As a responsible deductor it is not only essential that correct TDS is deducted from the payee’s income, but also to ensure that the TDS return due dates are taken care of to avoid penalties. Hence, the deductor/payer need to keep the following things in mind:
- TDS Payment Due Dates
- TDS Return Filing Due Dates
TDS Payment Due Dates
The following table shows the TDS due dates for the current FY:
| Month | End of Quarter | Due dates to Deposit TDS to the Government |
| April | 30th June | 7th May |
| May | 30th June | 7th June |
| June | 30th June | 7th July |
| July | 31st September | 7th August |
| August | 31st September | 7th September |
| September | 31st September | 7th October |
| October | 31st December | 7th November |
| November | 31st December | 7th December |
| December | 31st December | 7th January |
| January | 31st March | 7th February |
| February | 31st March | 7th March |
| March | 31st March | 7th April (For TDS by Government Office) 30th April (For TDS by other deductors) |
Note: You can pay TDS online via IT portal.
TDS Return Due Dates
| Quarter | Months | Due Dates |
| Q1 | April – June | 31st July |
| Q2 | July – September | 31st October |
| Q3 | October – December | 31st January |
| Q4 | January – March | 31st May |
In case of the sums deducted by an office of the government without challan should deposit the same on the day of deduction.
Penalties for Late Deposit and Late Filing of TDS Return
Following are the penalties applicable in case one has not deposited TDS on or before the due date or has not filed the TDS Return on time:
Section 234E: TDS Return Late Filing Fee
As per Section 234E, Taxpayers who do not file the TDS return on or before the due date will have to pay a fine of INR 200 per day until the fine amount is equal to the TDS liability.
Example
Mr. A is an employer who forgot to pay TDS of INR 8,500 on 15th July. And he paid the same on 21st December. Hence, Late filing fees will be equal to INR 31,800 (159 Days* INR 200) or INR 8,500 whichever is less.
Section 271H: Penalty for Late Filing of TDS Return
As per Section 271H, the assessing officer may direct a person who fails to file the return within the due date to pay a penalty minimum of INR 10,000 which may extend to INR 1,00,000. The penalty under this section is also applicable to the cases of incorrect filing of TDS returns. Penalty u/s 271H will not be levied in case of delay in filing the TDS/TCS return in case the following conditions match:
- The TDS/TCS is paid to the credit of the Government.
- Late filing fees and interest is paid to the credit of the government.
- The TDS/TCS return is filed before the expiry of a period of one year from the due date specified.
Note: Penalty u/s 271H is in addition to Section 234E.
Interest on Late Deposit of TDS
| Section | Scenario | Interest subject to TDS/TCS amount | Period for which interest is to be paid |
| 201(1A) (i) | When TDS is not deducted |
1% per month or part thereof | From the date on which TDS is deductible to the date on which TDS is actually deducted |
| 201(1A) (ii) | When TDS is deducted but payment is made lately | 1.5% per month or part thereof | From the date on which TDS is actually deducted to the date on which such TDS is actually paid |
In case your TDS payable is INR 10,000 and the date of deduction of TDS is 20th April and you pay the TDS on 7th July.
Interest u/s 201(1A)= INR 10,000 * 1.5%p.m. * 4 months INR 600
Key points while calculating Interest:
- For calculating the Interest amount, the Interest rate is calculated on monthly basis i.e; part of the month is considered as a full month.
- For calculating the number of months, the date on which TDS was deducted should be considered and not the TDS due date.
- Interest should be paid before filing of TDS Return
Section 276B: Prosecution
If a person fails to pay to the credit of the Central Government, The Tax deducted at source by him as required by or under the provisions of Chapter XVII-B, he shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to seven years and with fine.
FAQs
In case your employer has not deposited TDS to the Income Tax Department, it will not reflect in your Form 26AS. Hence the option of taking a tax credit of the TDS while filing your income tax return isn’t available.
For Senior Citizens aged above 60, TDS will only be deducted if the interest income exceeds INR 50,000 in a given financial year.
Yes, you can file your TDS return after the due date. However, a penalty of INR 200 for every day of delay until the return is filed needs to be paid but it cannot exceed the amount of TDS liability. Furthermore, the department can also levy a penalty u/s 271H which is between INR 10,000 to INR 1 lakh.
TDS payments are deposited once a month. However, the TDS return must be submitted quarterly. For instance, the return for April must be filed by the 31st of July and the payment for April must be deposited by the 7th of May.
Thank you. What is the procedure for Form 27Q TDS Return. TDS return filing is opened or not. Kindly confirm
Hi @Srikanth
First, you need to prepare a TDS return using TIN - NSDL Utility, the FUV zip file will be generated, which you need to upload on the e-Filing Portal. Then follow the below steps to File Form 27Q from the e-Filing portal.
Currently, some discrepancy is coming to generate an FUV file from TIN - NSDL. We have confirmed that right now it’s not working properly.
Here, you can book a MEET where a dedicated tax expert can connect with you over a video call, understand your queries, and help you filing Form 27Q.
Hope this helps.