TDS returns: quarterly preparation checklist
A TDS return is a quarterly statement of tax deducted at source, filed by the deductor with the Income Tax Department. From April 2026 the statements carry new form numbers under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026. This article lists the forms, the quarter-wise due dates published on the e-filing portal, and a preparation checklist.
- Payments and credits up to 31 March 2026 stay under the 1961 Act and old forms (24Q, 26Q, 27Q, 27EQ); from 1 April 2026 the 2025 Act applies.
- Quarterly statements for tax year 2026-27 use Form 138 (salary), Form 140 (non-salary, residents), Form 144 (non-residents) and Form 143 (TCS).
- The portal lists the due dates as 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May.
- Statements are prepared in the Return Preparation Utility, validated to create an FVU file, then uploaded with the TAN.
- Correct PAN details and matching challans reduce rejections and corrections.
Which form is used for which TDS return?
Form 138 replaces Form 24Q for salary, Form 140 replaces Form 26Q for non-salary payments to residents, Form 144 covers non-salary payments to non-residents (earlier Form 27Q), and Form 143 is the TCS statement (earlier Form 27EQ). The e-filing portal's Form 138 manual and Form 140 manual describe the first two as the successors; the Department's form pages for Form 143 and Form 144 give the earlier numbers.
Scroll horizontally to see all three columns.
| Purpose | Earlier form (1961 Act periods) | Form for tax year 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| TDS on salary | 24Q | 138 |
| TDS on non-salary payments to residents | 26Q | 140 |
| TDS on non-salary payments to non-residents | 27Q | 144 |
| Tax collected at source | 27EQ | 143 |
| Challan-cum-statement for the four transaction types earlier reported in 26QB to 26QE | 26QB, 26QC, 26QD, 26QE | 141 |
The portal's TDS compliance page explains the dividing line: where the earlier of the credit or payment falls on or before 31 March 2026, the 1961 Act applies, and from 1 April 2026, the 2025 Act applies. It cites sections 392 (salary), 393 (other TDS) and 394 (TCS) of the 2025 Act, and says a common Form 141 can be used for the four transaction types earlier reported in Forms 26QB to 26QE.
What are the TDS return due dates?
The quarterly due dates are 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. The e-filing portal's user manuals for Form 138, Form 140, Form 143 and Form 144 list them. The Q2 statement (July to September 2026) is therefore due on 31 October.
Scroll horizontally to see all three columns.
| Quarter | Period | Due date (per portal) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April to June | 31 July |
| Q2 | July to September | 31 October |
| Q3 | October to December | 31 January |
| Q4 | January to March | 31 May of the following year |
Deposit dates for the tax itself are separate from the statement dates. The portal's TDS compliance page mentions 30 April 2026 only for tax deducted in March 2026; for other months, check the current deposit rule on the portal. Late statements and late deposits carry fees and interest, and dates can be changed by notification, so check the current position on the portal before relying on any date or figure.
What should be ready before preparing the statement?
Preparation starts with complete deduction data: deductee PAN, payment or credit date, amount, section or nature of payment, rate, tax deducted and the challan in which it was deposited. Reconcile the books with challans first, because a mismatch between the statement and the challans is a common cause of defaults and notices.
Preparation checklist:
- TAN of the deductor and its login to the e-filing portal
- Deductee list with PAN, name and category (company, individual, firm and so on)
- Payment or credit date and amount for each deduction
- Section or nature of payment and rate applied, with any lower or nil deduction certificate
- Challan details: amount, BSR code, date and serial number, matched to the TDS liability in the books
- Interest or late fee paid, if any, with its challan
- Salary workings and employee declarations (for Form 138)
- Prior-quarter statement acknowledgement and any pending corrections
Briefs on rent TDS, TDS on payments to partners and section 194Q versus TCS cover some common categories, although those articles discuss 1961 Act section numbers.
How is the statement prepared, validated and filed?
Per the portal's manuals, download the latest Return Preparation Utility (RPU) from the Protean (NSDL) website, enter the data, validate it to generate an FVU file, zip it, then upload it on the e-filing portal using the TAN. The FVU version must match the version shown on the form screen.
Steps:
- Download the utility. Download the current RPU from the Protean TIN site (the manuals point to the e-TDS/TCS quarterly return downloads).
- Enter the data. Enter or import the deduction and challan data; correct errors flagged on screen.
- Validate and zip. Validate the file, generate the FVU file and zip it.
- Log in with the TAN. Log in to the e-filing portal with the TAN, go to e-File, Income Tax Forms, File Income Tax Forms, and choose the Deduction and Collection at source (TDS/TCS) category under the forms as per the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- Select the form. Choose Form 138, 140, 143 or 144, the tax year, the quarter and the upload type (regular or correction), then upload the zip.
- e-Verify. Proceed to e-verify; confirmation comes by email and mobile.
- Track the status. Check View Filed Forms. An accepted form is sent to TRACES for processing; a rejected form shows the reason. Save the acknowledgement.
The manuals list common rejection causes: wrong tax year, more than one filing for the same quarter, an FVU version mismatch, regular and correction files uploaded in the wrong category, a TAN in the file that does not match the logged-in TAN, and, for corrections, a mismatch in the RRR number.
How are PAN errors and mismatches corrected?
A correction statement is filed by choosing Correction as the upload type, with the RRR number in the FVU file matching the one entered on the form's landing screen, as the Form 140 manual describes. The TDS compliance page adds that corrections for periods under the 1961 Act can be filed after 1 April 2026, within two years from the end of the tax year in which the original statement was due, using the old Act's forms and formats.
Use TRACES for processed statements. Wrong or missing PANs, challan mismatches and short deductions are typical items to correct. Correct deductee PANs matter, because the deductee's credit in Form 26AS or AIS depends on them.
What about Form 16 and Form 16A?
Deductors issue TDS certificates to deductees after the quarterly statements are processed: Form 16 for salary and Form 16A for other payments under the 1961 Act, with renumbered certificate forms under the 2026 Rules. The portal's TDS compliance page refers to Form 16A for FY 2025-26 and a penalty for late issue under the old Act. Check the form numbers and time limits for tax year 2026-27 on the Department's forms page.
Last reviewed: 15 October 2026
Sources
- Form 138 user manual, e-filing portal
- Form 140 user manual, e-filing portal
- Form 143 user manual, e-filing portal
- Form 144 user manual, e-filing portal
- TDS Compliance, e-filing portal
- Form No. 143 (earlier Form No. 27EQ), Income Tax Department and Form No. 144 (earlier Form No. 27Q)
- TRACES and Protean TIN