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TDS compliance in India runs on monthly deposit deadlines (7th of following month, 30 April for March), quarterly return dates (31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May), and certificate issuance windows. Missing any deadline triggers 1.5 percent per month interest under Section 201(1A), ₹200 per day under Section 234E, or Section 271H penalties capped at the total TDS amount for the quarter.
Build a month-by-month compliance calendar linking deduction, deposit, challan verification, quarterly return filing, certificate issuance, and reconciliation windows. At each milestone, run Form 26AS reconciliation against the TDS receivable ledger, flag unmatched entries within the deductor's correction window, and file correction statements before time-bars fall.
Calendar master with 12 monthly deposit dates, 4 quarterly return dates, and 2 certificate windows. Auto-triggered reconciliation runs keyed to post-return due dates. Interest and penalty accrual logic per Section 201(1A) and 234E.
Zero missed deposits or returns, Section 234E and 201(1A) accruals limited to unavoidable exceptions, and reconciled Form 26AS after every quarterly return with variances routed to deductors inside their correction windows.
Finance teams managing TDS compliance calendar India 2025-26 across multiple sections and payment types face a structured set of deadlines that run every month, not just at quarter-end. A missed deposit date triggers interest from day one; a late return triggers ₹200/day in Section 234E fees even before any other consequences are counted.
2026 Migration Update — 1 April 2026 is the cut-over date for the Income Tax Act 2025. Finance teams should decommission Section 206AB and 206CCA non-filer filters on that date and switch quarterly returns to the new payment-code schedule. The correction window for FY 2025-26 deductions stays open until 31 March 2029 and must continue to use legacy section codes. See the 2026 migration checklist and the cross-era TDS reconciliation guide.
What the TDS Calendar Covers
The TDS compliance cycle has three layers. The first is the monthly deposit cycle — TDS deducted in any month must reach the government by the 7th of the following month, with March as the single exception (deposited by 30 April). The second is the quarterly return cycle — 24Q for salary TDS and 26Q for non-salary, filed four times a year. The third is the certificate issuance cycle — Form 16 for salary and Form 16A for non-salary must be issued to deductees after each quarterly return is filed.
Reconciliation sits alongside all three layers. Each deposit confirms that the challan matches the deduction. Each quarterly return is the trigger to reconcile Form 26AS against the TDS receivable or payable ledger. Each certificate issuance is a checkpoint to verify that deductee records are correct.
Where Compliance Breaks Down
Section 234E Defaults Go Undetected
Teams managing TDS compliance across multiple sections in a shared spreadsheet typically catch Section 234E defaults only when the TRACES portal flags them — by which time ₹200/day penalties have accrued for several weeks. The most common cause is a return filed after the due date because the challan verification step was delayed: the team was waiting for confirmation that the March TDS deposit went through before filing the Q4 return.
Form 16A Issuance Missed the Window
The 15-day window after the quarterly return due date is short. Finance teams that file the return on the last day of the due date often find that Form 16A generation on TRACES takes 2–3 business days, and certificate dispatch to vendors takes additional time. By the time the deductee receives Form 16A, the window may have technically passed.
Quarterly Reconciliation Skipped Until Year-End
Finance teams that run TDS receivable reconciliation only at March year-end face a compounded problem: discrepancies from all four quarters must be resolved simultaneously, and some deductors will have missed the correction deadline for Q1 or Q2 by the time the issue is flagged.
