Monthly
Identify all payments requiring TDS. Apply correct rate based on section, deductee PAN status, and any lower-deduction certificate. Validate against the TDS rate chart for the current financial year.
TDS payment to government
Monthly
TDS deposited via Challan ITNS-281 by the 7th of the next month. Challan receipts archived. Late deposits flagged and interest calculated for next return.
Form 138 (salaries)
Quarterly
Salary TDS return (formerly Form 24Q) under Section 392. Annexure II prepared with employee-wise computation. Filed by 31st of the month following the quarter-end.
Form 140 (non-salary)
Quarterly
TDS on vendor payments, professional fees, rent, contract work, interest (formerly Form 26Q, under Section 393(1)). PANs validated against TRACES. Deductee mismatches resolved before filing.
Form 144 / 143
Quarterly
Form 144 (formerly 27Q, under Section 393(2)) for TDS on payments to non-residents (royalties, technical services, interest). Form 143 (formerly 27EQ, under Section 394) for Tax Collected at Source on notified transactions. Note: Form 143 has earlier due dates (15th of the month after quarter-end, not 31st).
Form 130 / 131 issuance
Annual / Quarterly
Form 130 (annual, for employees, formerly Form 16) issued by 15 June. Form 131 (quarterly, for vendors, formerly Form 16A) issued within 15 days of filing each return. Downloaded directly from TRACES.

When You Need Us to Handle This.

Getting professional help on GST compliance is a service decision, not a legal one. Here's when it makes sense and when it doesn't.

Get help if
  • You have 5 or more salaried employees. Form 138 (formerly 24Q) complexity grows non-linearly with employee count. Multi-employee salary TDS is the most error-prone in-house compliance.
  • You make payments to 20+ vendors quarterly. Each vendor requires PAN validation against TRACES, correct section coding, and rate application. Manual tracking breaks at scale.
  • You have foreign vendor or non-resident payments. Form 144 (formerly 27Q) requires DTAA analysis, TRC (Tax Residency Certificate) handling, and lower-rate computations. Specialist work; in-house DIY fails here.
  • You've received default notices or 26AS mismatch queries. A dedicated CA stops the cycle: clean returns plus continuous validation of deductee data.
  • You issue Form 130 (formerly Form 16) to employees who file ITRs. Wrong Form 130 means wrong employee ITR refunds, immediate employee complaints, and revised return work. The new 2-year correction window (effective 1 April 2025) makes errors harder to fix later. Worth getting right the first time.
Skip if
  • You have no salaried employees and minimal vendor payments. If TDS deduction is rare or doesn't apply, the compliance load is low enough to manage in-house.
  • You're an individual without TAN registration. Individuals not engaged in business / profession typically don't need a TAN or TDS compliance. Salary recipients receive TDS, they don't deduct it.
  • You have a competent in-house payroll & finance team. Teams that already handle payroll and have CA review can keep TDS in-house, especially with payroll software automating most computations.
  • You're a small business with TDS turnover below threshold. Below specified thresholds many TDS provisions don't apply, simplifying the load substantially.

How We Work.

Six commitments. Same dedicated CA, every month, with response times you can plan around.

Dedicated CA on your account
Not a ticket queue. The same chartered accountant handles your filings every month. Personal accountability, not a hand-off chain.
WhatsApp & email access
Business-hours response. Urgent issues escalated within 2 hours. No more chasing emails into a void.
Filed by Day 25 of the deadline month
Returns filed 6 days before the 31st cut-off. Built-in buffer to handle deductee mismatches and corrections.
Document upload via portal or Drive
Pick your tool. We adapt to your workflow, not the other way around. CSV, Tally exports, Excel, all supported.
Default notice response within 48 hrs
TDS default intimations (short deduction, short payment, late filing) addressed within 48 hours of receipt to minimise interest accrual.
Quarterly summary report
Returns filed, deductee-wise TDS, any defaults, Form 16/16A status, upcoming changes. Read in 3 minutes, signed off in 1.

TDS Penalties & Defaults at a Glance.

Reference table for every TDS default scenario. Current as per Income Tax Act provisions.

Default scenario
Penalty
Interest
Downstream impact
Late filing of TDS return
₹200/day until filed
N/A
Deductees' 26AS not updated, credit lost
Late TDS deduction
100% of tax under Sec 271C
1% per month
Disallowance under Section 40(a)
Late TDS payment
Possible prosecution
1.5% per month
Expense disallowed in IT return
Non-deduction of TDS
100% of tax + penalty
As applicable
30% of expense disallowed permanently
Wrong PAN / invalid PAN
Higher TDS rate (20%)
N/A
Deductee dispute, vendor relationship damage
Failure to issue Form 130 / 131
₹100/day per certificate
N/A
Employee / vendor ITR delays + complaints
Wilful failure to pay TDS
Imprisonment 3 mo - 7 yr
1.5% per month
Director-level prosecution under Sec 276B
Penalty figures current as per Income Tax Act provisions. Verify against the latest finance act before relying on for compliance decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions.

TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number) is a 10-digit alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department. Every entity that deducts TDS or collects TCS must obtain a TAN. Salary payments, vendor payments above thresholds, rent payments above ₹50,000/month, professional fees above ₹30,000/year, and many other transactions trigger TDS, and all require a valid TAN. Filing TDS returns without TAN is impossible.
Under the Income Tax Act 2025 (operational from 1 April 2026): Form 138 (formerly Form 24Q, Section 392) covers TDS on salary payments. Form 140 (formerly Form 26Q, Section 393(1)) covers TDS on non-salary payments to residents (vendor fees, rent, professional fees, contract payments, interest). Form 144 (formerly Form 27Q, Section 393(2)) covers TDS on payments to non-residents (royalty, fees for technical services, interest). Form 143 (formerly Form 27EQ, Section 394) covers Tax Collected at Source on specified transactions like motor vehicle sales above ₹10 lakh and certain foreign remittances. Note: Form 143 has earlier due dates than the other three.
TDS payments are due monthly, by the 7th of the following month (e.g., TDS deducted in April is due by 7 May). TDS returns (Form 138, 140, 144) are filed quarterly: Q1 (Apr-Jun) by 31 July, Q2 (Jul-Sep) by 31 October, Q3 (Oct-Dec) by 31 January, Q4 (Jan-Mar) by 31 May. Form 143 (TCS) has earlier due dates: 15 July, 15 October, 15 January, 15 May. Form 130 (annual, formerly Form 16, for employees) is issued by 15 June. Form 131 (quarterly, formerly Form 16A, for vendors) is issued within 15 days of return filing.
Interest accrues at 1.5% per month from the date the TDS was deducted to the date of actual payment to the government. The interest is mandatory and computed automatically by the TRACES system; you cannot waive or negotiate. Wilful late payment can also trigger prosecution under Section 276B (3 months to 7 years imprisonment), though this is reserved for severe cases. Filing returns with late-paid TDS shows the interest payable directly.
Two consequences. First, you become a deemed assessee in default under Section 201, liable to pay 100% of the TDS amount plus interest at 1% per month. Second, under Section 40(a)(ia) of the Income Tax Act, 30% of the expense on which TDS was not deducted is disallowed in your own income tax return permanently, increasing your tax liability. The combined cost typically far exceeds the original TDS amount.
Form 26AS is a consolidated tax credit statement maintained by the Income Tax Department for every taxpayer, showing all TDS deducted on their behalf (across employers, vendors, banks, etc.). When you file a TDS return correctly, the deductee's 26AS gets updated automatically with their TDS credit. When you file late or wrong, their 26AS shows a gap, which triggers complaints from employees, vendor disputes, and sometimes income tax scrutiny. 26AS is the single most-watched document by anyone receiving TDS deductions.
Technically no, but practically yes if you have an active TAN. Nil declarations protect you from default notices. The TRACES system tracks TAN-level activity; sudden silence after regular filings triggers verification. Best practice: file the quarterly return with whatever was deducted (even if minimal), or proactively communicate to the tax department if your TDS activity has genuinely stopped.
Form 144 (formerly Form 27Q) covers non-resident payments. The key complexity is applying the correct rate: the lower of the Income Tax Act rate or the rate under the relevant DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) between India and the recipient's country. To apply the DTAA rate, we need a valid Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) from the recipient plus Form 10F. We handle the analysis, documentation, and filing. Non-resident TDS is the area where in-house teams most often fail.
Under Section 395 of the Income Tax Act 2025 (Section 197 under the previous 1961 Act), a deductee can apply to the Assessing Officer for a certificate authorising lower TDS deduction (or no deduction) on specific payments. The application is now made on Form 128 (formerly Form 13). This is common for vendors whose total tax liability is genuinely low or who have substantial advance tax payments. As the deductor, you must verify the certificate, apply the reduced rate from the certificate's effective date, and report it correctly in the return. We track these certificates and ensure correct application.
Pricing depends on number of deductees (employees + vendors), forms required (Form 138 only, or 138 + 140, or all four), and whether you need add-ons like Form 130 distribution, default-resolution support, or lower-deduction certificate management. Reach out and we'll give an exact quote. Most early-stage clients are in a predictable per-quarter range.
The governing law is determined by the transaction date, not the filing date. TDS deducted on or before 31 March 2026 is governed by the Income Tax Act 1961 and uses old forms (24Q, 26Q, 27Q, 27EQ, Form 16, Form 16A). This includes Q4 FY 2025-26 returns filed in May 2026, file these on old forms. TDS deducted on or after 1 April 2026 falls under the Income Tax Act 2025 and uses new forms (138, 140, 144, 143, Form 130, Form 131). Using the wrong form set generates portal validation errors. We track the cutover date carefully for every client and file each return under the correct framework.
TRACES generates automated default notices after every return for: short deduction (deducted less than required), short payment (paid less than deducted), late deduction (deducted after due date), and late payment (paid after due date). Each carries interest and possible penalty. We address every default within 48 hours of receipt, file revised returns where needed, and resolve through TRACES' online correction mechanism. Unresolved defaults compound interest, escalate to scrutiny, and damage your TAN's compliance rating.

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Let Us Handle TDS Returns.

Talk to a CA in 15 minutes. Response within 30 mins during business hours.