What is Form 24Q (now Form 138) in India?

• Due dates: 31 July (Q1), 31 October (Q2), 31 January (Q3) and 31 May (Q4).
• Annexure I is filed every quarter. Annexures II and III, the full-year salary detail, come only with Q4.
• Any employer that deducts tax from salary must file, from a company to an individual.
• Each row ties an employee’s PAN to the amount deducted and to your challan.

On this page

1. Which applies when: Form 24Q or Form 138?
2. What does a salary TDS return contain?
3. Who files the quarterly TDS return under an EOR?
4. How does Remunance file Form 24Q and Form 138 for your team?
5. What else do people ask about Form 24Q?

Which applies when: Form 24Q or Form 138?

The quarter’s tax year decides. Not the filing date.

So payroll teams switched forms within nine weeks. The Q4 return for FY 2025-26 went in on Form 24Q by 31 May 2026, and the Q1 return for tax year 2026-27 went in on Form 138 by 31 July 2026.

Two forms. One summer.

What does a salary TDS return contain?

Three things that must agree. Your challans, the tax deducted per employee, and each employee’s PAN.

Annexure I is the quarterly deductee list. The year-end annexures then rebuild the full salary computation, with exemptions, deductions and the regime applied. They feed straight into the annual certificate, Form 130, formerly Form 16.

A wrong PAN is the costly error. The TDS on salary you paid never reaches the employee’s tax credit, and they get a demand for tax you already deposited, often months later when they file a return. A correction statement fixes it. But the employee usually spots it first.

The Income Tax Department’s Form 138 FAQs set out the annexures and dates in full.

Who files the quarterly TDS return under an EOR?

The employer of record files it under its own TAN. It is the deductor. Your company files nothing for those employees.

The return sits inside the monthly payroll cycle. Deduct when you pay salary, deposit by the 7th of the next month (30 April for March), then report every quarter.

Our guide to payroll compliance in India puts the full calendar on one page.

How does Remunance file Form 24Q and Form 138 for your team?

Remunance prepares each quarterly statement from the same payroll run that produced the payslips, then reconciles it against challans before filing. Quarterly TDS returns and annual salary certificates are part of our standard statutory scope for every client. That scope also covers compliance management for companies already employing in India through their own entity. To check whether last quarter’s return matched, request a TDS filing check.

What else do people ask about Form 24Q?