How to File Form 24Q TDS Return India 2026: HR Step-by-Step Guide

Your payroll team just closed June salary. TDS has been deducted from every employee’s pay for three months running. Now comes the part many HR managers quietly dread — filing Form 24Q for Q1 before the July 31 deadline. Four days. That’s all you have. And if you’ve never done this yourself, or your CA handles it but you’re still accountable if it goes wrong, this guide is for you.

[lwptoc]

What Is Form 24Q? (Plain Language)

Form 24Q is the quarterly TDS statement that every employer — whether a private company, a partnership firm, or an LLP — must file with the Income Tax Department. It tells the government how much salary TDS you deducted from your employees each month and how much you deposited in the government’s account.

Think of it as a quarterly report card for your TDS compliance. It sits under Section 192 of the Income Tax Act 1961, which mandates employers to deduct TDS at the time of paying salary, based on each employee’s projected annual income and their chosen tax regime (new or old).

The data from Form 24Q is what generates Form 16 Part A on TRACES for your employees — so if your 24Q has errors, your employees get wrong Form 16s, which messes up their ITR filing. This is exactly why it matters beyond just avoiding penalties.

Who Must File Form 24Q?

Any person or entity that deducts TDS from employee salaries is required to file Form 24Q. This includes:

• Private limited and public limited companies
• LLPs and partnership firms with salaried staff
• Proprietorships with employees on payroll
• Trusts, NGOs, schools, and hospitals paying salaries
• Government departments (though they use separate challan procedures)

If you’re an employer with a TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number) and you pay salaries above the basic exemption limit, you must file. No minimum headcount. Even if you have 3 employees and only 1 of them has taxable income, you must file Form 24Q for that quarter.

Form 24Q Due Dates for FY 2026-27

Here are all four quarter deadlines for the current financial year:

Quarter	Period	Due Date	Annexures
Q1	April – June 2026	July 31, 2026	Annexure I only
Q2	July – September 2026	October 31, 2026	Annexure I only
Q3	October – December 2026	January 31, 2027	Annexure I only
Q4	January – March 2027	May 31, 2027	Annexure I + Annexure II

Note: Q4 has an extended deadline to May 31 (vs March 31 for most other forms) to give employers time to compile the full annual salary breakup in Annexure II.

Step 1 — Deposit TDS via Challan 281 (Before You File)

You cannot file Form 24Q unless TDS is already deposited. The deposit must happen by the 7th of the month following deduction (for non-government employers). For March, the deadline extends to April 30.

Here’s how to deposit:

1. Log in to incometax.gov.in or use your bank’s net banking TDS payment option.
2. Select Challan ITNS 281 — specifically for TDS/TCS payments.
3. Fill in your TAN, the nature of payment (code 192A for salary TDS), the assessment year (2027-28 for FY 2026-27), and the amount.
4. Complete payment. Note down the BSR code and Challan Serial Number from the receipt — you’ll need these for Form 24Q filing.

Do this for each month separately. April, May, and June TDS should ideally be 3 separate challans. You can consolidate, but separate challans make reconciliation much cleaner and corrections easier if there’s a mismatch.

Step 2 — Prepare Form 24Q Using RPU

The Income Tax Department provides a free Return Preparation Utility (RPU) — a Java-based desktop tool — to prepare Form 24Q.

1. Download the latest RPU from incometaxindia.gov.in or from TIN-NSDL.
2. Open RPU and select Form 24Q, then select the quarter (Q1 for April–June).
3. Fill in the deductor details: TAN, PAN, company name, address, responsible person’s details.
4. Enter challan details: BSR code, challan date, challan serial number, TDS amount deposited for each month.
5. Enter employee/deductee details (Annexure I): PAN of each employee, salary paid, TDS deducted each month. For Q1–Q3, this is a summary per employee — not a full salary breakup.
6. Save the file. RPU generates a .txt file.

Validate with FVU

Once you have the .txt file, run it through the File Validation Utility (FVU), also available from NSDL. FVU checks for errors — missing PANs, challan mismatches, format issues. Fix all errors flagged before proceeding. FVU generates a .fvu file on successful validation.

Step 3 — File on the Income Tax Portal or TIN-FC

You have two options to file:

Option A — Online via Income Tax Portal (Recommended)

1. Log in at incometax.gov.in using your TAN credentials.
2. Go to e-File → Income Tax Forms → File Income Tax Forms.
3. Select Form 24Q, upload the validated .fvu file.
4. Verify using DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) or EVC (Electronic Verification Code via Aadhaar OTP or net banking).
5. Submit. You’ll receive a Provisional Receipt Number (PRN) — save this. It’s your proof of filing.

Option B — Through TIN-FC (Physical)

You can also submit the .fvu file on a CD/pen drive at a TIN Facilitation Centre. Less common now but still valid for employers without internet access at their filing location.

What’s in Annexure I vs Annexure II?

Detail	Annexure I (Q1–Q4)	Annexure II (Q4 only)
Purpose	Challan + employee TDS summary	Full annual salary breakup per employee
Contains	PAN, amount paid, TDS deducted (quarter-wise)	Basic, HRA, allowances, deductions (80C, 80D, etc.), net taxable income
Linked to	Challan 281 deposits	Form 16 Part A & Part B generation on TRACES
Mandatory for	All quarters	Q4 only

Penalties for Late Filing or Errors

This is where HR managers get burnt — not from intentional non-compliance but from missing deadlines or not catching data errors in time.

