TDS rates chart for FY 2025–26: rates and due dates

Which financial year does this TDS rates chart cover?

This guide covers payments and credits in financial year 2025–26, from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, using the Income-tax Act, 1961 section references applicable to that period. Its corresponding assessment year is 2026–27. It is not a substitute for the rules governing payments made from April 2026 onward, when the newer income-tax legislation and numbering require separate attention. Always identify the transaction period before using a chart found through a search engine.

The chart focuses on common resident-business payments, not every TDS provision. Non-resident payments, treaty claims, securities, gaming, property purchases, virtual digital assets, and specialised transactions can follow different rules. Even for residents, a rate applies only after checking the payer’s obligation, payment character, threshold, timing, PAN position, and any valid lower-deduction certificate. A company and an individual paying the same vendor may therefore have different withholding obligations despite receiving a similar invoice.

TDS rates chart: contractors, commission, and professional fees

Section 194C generally applies at 1% when the resident contractor payee is an individual or HUF and 2% for other resident payees. Its usual thresholds are a single payment exceeding ₹30,000 or aggregate payments exceeding ₹1,00,000 during the financial year, subject to the section’s conditions. Section 194H generally applies at 2% to covered commission or brokerage, with the annual threshold increased to ₹20,000 from 1 April 2025. These are withholding rules, not the recipient’s final income-tax rates.

Section 194J generally uses 10% for professional services and specified other payments, while 2% applies to specified technical services, certain film-related royalty, and call-centre payments under the relevant wording. The threshold increased to ₹50,000 for each covered category from 1 April 2025, but the threshold concession does not apply to covered director remuneration, fees, or commission under the relevant clause. Distinguish professional services from technical services carefully; describing every IT invoice as technical does not settle the legal classification.

Need help with this? Read our guide to TDS Return Filing – 24Q, 26Q & 27Q.

TDS rates chart: rent, interest, and dividends

Section 194I generally requires 2% TDS for rent of plant, machinery, or equipment and 10% for land, buildings, furniture, or fittings. From 1 April 2025, the threshold is ₹50,000 for a month or part of a month, replacing the former annual formulation. Section 194IB separately covers specified individual or HUF tenants outside 194I, generally at 2% when monthly rent exceeds ₹50,000. Its deduction and reporting procedure differs from ordinary TAN-based quarterly withholding.

Section 194A generally applies at 10% to covered resident interest. For FY 2025–26, the threshold for specified bank, cooperative bank, and post office interest is ₹50,000 for non-senior citizens and ₹1,00,000 for senior citizens; the general other-case threshold is ₹10,000. Section 194 generally uses 10% for resident dividends, with the threshold for the relevant individual-shareholder concession increased to ₹10,000, subject to statutory conditions. Do not apply a personal concession indiscriminately to every recipient category.

TDS rates chart: purchases and payments by individuals

Section 194Q generally requires an eligible buyer to deduct 0.1% on resident goods purchases exceeding ₹50 lakh in the year, where the buyer’s preceding-year business turnover exceeds ₹10 crore and the remaining conditions apply. The deduction is on the amount exceeding the threshold, not automatically the whole year’s purchases. Section 194M separately applies at 2% to specified payments by covered individuals or HUFs exceeding ₹50 lakh in the year where the ordinary specified business withholding provisions do not apply.

Salary under section 192 follows the estimated annual salary tax calculation rather than a single flat TDS percentage. Section 194T, effective from 1 April 2025, generally requires firms, including LLPs, to deduct 10% on covered partner remuneration, commission, bonus, or interest when the annual aggregate exceeds ₹20,000. These entries illustrate why owner withdrawals need classification: a genuine capital withdrawal is not automatically the same as remuneration or interest credited to a partner’s account.

How do thresholds and deduction timing work?

Many business TDS sections require deduction at credit or payment, whichever occurs earlier, including specified credits to suspense or similar accounts. This means delaying bank payment may not postpone withholding once the liability is credited. Threshold mechanics vary: some apply to aggregate annual amounts, some use a single-payment test, and others use a monthly figure. Read the particular section instead of assuming TDS applies only to the amount above every threshold.

