Quick summary: Form 24Q — the quarterly TDS statement filed by employers on salary deductions — is now Form No. 138 under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and I.T. Rules, 2026. Filed quarterly by every employer and specified bank, it feeds directly into Form No. 130 (the new Form 16) and reflects in the employee’s Form No. 168 (the new Form 26AS). Around 22.5 lakh original filings are made each year.
📋 Quick Reference
Old Form NameForm 24Q
New Form NameForm No. 138
Old RuleRule 31A, I.T. Rules 1962
New RuleRule 219, I.T. Rules 2026
Old Act SectionSection 200(3), I.T. Act 1961
New Act SectionSection 397(3)(b), I.T. Act 2025
Filed byEmployer / Specified Bank
FrequencyQuarterly (Q1 to Q4)
GeneratesForm No. 130 (TDS Certificate)
Annual Filings~22.5 lakh original statements
1What is Form No. 138?
Form No. 138 is a quarterly TDS statement filed by employers to report tax deducted at source from salaries paid to employees. It is the successor to Form 24Q under the new statutory framework. The form is filed under Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and covers:
TDS deducted on salary paid to employees under Section 392 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (other than Section 392(7))
TDS deducted by specified banks on pension and interest income paid to specified senior citizens under Section 393(1) [Table: Sl. No. 8(iii)]
The form is mandatory for every employer — whether a company, firm, government entity, or individual — who deducts TDS from employee salaries. It is also mandatory for specified banks that deduct TDS on pension and interest income paid to specified senior citizens.
On average, approximately 22.5 lakh original Form 24Q statements (now Form No. 138) are filed each year, reflecting the scale of salary TDS compliance across India.
2Who Must File — and When?
Form No. 138 must be filed if either of the following conditions is satisfied:
The employer has deducted tax under Section 392 on salary paid to any employee during the quarter
The specified bank has paid pension and interest income to a specified senior citizen under Section 393(1) [Table: Sl. No. 8(iii)]
The quarterly due dates are as follows:
Quarter
Period Covered
Due Date
Q1
April – June
31st July of the Financial Year
Q2
July – September
31st October of the Financial Year
Q3
October – December
31st January of the Financial Year
Q4
January – March
31st May of the FY immediately following the Tax Year
The Q4 due date falls in the next financial year (31st May). This is different from Q1–Q3 which fall within the same financial year. Missing the Q4 deadline is a common error — mark it carefully.
3Structure of Form No. 138
Form No. 138 consists of two main parts and three annexures. Understanding what each contains — and when each is required — is essential to accurate filing.
Part A
Deductor Details
Type of deductor, name, address, PAN, TAN, email, contact number, tax year, and details of the person responsible for TDS deduction.
Required: All 4 quarters
Part B
Challan / Payment Details
Total tax, interest, fees, penalty, mode of payment (challan or book adjustment), BSR code, date of deposit, challan serial number, and minor head.
Required: All 4 quarters
Annexure I
Deductee-wise TDS Breakup
PAN, name, section code, amount paid/credited, date of payment, tax deducted and deposited, reason for non/lower/higher deduction, and certificate number under Section 395(1).
Required: All 4 quarters
Annexure II
Salary Summary for the Tax Year
Full breakdown of gross salary, exemptions under Section 11, deductions under Chapter VIII, total taxable income, tax computation, rebate under Section 156, relief under Section 157, and net tax payable — for each employee.
Required: Q4 only
Annexure III
Senior Citizen Pension & Interest
Detailed breakup of pension income, interest income paid by the specified bank, applicable deductions under Chapter VIII, total taxable income, and net tax payable — for each specified senior citizen.
Required: Q4 only
Only Annexure I is filed for Q1, Q2, and Q3. Annexure II and III are filed only with the Q4 statement — they provide the complete annual picture which is used to generate Form No. 130.
4How to File Form No. 138
1
Deduct TDS and pay to Central GovernmentDeduct TDS on salary payments under Section 392. Deposit to the credit of the Central Government within due dates under Rule 218 of I.T. Rules, 2026.
2
Prepare the statement using RPU (Return Preparation Utility)Use the RPU provided by TIN-NSDL to prepare the quarterly statement. For Q1–Q3, prepare Annexure I. For Q4, prepare Annexure I + II (and Annexure III for specified senior citizens).
3
Validate using File Validation Utility (FVU)Run the prepared file through the FVU. If error-free, the utility generates a .fvu file for upload.
