Meta description: Form 26Q is now Form 140 for resident non-salary TDS. Check 2026 due dates, late fees, filing steps, reconciliation and correction rules for Indian businesses.

Searching for Form 26Q in 2026 can send your business to the wrong return. For deductions triggered on or after 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaces the old resident non-salary TDS statement with Form 140. A late statement can still cost ₹200 for every day of delay, capped at the tax deductible, before separate consequences for unpaid TDS are considered.

This guide explains which form applies, the four quarterly deadlines, the records to reconcile and the filing process in plain language. It is written for Indian SME owners, finance teams and CAs handling payments to resident contractors, professionals, landlords and other non-salary payees. Legal and portal details were checked against Income Tax Department material on 1 September 2026.

Is Form 26Q still valid, or should you file Form 140?

The answer depends on when the underlying TDS obligation arose.

Under the old system, Form 26Q was the quarterly statement for tax deducted from non-salary payments made to residents. It was filed under section 200(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and rule 31A of the Income-tax Rules, 1962.

From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026 apply to new-period deductions. The corresponding statement is Form 140, filed under section 397(3)(b) of the 2025 Act and rule 219 of the 2026 Rules. The Income Tax Department's Form 140 guidance note expressly identifies it as the earlier Form 26Q.

Use this transition rule:

For example, professional fees credited in your books on 30 March 2026 but paid on 10 April 2026 remain under the old Act because credit happened first. Fees first credited or paid on 10 April 2026 fall under the new Act. The Department confirms this “earlier of credit or payment” test in its TDS transition FAQs.

Do not rename historical records merely because the portal now displays Form 140. Keep old-period Form 26Q statements, acknowledgements and corrections separate from new-period Form 140 records.

Who must file Form 140 for resident non-salary TDS?

Form 140 is a quarterly reporting statement for a person who deducts tax at source on covered non-salary payments to a resident. “Resident” here is the payee's status under income-tax law, not simply an Indian address.

Common business payments reported through this statement include:

A company, partnership firm, LLP, government body or other deductor may have to file. An individual or Hindu undivided family may also become a deductor where the applicable provision requires deduction. The obligation turns on the payment, threshold, payee status and law governing the period; it does not arise merely because a business has a TAN.

Do not force every TDS transaction into Form 140:

When residency or the correct reporting form is unclear, stop and confirm it before filing. A statement accepted by the portal can still contain legally incorrect classification.

What are the Form 26Q and Form 140 due dates for 2026-27?

Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 sets the Form 140 quarterly cycle. The Income Tax Department user manual lists these deadlines:

Quarter | Period covered | Form 140 filing deadline

Q1 | 1 April to 30 June | 31 July of the same tax year

Q2 | 1 July to 30 September | 31 October of the same tax year

Q3 | 1 October to 31 December | 31 January of the same tax year

Q4 | 1 January to 31 March | 31 May immediately after the tax year

For Tax Year 2026-27, that means 31 July 2026, 31 October 2026, 31 January 2027 and 31 May 2027. The Q1 date has already passed as of this article's verification date. A business that missed it should calculate the fee, complete reconciliation and file rather than waiting for Q2.

The filing deadline is not the TDS deposit deadline. For non-government deductors, TDS from April to February is generally deposited by the seventh day of the following month; March TDS is generally due by 30 April. Government deductors have separate same-day and challan rules. Always check whether a special provision or authorised quarterly payment arrangement applies.

Form 16A, the quarterly TDS certificate for relevant non-salary deductions, is generally due within 15 days after the statement deadline. Under rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the certificate is generated from the prescribed portal after the statement is processed. A clean statement therefore affects whether your vendor receives correct credit on time.

What does late Form 140 filing cost the business?

Section 427 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 imposes a late-filing fee of ₹200 per day while the default continues. The fee cannot exceed the amount of tax deductible or collectible and must be paid before the delayed statement is delivered.

Suppose a Q2 Form 140 statement is due on 31 October and is filed 20 days late. The starting late fee is ₹4,000: 20 days multiplied by ₹200. If the tax deductible for the statement were only ₹3,000, the statutory cap would restrict the fee to ₹3,000.

That fee addresses the delayed statement. It does not erase a failure to deduct or deposit tax. Section 398(3)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 keeps the established interest rates:

The Department confirms those rates in its official tax-payment FAQs. Section 35(b) of the 2025 Act can also disallow 30% of a resident payment while computing business income where applicable TDS was not deducted or deposited by the return-filing deadline. “Disallow” means that part of the expense is temporarily denied as a tax deduction, increasing taxable business income.

For a period governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961, use its provisions instead. Section 234E imposed the same ₹200 daily late fee, and section 271H allowed a ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh penalty for a delayed or incorrect TDS statement subject to its conditions. Do not mix an old-period penalty reference with a new-period statement.

What should you reconcile before preparing Form 140?

The fastest filing is not the one uploaded first. It is the one that does not return as a correction project.

