Form 26Q – TDS Return for Non-Salary Payments

Complete guide to Form 26Q filing requirements, due dates, and compliance

What is Form 26Q?

Filing Form 26Q is a statutory requirement for any entity or organisation to deduct tax (TDS) on payments other than salaries. These payments include professional fees, interest, rent, commission, contract payments, and similar transactions made to resident parties. The form is submitted quarterly and provides essential details to the Income Tax Department to ensure accurate reporting of TDS activity on non-salary payments.

The return includes the details of the TDS deducted along with the challan details for the amount deposit. Form 26Q requires quarterly reporting of deductee-level TDS data along with corresponding challan details. Each entry must be linked with the applicable TDS section and should reflect the nature and amount of the payment.

Popular TDS Sections

Section	Nature of Payment
194	Dividend
194A	Interest other than interest on securities
194C	Payment to contractors and subcontractors
194D	Insurance commission
194G	Commission or prize on sale of lottery tickets
194H	Commission or brokerage
194I(a)	Rent for machinery or plant
194I(b)	Rent for land or building
194J	Fees for professional or technical services
194LA	Compensation for acquisition of certain immovable property
194LBB	Income from units of an investment fund
194N	Cash withdrawals above threshold
194O	Payments by e-commerce operator to e-commerce participant
194Q	Purchase of goods
194R	Benefit or perquisite in respect of business or profession
194S	Transfer of Virtual Digital Assets (VDA)
194T	Payments by Partnership Firms to Partners

Latest TDS Rate Chart

What are the details to be filled in Form 26Q?

Form 26Q contains a single annexure used to report all relevant non-salary TDS transactions. The following information is required:

Deductor Details: Name, PAN, TAN, address and other details
Challan Details: BSR code, date of deposit, challan serial number, and TDS amount
Deductee Details: PAN, name, nature of payment, amount paid, TDS rate, and tax deducted

In cases where TDS is not deducted or deducted at a lower rate, valid reasons or exemption codes must be specified.

Details about reasons for lower/no deduction

What are the filing due dates for Form 26Q?

Quarter	Due Date
April – June (Q1)	31st July
July – September (Q2)	31st October
October – December (Q3)	31st January
January – March (Q4)	31st May

What is the TDS rate when PAN Is not available?

If the valid PAN is not furnished or is incorrect, tax deduction (TDS) is at a higher rate – typically 20% or as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

This rule is enforced under Section 206AA and applies even if the applicable TDS rate is lower.

How is interest calculated for late deduction or payment of TDS?

Interest for Non-Compliance:

Non-Deduction of TDS: 1% per month from the date tax was deductible to the date of actual deduction
Deducted but Not Deposited: 1.5% per month from the date of deduction to the date of actual payment

Interest is calculated based on the calendar month. Even a single-day delay in the calendar month is treated as a full month.
Details on how these interest is calculated

What are the Penalties for late filing of Form 26Q?

Late Filing Fee – Section 234E

A fee of Rs. 200 per day is applicable until the return is filed, capped at the told amount of TDS deducted within the Return.
Fees for Late Filing of TDS Returns

Penalty – Section 271H

Penalty between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 1,00,000 may be levied for incorrect or delayed filing.
Understanding of Section 271H

Waiver of Penalty under 271H

No penalty if:

TDS is deposited in full
Late fee and interest are paid
Return is filed within 1 year of due date

Prosecution for Non-Deposit of TDS

If deducted TDS is not deposited, the offence is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from 3 months to 7 years, along with a fine.

Frequently Asked Questions – Form 26Q

For us TDS is applicable for different payment types having multiple sections, do I need to file Form 26Q for each Section separately?

No. You need to file only one Return per quarter. While preparing the Return data for submission, within each record you will have to provide the section under which deduction is made.

On which date, I should deduct the tax (TDS), say, for payment to my contractor?

As per the rules, the deduction should be done on the date the payment is made or the date on which credit is provided, whichever is earlier.

For the tax deducted, how do I deposit this amount?

Typically, the deposit is made online through banking channels. The process of making the payment has to be initiated from the Income Tax website which he will transfer you to the selected bank for completing the payment. Once successfully done, the bank provides you the payment receipt 'Challan' which contains important information that will be required for filing the Returns.

What is the due date for making the TDS deposit?

For all deductions during the calendar month, the total amount should be deposited within the 7th of the following month. Say, for deductions in June, it should be deposited by 7th July. Only exception is for deductions in March (last month the financial year), wherein this deposit date is 30th April.

Before filing, can I check to be sure that the PANs are all correct?

Yes. All PANs within a TDS Return can be verified online through the Income Tax websites. Alternatively, the TDSMAN suite of products has a facility to validate all PANs seamlessly by integrating to these websites.

In Form 26Q there are different TDS rates. How to ensure that correct deductions has been made?

Each section has a defined rate of tax deduction. You will have make sure that the correct section is selected and corresponding TDS rate is applied. By using TDSMAN, you will be able to make sure that the correct rate is applied for the section that has been selected.

What is the process of filing the TDS Return?

TDS Returns can be filed either online at the Income Tax website or submitted offline to any one of the authorized TIN facilitation centres (TIN-FC) located across India. After successful submission in either mode, you will receive an acknowledgement.

What is the due date to file Form 26Q?

You will need to file Form 26Q on completion of every quarter. The last date of filing within the last date of the month following the quarter end. Say, for quarter April to June, the last date of filing is 31st July. However, for the last quarter (January to March), the last date of such filing is 31st May.

For some reason I was not able to file my Form 26Q within the due date, can I file it after that?

Yes, in case you could file on time, you must file at the later date. For such delayed filing there is a penalty of Rs. 200/- per day of delay. However, total amount of the penalty cannot exceed the TDS amount within the Return.

After filing the TDS Return, I realized there was some error. How can I rectify this?

You can rectify the filed Form 26Q either by filing a Correction Return or directly make corrections on-line on the Income Tax website. However, making corrections has some defined limitations which needs to be strictly followed. This would take care of additions, modifications, etc. as desired.

Is there any time limit for filing Correction Returns?

Within the defined limitations, you can file Correction Returns as many times. No restriction has been specified in this regard. However, from 1st April '25, now corrections can only be done for Returns filed for the last six financial years only.

Some of the Similar Forms:

What is Form 24Q?

What is Form 27Q?

What is Form 27EQ?