TL;DR
- TDS returns for tax year 2026-27 are due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May, fixed by Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
- From quarter one of tax year 2026-27 the statement forms are renumbered.
- Form 138 replaces 24Q, Form 140 replaces 26Q, Form 144 replaces 27Q and Form 143 replaces 27EQ.
Quick Answer: TDS returns for tax year 2026-27 are due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. The same four dates apply to Forms 138, 140, 144 and 143 alike. Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 fixes them, and the fourth-quarter date falls on 31 May of the following financial year.
Two things changed on 1 April 2026, and a due-date list that ignores either one will be wrong. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force and repealed the Income-tax Act, 1961. The statement forms were renumbered by rule, so Form 24Q became Form 138 and Form 26Q became Form 140.
The filing dates themselves did not move for tax deducted at source, although they did move for tax collected at source. Missing one costs ₹200 for every day the statement stays outstanding, and a separate penalty of not less than ₹10,000 can follow.
What Are the Quarterly TDS Return Due Dates?
The four dates are 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. Rule 219(4) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 applies them to every quarterly statement. The quarter-four date is expressed differently from the other three: it falls on 31 May of the financial year immediately following the tax year in which the deduction or collection is required to be made.
| Quarter | Period covered | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 April to 30 June 2026 | 31 July 2026 |
| Q2 | 1 July to 30 September 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Q3 | 1 October to 31 December 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| Q4 | 1 January to 31 March 2027 | 31 May 2027 |
Do Government and Non-Government Deductors File on Different Dates?
No. The dates above apply to tax year 2026-27 and they apply identically to both classes of deductor. Rule 219 draws no distinction between them, and the position under the 1961 Act was the same.
The distinction sits in the deposit of tax rather than in the statement. Depositing is governed by Rule 218 and runs on a monthly cycle, which the guide to statutory compliance in HR and payroll sets out alongside the other payroll obligations.
Which TDS Return Form Applies?
The form depends on what was paid and to whom. The Income-tax Act, 2025 does not itself name any form. Section 397(3)(b) requires a statement "in such form … and within such time, as may be prescribed", and Rule 219(1) prescribes the form.
| Form | What it reports | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| 138 | Tax deducted on salary | 24Q |
| 140 | Tax deducted on non-salary payments to residents | 26Q |
| 144 | Tax deducted on non-salary payments to non-residents | 27Q |
| 143 | Tax collected at source | 27EQ |
Rule 219(1) prescribes the new forms without naming the old ones, so the equivalence above comes from the Income Tax Department. Its user manual records that Form 138 was "earlier known as Form 24Q", and that Form 140 was earlier known as Form 26Q. Form 144 carries the non-resident statement that Form 27Q previously carried.
Did the Tax Collected at Source Dates Change?
Yes. This is the one date change on this subject and it is widely misreported. Under the old regime, Form 27EQ was due on 15 July, 15 October, 15 January and 15 May. Form 143 now follows the same month-end dates as every other quarterly statement: 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. The mid-month dates appear nowhere in the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
What Changed Under the Income-tax Act, 2025?
The Act received assent on 21 August 2025 as Act 30 of 2025, and section 1(3) brought it into force on 1 April 2026. Section 536(1) repeals the Income-tax Act, 1961. Commencement is whole-Act, save as the Act itself otherwise provides, rather than provision by provision on notified dates.
The forms were renumbered by Notification No. 22/2026, G.S.R. 198(E), dated 20 March 2026, which made the Income-tax Rules, 2026 with effect from 1 April 2026.
Which Act Governs a Quarter Straddling 1 April 2026?
The period decides, not the filing date. The quarter-four statement for FY 2025-26 covered January to March 2026 and fell under the 1961 Act, on Forms 24Q, 26Q and 27Q for tax deducted and Form 27EQ for tax collected. The TDS statements were due on 31 May 2026 and the TCS statement on 15 May 2026. The new forms begin with quarter one of tax year 2026-27.
