New TDS Forms for Tax Year 2026-27: Form 138 and Form 140 Replace 24Q and 26Q

From Tax Year 2026-27, quarterly TDS statements are filed in new forms prescribed under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The two forms most deductors use every quarter have new numbers: Form 138 replaces Form 24Q for salary TDS, and Form 140 replaces Form 26Q for TDS on non-salary payments to residents. Both are filed on the Income Tax Department's e-Filing portal.

Form 138: salary, pension and specified interest

The Income Tax Department's Form 138 user manual describes it as "Form No. 138 (earlier known as Form 24Q)", a quarterly statement filed by employers and specified banks to report TDS deducted on salary, pension or interest income. Any employer that deducts tax from employees' salaries, whether a company, firm, government body or individual, must file it. Specified banks file it where they deduct tax on pension or interest of certain senior citizens.

Form 140: non-salary payments to residents

The Form 140 user manual describes Form 140 as the form "earlier known as Form 26Q". It is filed by any person who deducts TDS on non-salary payments made to residents, such as commission, brokerage, professional fees and rent. Companies, firms, government bodies and individuals who make such payments and deduct tax must file it.

Due dates for Tax Year 2026-27

Both user manuals prescribe the same quarterly calendar:

The Q2 statement for July to September 2026 is therefore due on 31 October 2026.

How the forms are filed

The filing process is the same for both forms. A deductor needs a valid TAN registered on the e-Filing portal, the updated Return Preparation Utility (RPU) from Protean (NSDL), a valid FVU file generated through the RPU, and a registered DSC if the statement is to be verified with a DSC. The FVU file is compressed into a .zip file and uploaded after logging in with TAN credentials, under e-File, then "Deduction and Collection at source (Form TDS/TCS)".

Correction statements now enabled

When the new forms went live, the portal said correction statements for Tax Year 2026-27 would be enabled shortly. The e-Filing portal home page now states that filing of TDS/TCS correction statements pertaining to Tax Year 2026-27 has been enabled. Deductors can correct errors in Q1 statements filed in Form 138 or Form 140 by submitting a corrected FVU file.

Keep old-law periods separate

The e-Filing portal's integrated payment module handles dues under the Income-tax Act, 1961 for periods up to FY 2025-26 and under the Income-tax Act, 2025 from Tax Year 2026-27 onwards. The same split applies to TDS statements: the period to which the deduction relates decides the form. Statements and corrections for FY 2025-26 and earlier continue in Form 24Q and Form 26Q, even if filed after 1 April 2026. Form 138 and Form 140 are used only for deductions from Tax Year 2026-27.

What deductors should update

• Compliance calendars and checklists: replace Form 24Q and Form 26Q with Form 138 and Form 140 for Tax Year 2026-27, and diarise 31 October 2026 for Q2.
• Payroll, ERP and TDS software: confirm that the utility maps new-year deductions to the new forms and generates a valid FVU through the current RPU.
• Corrections: use the new-year correction facility for Tax Year 2026-27 errors and the old-form workflow for earlier years.
• Maker-checker reviews: check the tax period on each statement before upload so that old-law and new-law periods are not mixed.

Updated on 27 September 2026: linked the official Form 138 and Form 140 user manuals, added the full due-date table, filing prerequisites and steps, and noted that correction statements for Tax Year 2026-27 have since been enabled on the e-Filing portal.