Form No. 140, introduced under section 397(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, replaces earlier Form 26Q and serves as a mandatory quarterly statement for reporting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on non-salary payments made to resident deductees. It applies to all deductors, including companies, firms, individuals, and government entities, responsible for deducting tax on payments such as interest, commission, brokerage, rent, and professional fees. The form must be filed electronically within prescribed quarterly due dates, and once submitted, it cannot be edited, though correction statements may be filed within a specified period. Accurate and timely filing ensures proper credit to deductees and avoids penalties and legal consequences. The revised form introduces a simplified structure, enhanced digital features, and better validation mechanisms, improving compliance efficiency and transparency while ensuring correct reporting and reconciliation of TDS data.
Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India
FAQs on Income Tax Form 140 (Earlier Form No. 26Q): Quarterly TDS Return (Non-Salary) under Section 397(3)(b) of Income Tax Act, 2025
Quarterly statement of Deduction of Tax under section 397(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 in respect of payments made other than salary to resident deductee
| Name of form as per I.T. Rules, 1962 | 26Q | Name of form as per I.T. Rules, 2026 | 140 |
| Corresponding section of
I.T. Act, 1961 |
200(3) | Corresponding section of I.T. Act, 2025 | 397(3)(b) |
| Corresponding Rule of I.T. Rules, 1962 | 31A | Corresponding Rule of I.T. Rules, 2026 | 219 |
Q1. What is Form No. 140?
Ans: Form No. 140 is a quarterly statement filed by deductors responsible for deduction of tax at source on non-salary payments such as commission, brokerage, professional fees, rent, etc. made to residents.
Q2. Who is required to file Form No. 140?
Ans: Every person (company, firm, partnership, government, individual, etc.) responsible for making non-salary payments to a resident on which tax is deductible.
Q3. Is filing of Form No. 140 mandatory?
Ans: Any deductor who is required to deduct tax on non-salary payments made to residents, must file Form No. 140 for the relevant quarter(s).
Q4. What is the time limit for filing Form No. 140?
Ans: Form No. 140 is to be filed quarterly:
| Quarter | Period | Due Date |
| Q1 | Apr — Jun | 31′ July of the Financial Year |
| Q2 | Jul — Sep | 31′ October of the Financial Year |
| Q3 | Oct — Dec | 31′ January of the Financial Year |
| Q4 | Jan — Mar | 31′ May of the Financial Year immediately following the Tax Year in which deduction is made |
Form No. 140 (Earlier Form No. 26Q)
Q5. Is it mandatory to file Form No. 140 in electronic format?
Ans: Yes. As per the Income-tax Rules, all TDS/TCS statements including Form No. 140 must be furnished electronically in the prescribed format.
Q6. Can Form No. 140 be edited after submission?
Ans: No. Form No. 140 once submitted, cannot be edited. However, in order to correct or update the details in an already submitted Form No. 140, the deductor is allowed to file a correction statement once the previously submitted statement has been processed by CPC-TDS.
Q7. What is the time limit for filing the correction statement?
Ans: Within two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was required to be delivered. For example, the correction statement in respect of Form No. 140 for the Quarter 2 of Tax Year 2026-27 can be filed upto 31.03.2029.
Q8. How will deductor know whether the Form No. 140 filed by him has been accepted by the Income-tax Department?
Ans: After filing Form No. 140 on the TRACES portal of Income-tax Department, the deductor receives an Acknowledgment Receipt Number (ARN) on successful submission of the Form.
Q9. Why filing of Form No. 140 in a timely and accurate manner is important?
Ans: Filing of Form No. 140 in a timely and accurate manner is important as:
> It will ensure that accurate and complete tax credit is passed onto the deductees. Consequently, it will also eliminate scope for deductee related grievances.
> The deductor would be able to avoid legal challenges associated with noncompliance including late filing fee u/s 427 and penal proceedings u/s 461 and 465(2)(g).
Guidance Note on Income Tax Form 140 (Earlier Form No. 26Q): Quarterly TDS Return (Non-Salary) under Section 397(3)(b) of Income Tax Act, 2025
Form No. 140 — Quarterly statement of deduction of tax under section 397(3)(b) of the Act in respect of payments made other than salary to resident deductee for the quarter ended…(Tax Year)
| Name of form as per I.T. Rules, 1962 | 26Q | Name of form as per I.T. Rules, 2026 | 140 |
| Corresponding section of I.T. Act, 1961 | 200(3) | Corresponding section of I.T. Act, 2025 | 397(3)(b) |
| Corresponding Rule of I.T. Rules, 1962 | 31A | Corresponding Rule of I.T. Rules, 2026 | 219 |
Purpose:
Form No. 140 is a quarterly statement filed by deductors (other than salary deductors) to report Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on payments made to Indian residents other than salaries such as interest (other than interest on securities), commission, brokerage, professional fees, rent, and other specified payments under various sections (e.g., 393(1) & 393(3) of the Income-tax Act,2025). Form No. 140 is filed under Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Who Should File:
Every person (company, firm, partnership, government, individual, etc.) responsible for making payments to a resident on which TDS is deductible (other than salary).