4
Upload the .fvu fileUpload online at the e-Filing website (incometax.gov.in) or physically at a TIN FC centre.
5
Receive ARNOn successful submission, an Acknowledgment Receipt Number (ARN) is generated. This confirms the statement has been accepted by the Income Tax Department.
6
Processing at CPC-TDSThe uploaded data is in-warded at CPC-TDS and processed. Defaults, if any, will appear on the TRACES portal. File correction statements to clear defaults after making payment if required.
5What Happens After Form No. 138 is Processed?
The data in Form No. 138 flows downstream into several critical compliance outputs for both employer and employee:
Form No. 130 is generated (Erstwhile Form 16)Based on Annexure I (quarterly) and Annexure II (Q4), TRACES generates Form No. 130 — the annual TDS certificate issued by the employer to each employee. Due by 15th June of the following Financial Year.
TDS reflects in employee’s Form No. 168 (Erstwhile Form 26AS)The deducted TDS amount appears in the employee’s Form No. 168 as “TDS by employer,” enabling the employee to claim full credit while filing their ITR.
ITR pre-filling from Annexure IISalary details in Annexure II of the Q4 Form No. 138 are used to pre-fill the employee’s ITR — reducing manual data entry errors and reconciliation issues.
Default processing for the deductorIf defaults exist (short deduction, late payment, PAN errors), TRACES notifies the deductor. Correction statements can be filed within two years from the end of the Tax Year in which the statement was due.
6Key Changes from Form 24Q to Form No. 138
Form 24Q (Old)
Token Number used for identification
TAN Registration Number field present
Surcharge and cess entered as separate fields in challan details
Terminology: “Assessment Year / Financial Year / Previous Year”
Currency symbol: Rs.
Static form — manual data entry throughout
Grouped Name, Designation, Address, PAN in single fields
Form No. 138 (New)
✅ Token No. replaced with Return Receipt Number
✅ TAN Registration Number deleted (redundant)
✅ Surcharge and cess consolidated under challan/book adjustment
✅ Unified terminology: “Tax Year” throughout
✅ Currency symbol updated to ₹
✅ Smart form: auto-population from TRACES profile, real-time validations, dropdowns, API integrations
✅ Name, Address, PAN separated into distinct boxes for system compatibility
7Penalties for Non-Compliance
🚨
Late Filing Fee — Section 427
A fee under Section 427 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is levied for late filing of Form No. 138. This fee must be deposited before filing the delayed statement and is reported separately in the “Total Fee” column (Column D) of Part B.
⚖️
Penal Proceedings — Sections 461 and 465(2)(g)
Failure to file Form No. 138 or persistent non-compliance can attract penal proceedings under Sections 461 and 465(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Timely and accurate filing eliminates this exposure entirely.
8Frequently Asked Questions
No. Only Annexure I is required for all four quarters. Annexure II (salary summary for employees) and Annexure III (pension/interest summary for specified senior citizens) are submitted only with the Q4 statement.
No. Once submitted, Form No. 138 cannot be edited directly. To correct an already-submitted statement, the deductor must file a correction statement once the original has been processed by CPC-TDS. The correction window is two years from the end of the Tax Year in which the statement was due.
Yes. All TDS/TCS statements including Form No. 138 must be furnished electronically in the prescribed format as per the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Physical filing is not permitted.
Form No. 130 (the new Form 16) is generated directly from the data in Form No. 138. Specifically, Annexure I of all four quarters and Annexure II of the Q4 statement form the basis of Form No. 130. The employer downloads Form No. 130 from TRACES after the Q4 statement is processed and issues it to employees by 15th June.
Timely and accurate filing ensures: (1) employees receive correct TDS credit in their Form No. 168 and can claim it in their ITR without issues; (2) ITR pre-filling for employees is accurate; (3) the employer avoids late filing fees under Section 427 and penal proceedings under Sections 461 and 465(2)(g).
Download Form No. 138
Access the official CBDT-notified form in both PDF and editable Word formats.
CA Final Student & Semi-Qualified Chartered Accountant
Ruban Jayakumar is a CA Final student and semi-qualified Chartered Accountant specializing in taxation, accounting, and finance. With over five years of experience in tax litigation before appellate forums, he works closely with businesses and individuals to simplify complex tax and compliance matters. Through TaxRoutine, he shares practical insights aimed at making taxation accessible and understandable for the general public.