TDS Filing Calendar FY 2025-26
| Quarter | TDS Deposit Deadline | Return Filing Deadline | Certificate Issuance | Key Reconciliation Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Apr–Jun 2025) | 7th of following month; Jun by 7 Jul | 31 July 2025 | Form 16A by 15 Aug 2025 | Reconcile 26AS Q1 entries vs TDS receivable ledger |
| Q2 (Jul–Sep 2025) | 7th of following month; Sep by 7 Oct | 31 October 2025 | Form 16A by 15 Nov 2025 | Reconcile 26AS Q2 entries; follow up on Q1 open items |
| Q3 (Oct–Dec 2025) | 7th of following month; Dec by 7 Jan | 31 January 2026 | Form 16A by 15 Feb 2026 | Reconcile 26AS Q3 entries; clear Q2 correction returns |
| Q4 (Jan–Mar 2026) | Mar TDS by 30 Apr 2026 | 31 May 2026 | Form 16 by 15 Jun 2026; Form 16A by 15 Jun 2026 | Full-year TDS receivable vs 26AS/AIS; finalise provision |
Penalty Reference: Sections 234E, 271H, and 201(1A)
| Provision | Trigger | Rate / Amount | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 234E | Late TDS return filing | ₹200 per day of delay | Capped at TDS amount for that quarter |
| Section 271H | Incorrect TDS return (wrong PAN, wrong amount) | ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh | At AO discretion |
| Section 201(1A) — late deduction | TDS deducted after due date | 1% per month from when it was deductible | No cap |
| Section 201(1A) — late deposit | TDS deducted but deposited late | 1.5% per month from deduction date to deposit date | No cap |
What Automated Reconciliation Changes
The reconciliation windows in the TDS calendar are fixed — they do not flex based on how many sections a team manages or how many deductors are involved. A team managing 15 TDS sections across 3 legal entities has the same quarterly windows as a team managing 2 sections across 1 entity, but a fundamentally different volume problem.
TDS reconciliation software that maps Form 26AS data against the TDS receivable ledger by TAN, section, and quarter — and generates an exception list for each quarterly window — reduces the Q1 reconciliation task from a multi-day effort to a review of flagged items. Deadlines for correction returns are tracked in the system rather than in a shared calendar that may not be updated when a team member is on leave.
Automated reconciliation India platforms that integrate TRACES data can surface Section 234E exposure before it becomes a penalty — alerting the team when a challan verification is pending that would delay the quarterly return beyond its due date.
The Income Tax Department of India publishes all TDS return filing dates, interest provisions, and Form 16/16A requirements, which are the definitive reference for compliance planning.
Criminal Prosecution Risk for TDS Non-Compliance
Beyond financial penalties under Sections 234E, 271H, and 201(1A), TDS non-compliance carries criminal prosecution risk that finance teams and company directors must account for in compliance planning.
Section 276B: Failure to pay TDS to the government. Where a deductor collects TDS but fails to deposit it within the prescribed time, Section 276B prescribes rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than 3 months, extendable up to 7 years, along with a fine. This provision applies to the failure to deposit — not to the failure to deduct. The distinction is critical: a deductor who withheld tax from a payment but did not remit it to the government faces criminal liability, whereas a deductor who failed to deduct in the first place faces penalty under Section 271C but not prosecution under 276B.
Director liability under Section 278B. Where the deductor is a company, Section 278B deems every person who was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business at the time of the offence to be guilty and liable for prosecution. This includes managing directors, finance directors, and CFOs. The defence available is proving that the offence was committed without the person’s knowledge or that they exercised all due diligence to prevent it. Documented reconciliation records, challan verification workflows, and timely correction returns constitute evidence of due diligence.
Key judicial precedents. In Sasi Enterprises v ACIT (2014), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 276B prosecution provisions, confirming that TDS collected but not deposited constitutes a criminal offence. The court ruled that the prosecution can proceed independently of assessment proceedings. In US Technologies v CIT (April 2023), the Kerala High Court held that Section 271C penalty is not leviable for delayed deposit of TDS — it applies only to failure to deduct. This distinction means that delayed deposit attracts 276B prosecution and 201(1A) interest, but not the 271C penalty that was historically applied to deposit delays.
The practical implication for compliance calendar management: late TDS deposits are not merely a financial cost (interest at 1.5% per month). They create a prosecution record that survives even after the principal and interest are paid. Automated deposit tracking with escalation alerts before the 7th of each month is a compliance necessity, not an efficiency improvement.