Quick answer: Yes, you can still file your Q2 TDS return after 31 October 2026. The late fee is Rs 200 per day under Section 427 (old Section 234E), capped at the total TDS in that statement. Pay the tax, interest and late fee first, then file — and if you finish within one month of the due date, the separate Rs 10,000–Rs 1,00,000 penalty does not apply.
The 31 October 2026 deadline for Q2 TDS returns has passed. If you deduct tax at source — from salaries, rent, contractor payments or professional fees — and you have not filed the July–September quarter statement yet, the return is now late. The good news: a missed deadline is not a dead end. The filing portal still accepts the statement, and the law gives you a clear route to fix it. The cost of delay grows every day, though, so filing this week is far cheaper than filing next month.
What exactly did you miss?
Q2 covers 1 July to 30 September 2026. The statement for this quarter was due on 31 October 2026. That date applied to salary TDS (Form 138, earlier 24Q), non-salary payments to residents (Form 140, earlier 26Q) and payments to non-residents (Form 144, earlier 27Q). Form 143, earlier 27EQ, follows a separate schedule — check the due date on the e-filing portal.
Some deductors hoped for an extension. None came for TDS. CBDT Circular No. 07/2026, dated 28 September 2026, extended only tax-audit reports (to 21 October 2026) and related income-tax returns (to 21 November 2026). It did not touch the TDS deadline. So the missed-deadline position stands: the statement is late from 1 November 2026, and charges start counting from that day.
Can a TDS return be filed after the due date?
Yes. There is no rule that blocks a late TDS statement. You prepare the statement the same way as an on-time one, pay what you owe, and upload it. The system computes the late fee when the statement is processed. What changes after the due date is only the cost: a daily fee, possible interest, and — if you wait too long — a penalty. Nothing in the law says a late statement is invalid. The worst choice is to skip the quarter entirely and hope nobody notices, because the department’s records already show the tax you deducted through your challans.
How much is the TDS return late fee?
The late fee is Rs 200 for every day of delay, charged under Section 427 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (the old Section 234E). It starts on 1 November 2026, the day after the due date, and runs until the day you actually file. Two features of this fee matter:
- It is a fee, not a penalty. It applies automatically. You do not need a notice for it to arise, and you cannot argue it away in most cases.
- It is capped. The total fee cannot exceed the total TDS amount in that statement. A small statement can never attract a fee larger than the tax itself.
A simple example shows how the cap works. Suppose your Q2 statement carries Rs 50,000 of TDS and you file 10 days late, on 10 November 2026. The fee is 10 × Rs 200 = Rs 2,000. File 300 days late and the raw fee would be Rs 60,000 — but the cap pulls it back to Rs 50,000. The fee must be paid before the statement can be filed; the portal will not accept a statement with unpaid late fee.
| Days late | Fee at Rs 200/day | Fee payable (TDS Rs 50,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,000 |
| 30 days | Rs 6,000 | Rs 6,000 |
| 300 days | Rs 60,000 | Rs 50,000 (capped) |
What interest applies on late TDS?
Interest is separate from the late fee, and it is charged under Section 201(1A). There are two rates, and which one applies depends on what went wrong:
- Late deduction — 1% per month. If tax should have been deducted in a month but was deducted later, interest runs at 1% per month (or part of a month) from the date the tax was deductible to the date it was actually deducted.
- Late deposit — 1.5% per month. If you deducted on time but deposited late, interest runs at 1.5% per month (or part of a month) from the date of deduction to the date of deposit.
Note the difference. A part of a month counts as a full month, so even a few days of delay can cost a full month’s interest. Interest is charged on the tax amount, not on the fee. If you deducted and deposited on time and only the statement is late, no interest under Section 201(1A) arises — only the Rs 200-a-day fee. That is one more reason to keep deduction and deposit on schedule even when the paperwork slips.
What penalty applies for late filing, and how do you avoid it?
Beyond the fee, a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 can apply under Section 271H for a statement not filed on time or filed with wrong details. But there is a clear safe window: no penalty for delay is charged if you pay the tax, the interest and the late fee, and file the statement within one month of the due date — that is, by 30 November 2026 for Q2.
That one-month window is the single most useful fact in this article. Filing in the first week of November costs you only the daily fee. Waiting past 30 November opens the door to a penalty that starts at Rs 10,000. Wrong details in the statement — a wrong PAN, a wrong challan number, a wrong amount — can also draw the penalty, so check the statement before uploading, not after.
What changed and what stayed the same?
The Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbered the forms and sections from 1 April 2026, but the money amounts did not change:
- Form numbers: 24Q became Form 138, 26Q became Form 140, 27Q became Form 144, and 27EQ became Form 143.
- Late fee: old Section 234E is now Section 427. Same Rs 200 a day, same cap.
- Interest: Section 201(1A) still sets the 1% and 1.5% monthly rates.
- Penalty: Section 271H still sets the Rs 10,000–Rs 1,00,000 range, with the one-month safe window.
If your software or consultant still shows the old form numbers, that is fine — the mapping above lets you match them. What matters is filing the right quarter’s statement with the right challans.
How to file your Q2 TDS return now
Follow these steps in order. Paying first matters, because the statement cannot be filed with dues outstanding.
