TDS Tools — Form 16, TDS Computation & 24Q/26Q

Handle all your TDS obligations free — compute TDS on salary (24Q), contractors and rent (26Q), generate Form 16 data and estimate interest for late deduction or deposit.

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What you can do here

TDS on salary under Section 192
TDS on contractor payments, rent and property purchase
Form 16 / 16A data generation
24Q and 26Q quarterly return preparation
Section 201(1A) interest and 234E late-fee estimation

Deduct at the right time, which is earlier than you think

For most payments the obligation arises at credit to the account or payment, whichever is earlier. That means an amount booked as a payable at year end can trigger a deduction even though no money has moved. Salary under section 192 works differently — it is deducted at the time of payment, on an estimate of the employee's annual tax spread across the year. Getting the trigger point wrong is what produces a late-deduction interest charge on an amount you thought was not yet due.

Two different interest rates, and people quote the wrong one

Section 201(1A) charges 1% per month from the date the tax should have been deducted to the date it actually was, and 1.5% per month from deduction to deposit. The second is the higher rate because the money was already in your hands. Part of a month counts as a full month for both. Separately, a late TDS return carries a fee under section 234E of ₹200 per day, capped at the tax deducted — that fee is not interest and cannot be waived for reasonable cause.

The real penalty is disallowance

Interest is the visible cost; disallowance is the expensive one. Fail to deduct or deposit TDS on a business expense and a portion of that expense can be disallowed when computing your income, which raises your taxable profit by far more than the interest saved. For payments to residents the disallowance is generally 30% of the expense; for many payments to non-residents it is the whole amount. It reverses in the year you finally pay, but the cash-flow damage lands first.

Filing the return is what gives your payee credit

Depositing the tax is only half the obligation. Until you file the quarterly return (24Q for salary, 26Q for most other resident payments) with correct PANs, the deduction does not appear in the payee's Form 26AS and they cannot claim it. This is the origin of most "TDS deducted but not showing" disputes, and only the deductor can fix it by revising the return. Verify PANs before filing — an invalid PAN also pushes the rate to 20% under section 206AA.

Obligations that catch individuals, not just businesses

TDS is no longer only a corporate concern. A buyer of immovable property above ₹50 lakh must deduct 1% under section 194-IA and deposit it using Form 26QB, and the liability sits on the buyer, not the seller. High rent attracts deduction too. These are one-off transactions for most people, which is exactly why they get missed — and the interest and fee follow the deductor. Check before completing the transaction, not after.

Frequently asked questions

What is the TDS rate on salary?

TDS on salary is deducted at the average rate under Section 192, based on projected annual income and regime choice. It is not a fixed rate.

What is Form 16?

Form 16 is the TDS certificate from your employer — Part A shows TDS deposited, Part B shows salary breakup and deductions. It is the starting point for filing a salaried ITR.