Section 234E — Late Filing Fee

₹200 per day from the due date until you file, subject to a maximum of the TDS amount deducted. If your Q1 TDS was ₹80,000 and you file 20 days late, that’s ₹4,000 in late filing fees — mandatory, no waiver available.

Section 271H — Penalty for Wrong or Non-filing

A penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 can be levied by the assessing officer for failure to file, filing with incorrect information (wrong PAN, wrong challan details, etc.), or filing after 1 year from the due date. Unlike 234E, this is discretionary — but it’s still a real risk.

Section 276B — Prosecution

In extreme cases (sustained non-deposit of deducted TDS), prosecution under Section 276B can result in rigorous imprisonment of 3 months to 7 years. Rare, but it underlines how seriously CBDT treats TDS defaults.

Common Mistakes HR Managers Make with Form 24Q

1. Wrong or missing employee PANs. If an employee’s PAN is invalid or missing, TDS is deducted at 20% (Section 206AA) and the return won’t validate correctly. Always collect and verify PANs at onboarding, not at filing time.
2. Challan mismatch. The BSR code or challan amount in the return doesn’t match the actual deposit. Cross-check with your bank challan receipt or OLTAS (Online TDS Accounting System) before entering in RPU.
3. Filing after depositing but before deadline. Some teams assume that depositing TDS on time is enough. It’s not — filing the return separately is a distinct legal obligation.
4. Skipping months with zero TDS. If no employee had TDS liability in a month, some HR teams skip the return. You must still file — with nil challan and nil deductee data if applicable.
5. Using outdated RPU version. NSDL updates RPU regularly. Using an old version may generate a file that fails FVU validation. Always download the latest version before each quarter’s filing.
6. Not downloading Form 26AS after filing. Cross-check your TDS credit on Form 26AS (or AIS) within 3-4 working days of filing. If there’s a discrepancy, raise a correction immediately — don’t wait for an employee to flag it during ITR filing.

Form 24Q Checklist for Q1 (July 31 Deadline)

1. ☑ Confirm TDS deposited via Challan 281 for April, May, June (by 7th of following month each)
2. ☑ Collect BSR codes and challan serial numbers for all three months
3. ☑ Verify PAN of every employee with taxable salary — cross-check against TRACES
4. ☑ Download latest RPU from incometaxindia.gov.in
5. ☑ Prepare Form 24Q — fill deductor details, challan details, Annexure I employee data
6. ☑ Validate .txt file using latest FVU — fix all errors
7. ☑ File on income tax portal using TAN login — DSC or EVC
8. ☑ Save Provisional Receipt Number (PRN)
9. ☑ Check Form 26AS within 3-4 days to confirm TDS credit reflected

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Form 24Q and Form 26Q?

Form 24Q is specifically for TDS on salary payments under Section 192. Form 26Q covers TDS on all other non-salary payments — professional fees (Section 194J), rent (Section 194I), contractor payments (Section 194C), etc. If you’re an employer making both salary and vendor payments, you’ll file both forms each quarter.

Can I file Form 24Q without a DSC?

Yes. You can verify using EVC (Electronic Verification Code) via Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or a bank account linked to your TAN. DSC is not mandatory for all entities, though some large corporate deductors are required to use DSC. Check your entity type — if your company’s paid-up capital exceeds ₹5 crore or it is government-owned, DSC is compulsory.

What happens if an employee hasn’t submitted their tax regime declaration?

If an employee hasn’t explicitly opted for the old regime, deduct TDS under the new tax regime by default — this is the rule from FY 2023-24 onwards. The employee can switch regime at ITR filing time, but your TDS deduction should reflect new regime rates in the absence of declaration.

How do I correct an error in a previously filed Form 24Q?

You can file a correction statement on TRACES. Log in to TRACES (traces.gov.in), go to Statements/Payments → Request for Correction, select the quarter, and submit the correction. Corrections can be filed online for most types of errors. For major structural errors, you may need to work with a TIN-FC.

Is Form 24Q required if TDS is nil for all employees in that quarter?

Strictly speaking, if no TDS was deducted from any employee in a quarter (e.g., all employees had income below the basic exemption), you are not required to file Form 24Q for that quarter. However, if even one employee had any TDS deducted — even ₹1 — you must file for the quarter.

Where can I download Form 16 Part A after filing Form 24Q?

After your return is processed, log in to TRACES (traces.gov.in) with your TAN credentials. Go to Downloads → Form 16. Part A is auto-generated from your 24Q data and available for download typically 3-7 working days after the return is accepted.

Managing quarterly TDS filing, challan reconciliation, and employee PAN validation manually is exactly where errors creep in — especially when your payroll data lives in Excel. EZHRM’s TDS & Form 16 module auto-populates Form 24Q data from your payroll runs, flags PAN mismatches before the deadline, and generates Form 16 in one click once TRACES processes your return. See how EZHRM handles your compliance calendar →