A TDS statement connects tax deposited by a deductor with the people entitled to the credit. Paying a challan alone does not complete that reporting: the statement must identify the correct deductees, payments and deductions, pass upload validation and proceed through processing. For the underlying withholding framework, see the guide to what TDS means and how it works.
Choose the period before choosing the form
The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026. Forms 138, 140 and 144 belong to that framework; they are not merely alternative labels that can be used interchangeably with 24Q, 26Q and 27Q. Returns for earlier periods, including their corrections filed after that date, continue in the old formats.
For payments subject to deduction on the earlier of credit or payment, use that triggering event to determine the applicable law. A professional fee credited in March 2026 and paid in April 2026 remains an old-Act item. Apply the particular deduction trigger for the payment category, including salary, rather than assuming every TDS provision uses identical timing. The Department’s transition FAQs, questions 1–2 and 10–12, explain the period and correction distinction.
| Reporting category | Earlier-period form | Tax year 2026–27 onwards |
|---|---|---|
| Salary TDS | 24Q | 138 |
| Resident non-salary payments in the regular quarterly route | 26Q | 140 |
| Non-resident payments other than salary | 27Q | 144 |
Form 138 also covers the specified-bank reporting for eligible senior citizens described in its manual. Read the Department’s current manuals for Form 138, Form 140 and Form 144 when selecting the category.
When the regular quarterly route does not apply
Specified PAN-based deductions on property purchases, rent, certain individual/HUF payments and virtual digital assets use the separate challan-cum-statement route. Under the new framework, Form 141 consolidates the earlier 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE routes. It is available through PAN login and is restricted to resident deductees. Do not send every rent or property payment to Form 141: first establish that the payer and transaction fall within the specified provision. For a non-resident payment, examine the TAN-based non-salary route and applicable withholding rules. See the Form 141 FAQs. TCS is a separate collection statement and should not be included in a TDS filing as if it were a deduction.
Quarterly statement dates
The ordinary deadlines in the three quarterly-form manuals produce this calendar for tax year 2026–27. A notified extension must be checked for the particular form and quarter; the dates below do not assume an extension.
| Quarter | Period | Ordinary filing deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April–June 2026 | 31 July 2026 |
| Q2 | July–September 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Q3 | October–December 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| Q4 | January–March 2027 | 31 May 2027 |
These are statement deadlines, not monthly tax-deposit deadlines. For example, a resident consultant’s fee first credited and paid in August 2026, with the deduction correctly made under the regular TAN-based route, belongs in Form 140, Q2. A royalty first credited and paid to a non-resident in December 2026 belongs in Form 144, Q3, assuming tax is deductible and has been computed correctly.
Reconcile the challan and the deductee rows
Before generating the file, reconcile the relevant expense or payroll ledger, payment/credit dates, deduction section or code, deductee PAN and status, amount paid or credited, tax deducted and the challan or government book-adjustment reference. Resolve a wrong PAN or missing row even when the grand total agrees.
Hypothetical working: A company has three resident vendor deductions in a quarter. Assume the deductions below have already been calculated correctly, all belong in the same statement, and a ₹50,000 tax challan has no prior utilisation, fee or interest component.
| Deductee | TDS in the ledger | Tax allocated from challan |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor A | ₹10,000 | ₹10,000 |
| Vendor B | ₹20,000 | ₹20,000 |
| Vendor C | ₹15,000 | ₹15,000 |
| Total | ₹45,000 | ₹45,000 |
The working leaves ₹50,000 − ₹45,000 = ₹5,000 unallocated. Investigate whether it represents another valid deduction or an excess payment; do not invent a deductee row to consume it. If Vendor A’s ₹10,000 is tagged to the wrong PAN, ₹45,000 still reconciles in total, but the credit attribution is wrong. Correct the affected reporting after confirming the statement’s status. A PAN error alone is not a reason to deposit that same tax again. An actual tax shortfall needs its own payment and interest analysis.
Prepare, upload and check the result
- Download the current RPU and matching FVU for the relevant period and regular/correction type from Protean. Generate the validated FVU file and the required ZIP.
- Log in to e-Filing using the registered TAN. Open e-File → Income Tax Forms → File Income Tax Forms.
- For the new framework, choose the Income Tax Act 2025 category and the TDS/TCS filing service. Select Form 138, 140 or 144, the tax year, quarter and upload type.
- Check that the FVU version agrees with the version shown on the upload screen. Upload the ZIP and complete the applicable e-verification method. Register the DSC where that method is used or required.
- Open View Filed Forms and inspect acceptance or rejection. Save the acknowledgement, accepted file and any rejection reason. An accepted upload then goes to TRACES for further processing; acceptance alone does not establish that every deductee credit is correct.
The Form 140 filing manual sets out this upload sequence. The Form 144 manual also identifies errors involving TAN, tax year, quarter, FVU version and correction receipt references.
Correction: use the two-year limit and the right starting record
Under section 397(3)(f) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, as amended by Finance Act 2026, a correction statement must be delivered within two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was required to be delivered. The provision expressly includes statements under section 200 of the old Act. The Department’s transition FAQ 11 confirms the two-year rule for old-period corrections too.
The clock follows the year of the required filing date, not the date on which an error is discovered or the date a late original was actually uploaded. On the ordinary deadlines above:
- Q3 of tax year 2026–27 is due on 31 January 2027. That due date falls in tax year 2026–27, ending 31 March 2027. Adding two years gives 31 March 2029.
- Q4 of the same tax year is due on 31 May 2027. The due date falls in tax year 2027–28, ending 31 March 2028. Its corresponding correction limit is 31 March 2030.
For an older statement, calculate the actual statutory limit for its due year; do not assume that a six-year window remains available. An old-period correction still uses the old form and format. Recheck the calculation if a notified extension changes the applicable due year.
Rejected upload or accepted statement?
If the upload is rejected because the FVU version, TAN or selected period is wrong, inspect the rejection, correct the preparation or upload selection and resubmit the appropriate file. Do not automatically call this a correction to a successfully filed statement. If a statement was accepted and processed but its PAN, amount or challan allocation is wrong, start from that statement’s current processed record and follow the supported correction route.
For a correction upload, the RRR/receipt reference in the FVU must match the reference entered on the portal. Check the selected service’s prerequisites and verification method rather than assuming every online correction has the same DSC requirement. Retain the prior receipt, the changed-row reconciliation, the correction receipt and the final processing result.
Late filing has a separate cost
For statements governed by the new Act, section 427 imposes ₹200 for each day of filing delay, capped at the tax deductible or collectible, with the fee payable before filing. In a simple example of 13 days’ delay and ₹2,000 tax deductible, ₹200 × 13 = ₹2,600, restricted to ₹2,000.
Section 461 separately provides a ₹10,000–₹1,00,000 penalty for failure to furnish, or furnishing incorrect information. Its specific late-filing relief requires payment of the tax, fee and interest and delivery within one month of the prescribed filing time; that relief is not a blanket cure for incorrect information. Deduction/deposit interest remains a separate issue. For earlier-period defaults, apply the saved old-Act provisions instead of mechanically replacing every historical section reference.
Close the quarter only after checking statement processing, any defaults and the resulting deductee records. For historical certificate terminology, the Form 16 and Form 16A comparison explains the salary/non-salary distinction; use the certificate prescribed for the period being reported.
