What it means
When a business pays a professional, a contractor, a landlord or an employee above set limits, it deducts tax at the rate the law prescribes, pays the rest, and deposits the tax by the 7th of the next month (30 April for March). Every quarter it files a TDS return so the deducted tax shows against the payee’s PAN, and it gives the payee a certificate. From 1 Apr 2026 these rules sit in the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026, with new form numbers.
Example
Kaveri Agencies pays a chartered accountant ₹1,00,000 in October 2026 for professional fees, where TDS at 10% applies.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fee | ₹1,00,000 |
| TDS at 10% | ₹10,000 |
| Paid to the CA | ₹90,000 |
| Deposit TDS by | 7 Nov 2026 |
The CA sees ₹10,000 in their annual statement and claims it against their tax.
Common mistakes
- Deducting but depositing late, which attracts interest every month.
- Wrong or missing PAN of the payee, which raises the rate.
- Not reconciling what customers deducted from you with your statement, so the credit is lost.
In MyRecords
With India compliance, the TDS tab of GST returns shows TDS deducted in the quarter, what is still to deposit and by when, and records TDS challans. It prepares the quarterly return as an Excel workbook (Form 26Q for quarters to March 2026, Form 140 from April 2026) to key into or import with the official return utility, and matches your Form 26AS text or AIS file against TDS receivable. It does not file on the portal or issue TDS certificates.