Frequency & Due Dates:
| Quarter | Period Covered | Due Date for Filing |
| Q1 | Apr —Jun | 31St July of the Financial Year |
| Q2 | Jul — Sep | 31St October of the Financial Year |
| Q3 | Oct — Dec | 31st January of the Financial Year |
| Q4 | Jan — Mar | — 31St J i May of the Financial Year immediately following the Tax Year in which deduction is made |
Form No. 140 (Earlier Form No. 26Q)
Structure of Form No. 140:
> Part A:
Particulars of the Deductor: Type of Deductor, Name, Address, PAN, TAN, and contact information of Deductor.
Particulars of the person Responsible for Deduction of Tax: Name, Address, PAN, and contact information.
> Part B: Details of Tax Deducted and Paid to Central Govt. (i.e. Total Tax, Interest, Fee, Mode of Payment, BSR Code, Date of Deposit, Challan Serial No. and Minor Head, etc.).
> Annexure: Deductee wise break up of TDS: PAN, Name, Section Code, Amount paid or credited, Date of payment or credit, Tax Deducted, Tax Deposited, Date of Deduction, Rate, Reason for non/lower/higher Deduction, Certificate Number u/s 395, UIN of Form No. 121, etc.
Form No. 140 has a single annexure, filed for all four quarters, capturing deductee-level TDS information across multiple sections.
Documents/details required to file the Form No. 140:
1. Copies of challans paid to the credit of central government.
2. PAN details of all deductees.
Filing Count:
On average, about 50-55 lakh original forms have been filed annually over the last five years.
Process flow of filing Form No. 140:
The process flow includes following steps-
1. Deduction of tax at the time of payment/credit of specified non-salary income to residents under the applicable section.
2. Payment of deducted tax to the credit of the Central Government within the time limits prescribed under Rule 218 of Income-tax Rules, 2026.
3. Preparation of the quarterly TDS statement (Form No. 140) using RPU (Return Preparation Utility) from TIN-NSDL.
4. Validation of the file using the File Validation Utility (FVU). In case of no errors, the utility will provide a .fvu file as result.
5. The resultant .fvu file is to be uploaded online at e-filing website or physically at TIN FC centre.
6. After successful submission of the statement at either e-filing website or physically at TIN FC centre, the data is inwarded at CPC-TDS and the statement is processed as per the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Outcome of Processed Form No. 140:
For Deductor
The resultant of processing of TDS statement can be without default or with defaults. In case of statements processed with default, the deductors are require to file correction statements after making payment of default (if required).
For Deductees
> Based on Form No. 140 data, TRACES generates Form No. 131 (TDS Certificate for non-salary income, earlier Form 16A under Income-tax Act, 1961).
> Form 131 is issued by the deductors to each of the deductees quarterly within 15 days from the due date of filing Form No. 140 (i.e., by 15th August, 15th November, 15th February and 15th June).
> Once processed, the deducted TDS amount reflects in the employee’s Form No. 168 / AIS as “TDS by deductor”.
> This allows deductees to claim credit when filing their ITR.
Brief note on qualitative changes made:
1. Key updates include the following
- replacement of outdated fields (e.g., Token No. replaced with Return Receipt Number, and deletion of TAN Registration No.),
- streamlining of entries (removal of surcharge and cess details now consolidated under challan/Book Adjustment), and
- redundant references removed to simplify interpretation.
- explanatory notes have been provided to guide users in completing the form accurately.
2. The revised Form No. 140 will be a smart one to enhance user experience and providing ease of filing through-
a. auto-population/pre-filling of relevant details using information available from the Deductor’s TRACES profile.
b. real time validations & error handling
c. drop downs & date pickers
d. integration with APIs & Databases
e. Check box based smart verification
f. Standardization of name & address fields etc.
Common Changes made across Forms:
1. To make Forms system-friendly and enable e-filing and uploading, certain anomalies found due to grouping of Name, Designation, Address and PAN have been separated into different boxes.
2. Assessment / Financial / Previous year or years have been replaced with Tax year or years, wherever appearing in the Form/Annexure.
3. Changes in Sections, Clauses and Schedules have been aligned as per the Income-tax Act, 2025.
4. Currency symbol “Rs.” has been replaced with “Z”.
