Your TDS return has a new number.
From 1 April 2026 the quarterly statements are renumbered under the Income-tax Act 2025 — 24Q is now 138, 26Q is now 140. Rates and thresholds are largely unchanged, but old section codes on a new-year return get flagged. We file both sides of the transition without mixing them up.
Due dates are unchanged in substance under the new Act. The TCS return date moved — Q1 now falls on 31 July with Form 143. Verified as on 03 Aug 2026.
Same return. New number.
The Income-tax Act 2025 renumbered every quarterly statement. The structure of each form closely mirrors what it replaced — but filing a new-year quarter on an old form is the error TRACES flags most.
Salary TDS
The employer's quarterly statement for tax deducted from salaries, under Section 392. Annexure I every quarter; the detailed annexures at Q4, as before.
Resident non-salary
Payments to resident deductees — contractors, professionals, rent, commission, purchases. Reported against the payment codes in the Section 393 table.
Non-resident payments
Deductions on payments to non-residents, where treaty positions, PAN status and Form 15CA/15CB workings all have to line up.
Tax collected at source
The quarterly TCS statement under the Section 394 framework. Note the Q1 date moved to 31 July — the old TCS schedule no longer applies.
Certificates changed too: Form 16 is issued as Form 130 and Form 16A as Form 131 from Tax Year 2026-27. The employee investment declaration formerly collected in Form 12BB is now Form 124, and the Annual Information Statement is Form 168.
The mapping, in one table.
| Covers | Until FY 2025-26 | From Tax Year 2026-27 | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary TDS | Form 24Q | Form 138 | Section 392 |
| Resident non-salary TDS | Form 26Q | Form 140 | Section 393 |
| Non-resident payments | Form 27Q | Form 144 | Section 393 |
| Tax collected at source | Form 27EQ | Form 143 | Section 394 |
| Salary TDS certificate | Form 16 | Form 130 | Section 392 |
| Non-salary TDS certificate | Form 16A | Form 131 | Section 393 |
| Employee declaration | Form 12BB | Form 124 | Section 392 |
Old section references such as 194C or 194J no longer exist for payments made on or after 1 April 2026 — the new forms use numeric payment codes drawn from the Section 393 table. Verified against the Income-tax Act 2025 and Income-tax Rules 2026 as on 03 Aug 2026.
Most TDS notices start as a clerical error.
Old and new forms in the same month
A correction for the March 2026 quarter goes on Form 24Q. A Q1 statement for Tax Year 2026-27 goes on Form 138. One deductor legitimately files both — mixing them is the most common July rejection.
Late filing fee, capped at the TDS
The fee runs from the day after the due date until the statement is furnished, and cannot exceed the tax deducted or collected in that statement.
A separate exposure on top
Beyond the daily fee, failure to furnish a statement carries a penalty in a range starting at ₹10,000 and running to ₹1,00,000.
Deducted but deposited late
Where tax is deducted and not deposited by the due date, interest generally runs at 1.5% per month or part of a month from the date of deduction to the date of payment.
A misallocated challan reads as a shortfall
Money that reached the exchequer against the wrong year shows as a short-payment default on a return where nothing is actually short — and the correction cycle costs more than the original error.
The correction window tightened
Correction statements must be filed within two years from the end of the financial year. After that the request is rejected — and a wrong PAN stops being fixable.
Figures verified as on 03 Aug 2026. Actual exposure depends on the statement, the delay and the default type — we compute it before filing rather than after the notice.
Deduct, deposit, report — reconciled at each step.
Deduction is triggered on payment or credit, whichever comes first, so we work from your books rather than only your bank. Challans are generated with the correct payment code and period, then matched back before the statement is prepared. The return is filed against the challan position, not against an estimate — and certificates are generated from TRACES once the statement is processed. Where a default notice arrives, we trace it to the challan or the PAN before responding.
The whole quarter, not just the upload.
Deduction review
Every payment head checked against the right payment code and rate, including PAN-status cases where a higher rate applies.
Deposit & challans
Challans generated and deposited on time, with the correct period and code so credit lands where the return will look for it.
Statement filing
Form 138, 140, 144 or 143 prepared, validated and filed — with the old forms used where the quarter genuinely belongs to the old Act.
Certificates & corrections
Form 130 and 131 generated from TRACES, and correction statements filed where PAN, challan or amount details need fixing.
TDS & TCS Complete Guide
Payment types walked through one by one, what the new Act changed and what it didn't, payment codes, consequences of non-compliance, and certificates against Form 26AS and the AIS.
What deductors are asking this year.
Has Form 24Q really been replaced?
Yes. From 1 April 2026, salary TDS is reported in Form 138 under Section 392, and resident non-salary TDS in Form 140 under Section 393. Filing a Tax Year 2026-27 quarter on the old form numbers will not go through.
Which form do I use for a Q4 FY 2025-26 correction?
The old one. A quarter that belongs to the 1961 Act stays on Form 24Q or 26Q with the old section references, even if the correction is filed now. Only quarters from April 2026 onward move to the new forms.
Have TDS rates changed?
Rates and thresholds are largely retained. What changed is the reporting layer — section numbering, terminology and form numbers. That's precisely why the errors this year are validation errors rather than computation errors.
What is the late filing fee?
₹200 per day from the day after the due date until the statement is furnished, capped at the amount of tax deducted or collected in that statement. A separate penalty, starting at ₹10,000, can apply for failure to furnish.
Can I still correct an old return?
Within two years from the end of the relevant financial year. After that, TRACES rejects the correction request — so a mismatched PAN discovered late may not be fixable at all.
Do I need to update my payroll software?
Yes. If your payroll or ERP still files with the old section codes, the return may fail validation. Most vendors have pushed the update — manual filers and anyone working off an internal register are the ones at risk.
Around the quarterly cycle.
Q1 TDS Return: The Checklist Before You File
What to reconcile before the statement goes in.
Form 16 and 16A Mismatch: Fixing It on TRACES
Why certificates disagree with the return, and how to correct it.
194Q Only: What Happened to 206C(1H)
Where the deduction sits now on purchases of goods.
Salary TDS runs alongside payroll and HR compliance. The annual return is on income tax return, and TDS defaults get disclosed in tax audit. Bundled monthly on the retainer packages.
Hand over the quarter — we'll take it from here.
Share a few details and our team confirms scope on WhatsApp within a few hours. Prefer to talk now? WhatsApp or call us directly.
Quarter-end doesn't have to be a scramble.
Tell us how many deductees you have and which quarters are open. We'll confirm scope within a few hours — including any defaults sitting on TRACES.