TDS Return Filing for Q1 FY 2026-27: New Forms 138/140/143, Due Date & Filing Guide

Introduction

Q1 FY 2026-27 is the first quarter to be filed entirely under the new Income Tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026 - and if you're still thinking in terms of Form 24Q and Form 26Q, this is the return where that changes. The forms you have filed for years have been renumbered, some section codes have shifted, and even Form 16 has a new name behind the scenes.

None of this changes what you owe or when you deposit TDS - those mechanics are unchanged. What has changed is the paperwork you file and the labels on it, and getting those wrong on your very first return under the new framework is an easy way to get a validation error on TRACES right when you can least afford one.

This guide covers exactly what's new for the Q1 return covering April–June 2026, due by 31 July 2026 - the same week as the ITR deadline, so plan your team's bandwidth accordingly.

Q1 FY 2026-27 TDS/TCS Return: Form Mapping & Due Date

All four returns for Q1 (April–June 2026) are due on the same date - 31 July 2026. If you're still using the old form numbers in your internal templates or payroll system, update them now: filings submitted under the old form numbers for this period will get rejected on validation.

What's Genuinely New Here (Not Just a Renumbering)

The TCS Return Deadline Has Moved

Under the old framework, Form 27EQ (TCS return) was due on the 15th of the month following quarter-end - a full two weeks ahead of the TDS return deadline. Under the new Form 143, the TCS return now follows the same 31 July schedule as TDS returns.

If your team has spent years diarising 15 July for TCS, that habit needs to change - you now have more time, not less, but a collector who assumes the old 15th deadline still applies risks filing late unnecessarily, and one who assumes the return is already overdue on the 16th is simply wrong.

Form 16 Is Now Form 130

The salary TDS certificate you issue to employees after filing Form 138 is now called Form 130. The content and purpose remain the same - it's still the certificate employees need for their own ITR filing - but if your payroll or HR templates still reference "Form 16," update the terminology so employees aren't confused when they receive a differently-labelled certificate this year.

Section Codes Are Changing Too

Alongside the form renumbering, TDS section references under the Income Tax Act, 2025 are also shifting. Deductors who have relied on familiar codes - Section 192 for salary, Section 194C for contractor payments, Section 194J for professional fees - will need to map these to their corresponding numeric codes under the new Act before filing.

The exact code assigned to each payment type varies by category, so rather than working from memory or a third-party list, confirm the correct code for each payment in your TDS software or against the official CBDT notification before filing - an incorrect section code on a TDS return is a common cause of downstream mismatches for the deductee at ITR filing time. Our Income Tax Act 2025 TDS compliance guide covers the broader set of changes if you need the full context before this filing.

A Possible Fifth Form for Property, Rent & Crypto TDS

Some industry sources also mention a consolidated Form 141, intended to replace the separate 26QB (property purchase), 26QC (rent), 26QD (contractor payments by individuals/HUF), and 26QE (virtual digital asset/crypto) challan-cum-statement forms with a single unified form.

This hasn't been as widely corroborated as the four forms above, so if this applies to your filings, confirm the current form number on the e-filing portal before submission rather than relying on this article alone.

TDS Deposit Due Dates Are Unchanged

It's worth being clear about what has not changed: your monthly TDS deposit deadlines. Filing quarterly returns is separate from depositing TDS monthly, and the deposit schedule remains as before.

One practical tip for this transition period: when generating your TDS payment challan for deductions made from April 2026 onward, select "Tax Year 2026-27" rather than "AY 2026-27." Selecting the old Assessment Year format can misallocate your payment to FY 2025-26 records under the new system, creating a reconciliation headache that's avoidable by simply picking the right option at the challan stage.

Penalties for Missing the Q1 Deadline

The Section 234E fee accrues daily and has no upper limit other than the TDS amount itself - a return filed even a few months late on a moderate quarterly TDS amount can easily reach the cap. There is no discretion to waive this fee; it applies automatically once the return is filed late.

