The Income Tax Act, 2025 and Income Tax Rules, 2026 changed virtually every employer-facing compliance form and process. Form 24Q is now Form 138. Form 16 is now Form 130. Form 12BB is now Form 124. Every deadline that employers have followed for decades is now mapped to a new Act. This month-by-month filing calendar gives HR teams and CFOs a complete, verified workflow for Tax Year 2026-27 — covering TDS deposits, quarterly returns, year-end adjustments, and the Form 130 issuance process.
Use the Income Tax CalculatorModel the tax impact alongside this guide.
Begin collecting actual investment proofs from employees (Section 123 / 80C and other deductions) November onwards
Verify proofs submitted against declarations from Form 124 (April 2026) December
Compute revised TDS for balance months based on actual proofs vs declared investments December
AY 2026-27 belated ITR deadline (old Act) 31 December 2026
AY 2026-27 revised ITR deadline (old Act) 31 March 2027
📅 January 2027 — Q3 New Act TDS Return
File Q3 Form 138 (October–December 2026) 31 January
Final deadline for employees to submit investment proofs to employer January 15–31
Deposit January 2027 TDS 7 February
📅 February–March 2027 — Year-end TDS Adjustment
Adjust TDS in February and March salary based on full-year income vs proofs submitted Feb–Mar payroll
Employees with excess TDS: reduce deduction in last 2 months
Employees with shortfall: collect additional TDS in March to avoid interest
Deposit March 2027 TDS (extended deadline) 30 April 2027
📅 April–May 2027 — Q4 Form 138 and Form 130
Deposit March TDS (annual deadline) 30 April 2027
File Q4 Form 138 with Annexure II (annual salary computation per employee — basis for Form 130) 31 May 2027
Download Form 130 Part A from TRACES after Q4 Form 138 is processed After 31 May
Prepare Form 130 Part B and Part C (salary computation with new Act section references) May–June 2027
Issue Form 130 to all employees — first year of new format 15 June 2027 — CRITICAL
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Parallel Track — Old Act Wrap-up: While you're running Tax Year 2026-27 under the new Act, some old Act compliance continues in parallel: AY 2025-26 and earlier assessments, notices, and proceedings continue under old Act. AY 2026-27 revised returns (FY 2025-26) deadline is 31 December 2026 under old Act. Old Act TDS return (Form 24Q Q4) for FY 2025-26 was filed by 31 May 2026. Keep both tracks clear in your compliance calendar.
Penalty Reference — What Happens if You Miss Deadlines
Compliance
Deadline
Late Penalty
Monthly TDS Deposit
7th of next month (30 Apr for March)
Interest 1.5%/month under Section 402 (new Act) / 201(1A) (old Act)
Form 138 quarterly TDS return
31 Jul / 31 Oct / 31 Jan / 31 May
₹200/day until filed (Section 234E equivalent)
Form 130 issuance to employees
15 June (each year)
₹100/day/employee — no cap
Form 131 (non-salary TDS cert)
15 days from Form 26/138 due date
₹100/day/recipient — no cap
Wrong section code in challan
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Challan mismatch on TRACES — TDS credit not reflected, demand notices
Case Study: GlobalConsult LLP — Building the New Act Compliance Calendar
Operations Manager, 80-Employee Consulting Firm, Delhi — First Tax Year 2026-27 Cycle
GlobalConsult LLP's operations head, Deepak, built the firm's first Tax Year 2026-27 compliance calendar in March 2026. Key steps he took:
Vendor update: Confirmed with payroll software vendor (Greytip) by 25 March 2026 that all TDS sections updated — Section 192 → 392(1), Form 24Q → Form 138 codes, Form 16 → Form 130 templates
Bank challan codes: Contacted HDFC Bank to confirm new Section 393 payment codes for non-salary TDS were uploaded
Employee communication: April 1 circular to all 80 employees explaining the new regime declaration process via Form 122 and that their April payslip will show "Section 392(1)" instead of "Section 192"
Calendar pinned internally: Google Calendar with all deadlines — Form 138 Q1 on 31 July, Form 130 on 15 June 2027, monthly TDS by 7th each month
Result: Q1 Form 138 filed successfully by 25 July 2026. Zero TRACES mismatches. First employer in their CA's practice to complete Form 138 transition without any revision.
Employer Filing Calendar — Key Points for Tax Year 2026-27
Form 12BB → Form 124 (employee declaration); collect by April–May 2026
Section 192 → Section 392(1) for salary TDS; update all software by 1 April 2026
Form 24Q → Form 138; first Q1 filing due 31 July 2026
TDS deposit dates unchanged: 7th of next month; March → 30 April
Issue old Form 16 for FY 2025-26 by 15 June 2026 (urgent — do this now)
Issue new Form 130 for Tax Year 2026-27 by 15 June 2027
Key new form numbers under Income Tax Rules 2026: Form 24Q (quarterly salary TDS return) → Form 138. Form 16 (annual salary TDS certificate) → Form 130. Form 16A (non-salary TDS certificate) → Form 131. Form 12BB (employee investment declaration) → Form 124. Form 26AS (tax credit statement) → Form 168. Form 15G + Form 15H (merged) → Form 121. All these new forms apply from Tax Year 2026-27. For FY 2025-26 compliance (due mid-2026), old form names continue.
TDS deposit: 7th of following month for April–February; 30 April for March TDS. Form 138 quarterly TDS return due dates: Q1 (Apr–Jun 2026): 31 July 2026. Q2 (Jul–Sep 2026): 31 October 2026. Q3 (Oct–Dec 2026): 31 January 2027. Q4 (Jan–Mar 2027): 31 May 2027. Q4 Form 138 contains Annexure II (full-year salary computation per employee) — this generates the basis for Form 130 issuance by 15 June 2027.
Employers must issue Form 130 to employees by 15 June 2027 for Tax Year 2026-27. This is the first year Form 130 applies — it replaces Form 16 from this Tax Year onwards. Part A is downloaded from TRACES after Q4 Form 138 is filed (31 May 2027); Part B and new Part C are prepared by the employer. Penalty for late issuance: ₹100 per day per employee with no upper cap. For FY 2025-26, the deadline is 15 June 2026 for old Form 16.