TDS Return Filing

Overview: what TDS return filing is

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is a mechanism where the person making certain payments — salary, rent, professional fees, contractor payments, interest and more — deducts tax before paying and deposits it with the government on the recipient’s behalf. As a deductor, you must hold a TAN, deposit the tax by the 7th of the following month, and file a quarterly return reporting every deduction.

TDS returns are filed in different forms depending on the nature of payment: 24Q for salaries, 26Q for resident non-salary payments, 27Q for payments to non-residents and 27EQ for TCS. Each return links the deduction to the deductee’s PAN and the challan through which tax was deposited. Accurate filing is what lets your vendors and employees see the credit in their Form 26AS and claim it against their own tax.

Who needs to file TDS returns

• Companies and firms making salary, contractor or professional payments
• Businesses paying rent above the prescribed monthly threshold
• Anyone deducting TDS on commission, interest or technical services
• Buyers deducting 1% TDS on immovable property over ₹50 lakh (Form 26QB)
• Employers issuing Form 16 to salaried staff

TDS deposit and return due dates

TDS deducted in a month must be deposited by the 7th of the next month (with the March deduction allowed until 30 April). Quarterly returns are then due by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May for the four quarters respectively. Form 16 (salary) is issued annually by 15 June, while Form 16A (non-salary) is issued quarterly within 15 days of the return due date. We track every one of these dates so a deposit or filing is never missed.

Step-by-step filing process

Each quarter we collect your payment and deduction details, validate every deductee PAN against the income-tax database to prevent higher-rate deductions and short-credit, and reconcile the challans you have deposited through OLTAS. We then prepare the return using the latest RPU/FVU utilities, file it, and download the Form 16/16A certificates from TRACES for distribution.

If a default — short deduction, late deposit or a PAN error — has already crept in, we pull the justification report from TRACES, file a correction return, and clear the demand before it escalates. This correction capability is often what separates a clean TDS record from a recurring notice problem.

Penalties and risks of getting TDS wrong

Late filing of a TDS return attracts a fee of ₹200 per day under Section 234E until the return is filed, capped at the TDS amount. Failure to deduct or deposit tax invites interest at 1% per month (for non-deduction) or 1.5% per month (for non-deposit), plus a penalty that can equal the tax not deducted. Worse, an expense on which TDS was not deducted can be partly disallowed under Section 40(a)(ia), inflating your taxable profit. Clean, timely filing avoids all of this.

Why file TDS returns with TCC

TDS is unforgiving of small errors — one wrong PAN or a mismatched challan can hold up dozens of credits and trigger a default notice. Our experts validate every detail before filing, handle TRACES corrections in-house, and generate Form 16/16A on time, so your employees and vendors never chase you for certificates. Fixed quarterly fee, WhatsApp-first, with notice handling included.