- Work out what you owe. Add up the TDS for July, August and September. Check your challans against the deduction records so the statement matches what you actually deposited.
- Compute the fee and interest. Count the days from 1 November 2026 to your planned filing date at Rs 200 a day, capped at the statement’s TDS total. Add interest at 1% or 1.5% per month if deduction or deposit was also late.
- Pay through challan. Deposit the tax, interest and late fee using the e-payment challan for TDS (ITNS-281) on the e-filing portal. Keep the challan counterfoil — its details go into the statement.
- Prepare the statement. Use the return preparation utility for your form (138, 140 or 144) and fill in deductee details, challans and the fee paid. Validate the file before uploading.
- Upload and download the acknowledgement. File the statement on the TRACES/e-filing portal and save the provisional receipt and acknowledgement number. The statement is processed, and the fee you paid is matched against the computed fee.
- Issue certificates. Once the statement is accepted, generate Form 16 (salary) or Form 16A (non-salary) for your deductees within 15 days of the due date window. Your deductees can only see the TDS credit in their Form 26AS/AIS after your statement is filed — a late statement directly delays their credit.
What happens if you never file?
Skipping the statement does not make the liability go away. The department can see from your challans and your deductees’ records that tax was deducted. Non-filing keeps the Rs 200-a-day fee running until it hits the cap, invites the Section 271H penalty, and can lead to a notice asking why the statement is missing. In serious cases of deducted-but-not-deposited tax, prosecution provisions also exist — though those target wilful failure to deposit, not an ordinary short delay. The practical damage is closer to home: your employees and vendors cannot claim credit for tax you deducted, and their returns will show a mismatch until you file. Filing late costs a fee. Never filing costs far more.
What to do for the next quarter
Q3 (October–December 2026) is due on 31 January 2027. Set two reminders now: one a week before, one on the day. Reconcile challans monthly instead of at quarter-end, so the statement is ready before the deadline week. If deduction or deposit ever slips, fix that first — interest stops only when the money reaches the government. And keep the one-month rule in mind: if a deadline is ever missed again, filing within 30 days with all dues paid keeps the penalty out of the picture.
Frequently asked questions
Can a TDS return be filed after the due date?
Yes. A TDS statement can be filed after its due date. The portal accepts late statements, but the late fee of Rs 200 per day under Section 427 applies from the day after the due date until filing, capped at the TDS amount in the statement. Pay the fee before filing, or the statement will not be accepted.
What is the TDS return late fee, and can it exceed the TDS amount?
The late fee is Rs 200 per day of delay under Section 427 (old Section 234E). No, it cannot exceed the total TDS amount in that statement — the cap is built into the law. If your statement carries Rs 20,000 of TDS, the maximum fee is Rs 20,000 however long the delay runs.
Is there any penalty for late filing of a TDS return?
Yes, apart from the fee. Section 271H allows a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 for late or incorrect filing. But no penalty for delay applies if you pay the tax, interest and late fee and file the statement within one month of the due date — by 30 November 2026 for Q2.
What interest applies if TDS was deducted or deposited late?
Under Section 201(1A), late deduction draws 1% per month (or part of a month) from when the tax was deductible to when it was deducted. Late deposit draws 1.5% per month (or part of a month) from deduction to deposit. If only the statement is late and the money was on time, no interest under this section applies.
What are the TDS return due dates for each quarter?
Q1 (April–June) is due 31 July, Q2 (July–September) 31 October, Q3 (October–December) 31 January, and Q4 (January–March) 31 May. These dates apply to the quarterly statements; deposit of the deducted tax itself is due by the 7th of the next month, with 30 April for March deductions.
What happens if a TDS return is not filed at all?
The Rs 200-a-day fee keeps running up to the cap, the Section 271H penalty of Rs 10,000–Rs 1,00,000 can follow, and the department may send a notice. Your deductees also lose out, because their TDS credit appears only after your statement is filed. Filing late is always better than not filing.
Official sources
- Income Tax Department — Interest and Fees under the Income-tax Act: https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/20117/42998/Interest-and-Fees_2026-01-20_02-55-55_48c87c_en.pdf/20388f8c-1b6a-e849-c537-4d209d92c0ee?download=true
- Income Tax e-Filing portal: https://www.incometax.gov.in
- CBDT Circular No. 07/2026 (28 September 2026) — extension of tax-audit and ITR dates only, not TDS statements.
- Our earlier guide to the Q2 deadline and new form numbers: https://eircicai.org/tds-return-due-date-q2-31-october-2026-forms-138-140-144/
- How to pay tax online through e-challan: https://eircicai.org/income-tax-e-challan-pay-online-guide/
- Reconciling TDS credit in Form 26AS, AIS and TIS: https://eircicai.org/form-26as-vs-ais-vs-tis-difference-download-mismatch-guide/
Reviewed by Asuthod Rathod, CA — This guide was checked for accuracy against the Income-tax Act, 2025 provisions and CBDT circulars in force on the date below. Tax rules change; confirm the current position on the e-filing portal before filing.
Last updated: 1 November 2026
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not tax advice. For your specific case, consult a qualified chartered accountant.
Editorial byline for eircicai income tax guides — covering the Income Tax Act, 2025, section renumbering, regime comparison, and deductions. Content is reviewed by Asuthod Rathod, CA.