Complete this pre-filing checklist:

  1. Freeze the quarter's payment population. Export vendor ledgers, expense accounts, provisions and payment data. Include year-end and month-end credits, not only bank payments.
  2. Identify the governing Act. For transition items, record the earlier of credit or payment so old-period and new-period deductions do not get mixed.
  3. Confirm payee residency and PAN. Match the legal name and PAN to the payee's records. Do not infer residency from bank or GST details.
  4. Map each payment to the correct TDS rule. Document the nature of payment, threshold, deduction event and rate used. Avoid choosing a code from the invoice description alone.
  5. Reconcile tax deducted to challans. Match the tax amount, interest, fee, date, assessment or tax year, challan identification number and bank details.
  6. Check book-versus-return totals. Reconcile the general ledger, TDS payable account, challans and deductee rows. Explain every difference.
  7. Review exceptions. Keep lower or nil deduction certificates, declarations and reason codes with the quarter's evidence.
  8. Validate contact and authorised-signatory details. Confirm the TAN registration, email, mobile number and digital signature before deadline day.

Create one evidence folder per quarter. It should contain the ledger export, applicability working, PAN validation, challans, utility file, validation report, uploaded ZIP, acknowledgement, processing status, Form 16A copies and any correction trail. A spreadsheet without source documents is not an audit trail.

How do you file Form 140 on the Income Tax portal?

The Department's current Form 140 process uses the latest Return Preparation Utility, or RPU, and File Validation Utility, or FVU, available through Protean. An FVU file is the validated electronic statement produced from your prepared data.

Before starting, you need:

Then follow this sequence:

  1. Download the latest quarterly regular or correction RPU from the official Protean e-TDS/e-TCS download area.
  2. Enter the deductor, challan and deductee details for the correct tax year and quarter.
  3. Validate the statement and generate the FVU file.
  4. Place the FVU file in the required ZIP format without adding unrelated files.
  5. Sign in to the Income Tax e-Filing portal using the TAN.
  6. Open e-File → Income Tax Forms → File Income Tax Forms.
  7. Choose the Income-tax Act, 2025 TDS/TCS category and select Form 140.
  8. Select the tax year, quarter and upload type: regular or correction.
  9. Upload the ZIP, proceed to e-verify and complete verification through the permitted method.
  10. Save the acknowledgement and monitor View Filed Forms until processing is complete.

Match the FVU version shown on the portal. A technically valid file built with an outdated utility can still fail at upload. Do not treat “submitted” as “processed”; check the status and act on errors.

How should you fix an error after filing?

Do not file another regular statement for the same TAN, tax year, quarter and form. Prepare a correction statement against the accepted filing.

Typical correction triggers include an invalid PAN, wrong payment amount, challan mismatch, incorrect deduction date, omitted deductee row or incorrect TDS classification. First identify whether the error sits in the books, tax deposit, challan mapping or statement. Correcting only the return may leave the underlying control wrong.

Use this correction workflow:

  1. Download or retrieve the latest accepted statement details and processing result.
  2. Compare the portal error with the ledger, challan and payee evidence.
  3. Correct only supported fields; never change data merely to make validation pass.
  4. Prepare the correction through the current RPU and generate a fresh FVU file.
  5. Upload it as correction, e-verify and retain the new acknowledgement.
  6. Confirm processing, then regenerate affected Form 16A certificates where required.

Track who requested, prepared, reviewed and approved the correction. The corrected output should link back to the original acknowledgement so an auditor can reconstruct the sequence.

How can a small finance team stop missing TDS returns?

A calendar reminder on the due date is theatre. Build backward controls:

Give every task an owner and backup owner. Record dependencies such as vendor PAN confirmation or challan correction. If the business operates across entities, maintain a separate TAN-level calendar; a group reminder cannot prove that every legal entity filed.

Compliance Radar can help map the obligations and deadlines that apply to your business instead of relying on one generic tax calendar. Check your compliance posture free at complianceradar.in.

Frequently asked questions about Form 26Q and Form 140

What is Form 26Q called after 1 April 2026?

For resident non-salary TDS governed by the Income-tax Act, 2025, the corresponding quarterly statement is Form 140. Form 26Q remains relevant to periods governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Is Form 140 filed monthly or quarterly?

It is filed quarterly. The standard due dates are 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May for Q1 through Q4 respectively.

Is Form 140 used for salary TDS?

No. Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the salary TDS quarterly statement is Form 138. Form 140 covers relevant non-salary payments to residents.

Is Form 140 used for payments to non-residents?

No. The corresponding new-period quarterly statement for relevant non-salary payments to non-residents is Form 144. Confirm tax residency before selecting the form.

What is the late fee for Form 140?

Section 427 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 charges ₹200 for each day of delay, capped at the amount of tax deductible or collectible. Late deduction or deposit can also create interest and other consequences.

Can I file Form 140 without depositing the TDS?

Filing the statement does not cure non-payment. The statement, deduction and deposit are separate obligations. Reconcile and pay the tax, interest and applicable fee using the correct period details before completing a delayed filing.

What if I entered a wrong PAN in Form 140?

Verify the correct PAN from reliable payee records, prepare a correction statement with the latest utility, upload it as a correction and confirm processing. Retain both acknowledgements and the evidence supporting the change.

Where should I file Form 140?

Prepare and validate the statement using the current official utility, then upload the resulting ZIP through the Income Tax e-Filing portal under the Income-tax Act, 2025 TDS/TCS forms. Use a TAN login and complete e-verification.

File the right statement, then control the next deadline

The useful answer to a Form 26Q search in 2026 is not another recycled old-form tutorial. For deductions governed by the Income-tax Act, 2025, use Form 140, follow the quarterly calendar, reconcile books to challans and retain a complete correction trail.

A return filing is one control inside a wider compliance system. Check your compliance posture free at complianceradar.in to identify applicable deadlines and build a timeline before the next due date arrives.