Section 536(2)(c) continues the 1961 Act for proceedings relating to a tax year beginning before 1 April 2026. The correction window is set by section 397(3)(f) of the 2025 Act at two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was due. It expressly covers statements originally required under section 200 of the 1961 Act.
What Does "Tax Year" Mean Now?
Section 3(1) defines a tax year as the twelve-month period of the financial year commencing on 1 April. The Act drops "previous year" and "assessment year" entirely. Write the period as tax year 2026-27, not tax year 2027, and keep FY 2025-26 for periods governed by the 1961 Act.
What Is the Late-Filing Fee for a TDS Return?
The fee is ₹200 for every day the statement stays outstanding. Three separate charges can attach to one late statement, and they are cumulative rather than alternative: the fee runs per day, the penalty is a band, and interest depends on whether the tax was deducted at all.
| Default | 1961 Act | 2025 Act | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement filed late | s.234E | s.427 | ₹200 per day, capped at the tax deductible or collectible |
| Late or incorrect statement | s.271H | s.461 | Not less than ₹10,000, extending to ₹1,00,000 |
| Failure to deduct or collect | s.201(1A) | s.398(3)(a) | 1% per month or part of a month |
| Deducted but deposited late | s.201(1A) | s.398(3)(a) | 1.5% per month or part of a month |
How Are the Fee and the Penalty Limited?
The fee is capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible, not at a flat rupee figure, and section 427(2) requires it to be paid before the statement is delivered. The penalty under section 461 is a floor-and-ceiling band, so exposure begins at ₹10,000 and is not limited to it.
When Does the Penalty Not Apply?
Relief is available for late filing alone. Under section 461(2), where the tax, fee and interest are paid and the statement is filed within one month of the due date, no penalty applies. That relief does not extend to an incorrect statement.
Has Any Due Date Been Extended for 2026?
No TDS or TCS quarterly statement due date has been extended. The extension announced on 28 September 2026 is a different thing: it moved the return of income for assessment year 2026-27 from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026 in audit cases, under the 1961 Act. It touches income-tax returns and audit reports only.
How Do You Keep Track of a Date That Moves?
Extensions do arrive across other statutes, and they arrive by notification rather than on a schedule, which is why tracking which compliance due dates were recently extended matters more than holding a static calendar. A register that carries both the original and the revised date for each obligation is how a revision becomes visible at all.
LexComply indexes those instruments in what it calls its Act Encyclopedia, and its global compliance management platform links each due date to its obligation, owner and entity. How compliance monitoring works in practice is a separate subject from the dates themselves, but it is what stops a renumbered form going unnoticed until a notice arrives. A separate indirect-tax obligation runs alongside it, because e-invoicing applies by turnover rather than by transaction.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating the monthly deposit date as the return date. Non-government deductors deposit by the 7th of the following month under Rule 218. The statement is quarterly. The 7th has no bearing on the filing deadline.
- Carrying the mid-month TCS dates into tax year 2026-27. Form 27EQ was due on the 15th. Form 143 is due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May, in line with every other quarterly statement.
- Reading section 461 as a ₹10,000 penalty. The provision reads "not less than ₹10,000 but which may extend to ₹1,00,000". ₹10,000 is the floor, not the exposure.
- Capping the section 427 fee at a rupee amount. The ₹200 per day accrual is capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible, which on a large statement is far above any fixed figure.
- Reading the ₹1,00,000 in section 427 as the TDS fee cap. The Finance Act, 2026 added section 427(3), which caps a different fee, the one for a statement of financial transaction. The fee under section 427(1) is still capped at the tax amount.
- Assuming Form 141 is a quarterly return. Rule 219(5) makes it the challan-cum-statement, due within 30 days from the end of the month of deduction, and it replaces Forms 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is general information on Indian tax compliance and reflects the position as at 9 October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice, and you should take professional advice on how these provisions apply to your organisation.
