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A small employer pays four payroll dues each month to different portals with different deadlines.
Fix one calendar per payroll month: TDS by the 7th, PF and ESI by the 15th, professional tax by the state's date.
A monthly register with obligation, amount, due date, payment date, challan reference and bank debit date.
Every payroll due paid on time and tied to a bank debit, ready for the tax auditor.
A small employer pays four payroll dues each month. TDS on salary is due by the 7th of the following month, PF and ESI by the 15th, and professional tax by a date each state sets for itself. Paying late brings interest or damages, and employee PF or ESI paid after the due date is also disallowed for income tax.
What is paid, and by when?
| Obligation | What is paid | Due date | Where | If late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDS on salary | Tax deducted from salary (Section 192 under the 1961 Act; Section 393 under the Income-tax Act 2025) | 7th of next month; 30 April for March | Income-tax e-pay | Interest on late payment, plus quarterly return issues |
| PF | Employee 12% plus employer 12% (3.67% EPF and 8.33% EPS), plus EDLI 0.5% and admin 0.5% | 15th of next month | EPFO ECR | Interest and damages; employee share disallowed for tax |
| ESI | Employee 0.75% plus employer 3.25% of gross wages, for employees earning up to ₹21,000 a month | 15th of next month | ESIC portal | Interest and damages; employee share disallowed for tax |
| Professional tax | Slab amount by salary, capped at ₹2,500 a year per person | State-specific | State commercial tax portal | State interest and penalty |
EPS is worked out on wages capped at ₹15,000 a month, so the 3.67% and 8.33% split shifts for employees above that wage. The total employer share stays at 12% of PF wages.
Which date does the tax auditor test?
For employee PF and ESI, the auditor tests the due date under the PF and ESI laws, which is the 15th. Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Checkmate Services, an employee share deposited even one day late is disallowed under Section 36(1)(va) of the 1961 Act, and you cannot claim it later. That makes the 15th a hard date, not a soft one. Employer contributions are treated under Section 43B, where payment before the return due date still saves the deduction.
Does professional tax follow one national date?
No. Professional tax is a state levy, so each state sets its own slabs, payment date and return cycle. Some states do not levy it at all. Our state-wise guide lists dates such as the 20th of the following month in Karnataka and the end of the following month in Maharashtra; confirm the current date on your state’s portal. A multi-state employer keeps one row per state in the calendar.
Worked example: October payroll for 25 employees
Gross wages are ₹4,20,000. PF wages (basic plus DA) are ₹3,00,000, and every employee is below the ₹15,000 EPS cap and the ₹21,000 ESI ceiling.
| Item | Working | Amount | Due by |
|---|---|---|---|
| TDS on salary | Two employees above the tax threshold | ₹4,000 | 7 November |
| PF, employee | 12% of ₹3,00,000 | ₹36,000 | 15 November |
| PF, employer | 3.67% + 8.33% of ₹3,00,000 = ₹11,010 + ₹24,990 | ₹36,000 | 15 November |
| EDLI and admin | 0.5% + 0.5% of ₹3,00,000 | ₹3,000 | 15 November |
| ESI | 0.75% + 3.25% of ₹4,20,000 = ₹3,150 + ₹13,650 | ₹16,800 | 15 November |
| Professional tax | 20 employees at an illustrative ₹200 slab | ₹4,000 | State’s date |
The PF challan is ₹36,000 + ₹36,000 + ₹3,000 = ₹75,000. Total dues for the month: ₹4,000 + ₹75,000 + ₹16,800 + ₹4,000 = ₹99,800.
Pin this one-page calendar near the payroll desk, and after each payment write the bank debit date next to the due date.
What to read next
- Next step: Why is my PF challan higher than the PF deducted from salaries.
- Statutory payment reconciliation in India.
- PF and ESI statutory payment reconciliation.
- What is professional tax.
- Related: account reconciliation software for India.
TransactIG reconciles TDS and matches bank statement lines to your books, so each challan debit is tied to its payroll entry, with an exception queue for gaps and audit-ready exports.