Reviewed through: 12 August 2026
Finin2min Summary
- For Tax Year 2026–27, the familiar quarterly withholding statements have new form numbers under the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
- Form 138 corresponds to legacy Form 24Q for salary/pension withholding; Form 140 corresponds to Form 26Q for resident non-salary TDS; Form 142 corresponds to Form 26QF for specified VDA-exchange reporting; Form 143 corresponds to Form 27EQ for TCS; and Form 144 corresponds to Form 27Q for non-resident non-salary TDS.
- The standard quarter-end filing calendar for these quarterly statements is 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May, subject to the specific form manual and any valid extension.
- Form 141 is different: it is a challan-cum-statement for specified transaction-based TDS categories, not the ordinary quarterly statement covered by this guide.
- Correct form selection depends first on salary vs resident non-salary vs non-resident vs TCS vs VDA-exchange reporting.
- Old forms remain relevant for legacy periods and correction statements; do not recode historical data blindly.
The Two-Minute Answer
If your team used a simple “24Q / 26Q / 27Q / 27EQ” matrix, rebuild it for Tax Year 2026–27. The new form number is only the last step. First classify the payment and recipient; then apply the withholding provision; then use the statement form.
| Reporting stream | New form | Legacy reference | Core filer/use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary / pension withholding | 138 | 24Q | Employer / specified payer reporting salary-type TDS |
| Resident non-salary withholding | 140 | 26Q | Deductor reporting prescribed payments to residents |
| Specified VDA exchange reporting | 142 | 26QF | Exchange/reporting person covered by the VDA rule |
| Tax collected at source | 143 | 27EQ | Collector |
| Non-resident non-salary withholding | 144 | 27Q | Deductor reporting prescribed payments to non-residents |
Quarter-Wise Due Dates
The Income Tax Department user manuals specify quarterly filing. The ordinary schedule is:
| Quarter | Period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April–June | 31 July of the tax year |
| Q2 | July–September | 31 October |
| Q3 | October–December | 31 January |
| Q4 | January–March | 31 May immediately following the tax year |
The Form 142 manual expressly uses the same one-month-from-quarter-end framework, with the Q4 due date on 31 May. Teams should still check the current manual before filing because statutory extensions, portal advisories or exceptional relief can alter an operational deadline.
Form 138: Salary and Pension Withholding
Form 138 is the new quarterly salary TDS statement corresponding to Form 24Q. Payroll teams should not treat this as only a file-format change.
Reconcile:
- employee PAN and status;
- taxable salary after exemptions/deductions applicable to the tax year;
- tax regime selection where legally relevant;
- perquisite valuation;
- previous-employer salary information supplied by the employee;
- tax deducted and deposited;
- challan identifiers;
- quarter-to-date and year-to-date totals.
A clean quarterly return starts with payroll-to-ledger reconciliation. Filing a technically valid Form 138 does not cure an incorrect taxable-salary computation.
Form 140: Resident Non-Salary TDS
Form 140 corresponds to legacy Form 26Q. It covers prescribed resident non-salary withholding streams.
The most common control failure is classifying the payee only by vendor master. A resident vendor can receive payments under different withholding provisions. Classify the nature of payment and statutory section, then compute threshold/rate and report.
Maintain:
- vendor residency evidence;
- PAN;
- contract/invoice;
- section mapping;
- threshold working;
- lower/nil certificate, if any;
- TDS challan;
- reconciliation to expense/payable ledgers.
Form 144: Non-Resident Non-Salary TDS
Form 144 corresponds to legacy Form 27Q. This is not simply Form 140 with a foreign address.
Before reporting, test:
- domestic-law chargeability;
- non-resident status;
- applicable section/rate;
- treaty eligibility;
- TRC and prescribed treaty documentation;
- permanent-establishment or beneficial-ownership issues where relevant;
- grossing-up or contract-tax clause;
- remittance reporting/certification requirements.
A Form 144 row should be traceable to the tax memo that explains why a particular rate was used.
Form 143: TCS
Form 143 corresponds to legacy Form 27EQ. TCS teams should keep collection logic separate from TDS logic because the statutory trigger, collector, rates and exceptions differ.
A good TCS reconciliation ties:
sales/receipt base → covered transaction → threshold/exclusion → TCS collectible → amount collected → challan → Form 143 row → buyer credit trail.