A Tighter Window for Correcting Old Returns

Separately from this quarter's filing, CBDT has tightened the correction window for TDS/TCS statements: from 1 April 2026, corrections to a filed statement - fixing an incorrect PAN, a mismatched amount, or a wrong section code - must generally be made within two years from the end of the relevant financial year.

Statements older than that window may no longer be accepted for correction on TRACES. If you have older, uncorrected TDS statements sitting with known errors, this is worth resolving alongside your current quarter's filing rather than leaving indefinitely.

Step-by-Step: Filing Your Q1 Return

1. Confirm the correct form for each deduction category - Form 138 for salary, Form 140 for resident non-salary, Form 144 for non-resident payments, Form 143 for TCS.
2. Reconcile all TDS deposits made for April, May, and June 2026 against your bank challans.
3. Verify the updated numeric section code for every payment type against the official CBDT mapping, rather than reusing last year's codes from memory.
4. Match deductee PAN details carefully - PAN errors are one of the most common causes of correction filings later.
5. Generate the FVU file using the current RPU/FVU utility version compatible with the new form numbers.
6. Submit the return on the e-filing portal and download the acknowledgment.
7. Issue TDS certificates (Form 130 for salary, Form 16A-equivalent for non-salary) to deductees within the prescribed timeline after filing.

How TDS Software Simplifies This Transition

A form renumbering across your entire TDS workflow - templates, section-code mapping, challan generation, and certificate issuance - is exactly the kind of change that's easy to get partially right and then spend weeks fixing correction statements over.

CompuTds is fully updated for the Form 138/140/143/144 transition, with the correct section-code mapping built in so you're not cross-referencing notifications manually for every payment type.

If you're managing a high volume of vendor payments and want automated PAN validation and challan matching alongside this, CompuTds.AI adds AI-assisted error detection on top of the standard filing workflow.

If you're tracking this alongside your other Q1 compliance obligations - GST, advance tax, and ITR - our compliance calendar lays out the full due-date picture for the quarter in one place.

Quick Checklist Before You File

• Confirm you're using Form 138/140/143/144, not the old 24Q/26Q/27Q/27EQ numbering
• Reconcile all TDS deposits for April, May, and June 2026 against challans
• Verify updated section codes for every payment category before filing
• Double-check deductee PAN details to avoid a correction statement later
• Select "Tax Year 2026-27" (not "AY") on all TDS payment challans
• File by 31 July 2026 to avoid the Section 234E daily late fee
• Issue Form 130 (salary) or the applicable certificate to deductees promptly after filing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the due date for the Q1 FY 2026-27 TDS return?

31 July 2026, for all four forms - salary (Form 138), non-salary resident (Form 140), non-resident (Form 144), and TCS (Form 143).

Has Form 24Q been discontinued?

For transactions from 1 April 2026 onward, yes - Form 138 replaces it. Form 24Q remains the correct form only for statements relating to transactions up to 31 March 2026, such as a belated or revised Q4 FY 2025-26 return.

Has the TDS deposit due date changed?

No. Monthly TDS deposit deadlines are unchanged - generally the 7th of the following month, with 30 April as the deadline for March deductions. Only the quarterly return forms and their numbering have changed.

What penalty applies if I file the Q1 TDS return late?

A late fee of ₹200 per day under Section 234E, capped at the total TDS/TCS amount for the quarter, plus a possible penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 under Section 271H for inaccurate or delayed filing.

Is Form 16 still called Form 16?

No, the salary TDS certificate is now referred to as Form 130 under the new framework, though its function - the certificate employees need for ITR filing - remains unchanged.

Conclusion

Q1 FY 2026-27 isn't a routine quarterly filing - it's the first test of whether your TDS workflow has genuinely adapted to the Income Tax Act, 2025, or whether it's still running on last year's form numbers and section codes.

Update your templates, confirm section codes against the current official mapping rather than memory, and get this quarter's return in well before 31 July, especially given it lands in the same week as the ITR deadline.

If you're filing across multiple clients or a high volume of deductees, CompuTds is already updated for the new form structure and ready for this filing.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only. Compliance requirements, due dates, and regulatory provisions are subject to change based on government notifications. Please verify all deadlines and filing requirements on the relevant official portals before acting.