For example, assume a covered payer credits ₹80,000 for resident professional services subject to 194J at 10%, with no exemption or lower-deduction certificate. TDS would be ₹8,000 on that professional-fee base, not merely on ₹30,000 above the ₹50,000 threshold. Where GST on services is separately indicated, the applicable CBDT guidance can permit withholding on the amount excluding that GST component. Goods purchases, advances, reimbursements, and composite invoices require their own section-specific review.

When must TDS be deposited for FY 2025–26?

For ordinary non-government deductors under the standard monthly deposit rule, TDS deducted during April through February is generally due by the seventh day of the following month. TDS deducted in March is generally due by 30 April. Thus, ordinary TDS deducted in June 2025 would generally be deposited by 7 July 2025, while ordinary March 2026 deductions would generally be deposited by 30 April 2026, unless an official extension or a different applicable rule changes the deadline.

Government deductors and specified transactions follow different procedures. Challan-cum-statement regimes, including covered property transactions and certain rent or individual-payment provisions, generally have their own thirty-day deadline from the end of the month of deduction. Do not apply the ordinary quarterly-return calendar to them automatically. Use the correct assessment year, TAN or PAN-based process, payment code, and challan details, then reconcile the payment status promptly so a deposit error is identified before a statement is processed.

What are the quarterly TDS return due dates?

For standard quarterly TDS statements, the ordinary deadlines for FY 2025–26 are 31 July 2025 for April–June, 31 October 2025 for July–September, 31 January 2026 for October–December, and 31 May 2026 for January–March. These are the ordinary statutory dates and must be checked against any official extension. Salary reporting generally uses Form 24Q, resident non-salary reporting commonly uses Form 26Q, and relevant non-resident reporting commonly uses Form 27Q.

A timely tax deposit does not replace the statement, and a filed statement does not cure a missing deposit. Reconcile vendor ledgers, deductions, challans, PAN details, and certificates before filing. For ordinary non-salary TDS, Form 16A is generally due within fifteen days from the statement due date, while salary Form 16 follows its separate annual deadline. Where a due date is extended, check the official order’s effect on related obligations rather than assuming every linked deadline automatically changes.

What changes if PAN or a declaration is missing?

Failure to furnish a valid PAN can trigger higher withholding under section 206AA, with special treatment for certain provisions and situations. Do not assume 20% is the correct answer for every missing-PAN transaction without reading the applicable rule. Section 206AB, the former higher-rate rule for specified non-filers, was omitted from 1 April 2025, so older charts can mislead. This omission does not remove the separate PAN-related provisions or every other higher-withholding requirement.

Forms 15G and 15H are available only where the recipient and payment meet the statutory conditions; they are not general declarations for avoiding contractor, professional-fee, or rent TDS. A lower or nil deduction certificate must be valid for the recipient, payment category, period, and authorised amount. Retain the certificate or declaration and monitor utilisation. If a vendor merely promises to provide a certificate later, assess the withholding obligation at the actual credit or payment date.

How do you correct a missed or wrong TDS deduction?

Start by identifying the correct section, date of credit or payment, deductible amount, actual deduction, deposit history, and statement status. Short deduction, late deduction, late deposit, incorrect PAN, and wrong challan mapping are different problems. Interest, fees, disallowance, and other consequences can arise under their respective provisions. Do not use an undifferentiated penalty estimate without analysing the default. In eligible circumstances, payee-tax evidence and prescribed certification may provide statutory relief, but conditions must be satisfied.

Prepare a transaction-level reconciliation and use the prescribed correction-statement or challan-correction process where needed. Inform affected vendors when corrections change their tax credit, and verify the processed result rather than treating upload success as final resolution. For current official rates, forms, extensions, and legislation, consult the Income Tax Department’s portal and the governing law. Historical FY 2025–26 corrections should remain tied to that year’s rules even when the correction is filed after the transition to newer legislation.