Form 142: VDA Exchange Reporting
Form 142 corresponds to legacy Form 26QF. It is a specialized quarterly form for the prescribed virtual-digital-asset exchange/intermediary context.
Do not force ordinary VDA purchases into Form 142 merely because a transaction involves crypto. The filing route depends on whether the person is within the prescribed exchange/reporting mechanism. The Department's current Form 142 manual should be the filing control.
Form 141 Is Not Part of This Quarterly Return Matrix
Property purchase, specified rent, certain individual/HUF payments and specified VDA challan-cum-statement situations use Form 141 in the new framework. Those are transaction-based routes. Finin2min already has a dedicated Form 141 article, so this page intentionally avoids duplicating that content.
Worked Example: One Company, Three Forms
Suppose an Indian company in Q1:
- deducts salary TDS from employees;
- pays professional fees to resident consultants; and
- pays a royalty to a non-resident.
The reporting does not belong in one “TDS return.” Salary entries go to Form 138, resident non-salary entries to Form 140, and non-resident non-salary entries to Form 144, subject to the actual provisions. If the same company also collects tax at source on a covered transaction, that is separately reported in Form 143.
The key lesson: one TAN can have multiple quarterly statement streams.
Month-End to Quarter-End Control
Monthly
- identify withholding event at credit/payment;
- apply correct section and rate;
- deposit TDS/TCS within applicable time;
- close exceptions.
Quarter close
- reconcile expense, payroll, revenue/receipt and withholding ledgers;
- reconcile challans;
- validate PAN/TAN data;
- review lower/nil certificates;
- test resident/non-resident classification;
- run duplicate/missing deductee checks;
- prepare the appropriate statement.
Post filing
- archive acknowledgement;
- reconcile defaults/processing status;
- issue or reconcile certificates as applicable;
- correct genuine errors promptly.
What Generic Due-Date Tables Miss
A due-date calendar alone cannot tell you:
- whether a row belongs in Form 140 or 144;
- whether withholding was computed correctly;
- whether a treaty rate is supportable;
- whether the wrong quarter was used;
- whether an old-law correction needs the legacy form;
- whether challan allocation is correct;
- whether a PAN error creates a downstream credit mismatch.
Practical Checklist
- [ ] Governing tax year confirmed.
- [ ] Payment nature and recipient residence mapped.
- [ ] Correct new form selected.
- [ ] Legacy-period items separated.
- [ ] Threshold/rate workpaper reviewed.
- [ ] Challan totals reconcile to statement.
- [ ] PAN/TAN validations complete.
- [ ] Treaty/lower-rate evidence retained.
- [ ] Quarter due date checked on official manual.
- [ ] Acknowledgement and correction trail archived.
Article-Specific Q&A
Is Form 140 the new Form 26Q?
It is the corresponding resident non-salary quarterly TDS statement under the 2025-Act framework.
Is Form 144 only for foreign companies?
No. It is driven by the non-resident payee/reporting stream, not merely by entity type.
Does Form 142 cover every crypto transaction?
No. It is a specialized prescribed statement corresponding to legacy Form 26QF. Confirm the reporting person's role and the current manual.
Are the quarterly due dates unchanged?
The current Department manuals use 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May for these quarterly streams. Always verify any extension.
Can Form 141 be filed quarterly with these forms?
Form 141 is a separate transaction-based challan-cum-statement route for specified TDS categories.
Should historical Form 24Q data be relabelled Form 138?
No. Preserve legacy terminology for periods governed by the 1961 Act.
Official Sources
- Income Tax Department — Form 138 user manual
- Income Tax Department — Form 140 user manual
- Income Tax Department — Form 142 user manual
- Income Tax Department — Form 143 user manual
- Income Tax Department — Form 144 user manual
- Income Tax Department — 2026 form mapping guide
Relevant Finin2min Links
Finin2min Review Trigger
Refresh after any CBDT extension, revised form schema, correction-statement launch, portal advisory or change in the underlying TDS/TCS provision.
Disclaimer
This article is general educational material. Due dates and filing routes can be affected by statutory extensions, saved-law provisions and taxpayer-specific facts. Verify the current form manual and applicable provision before filing.