TDS Return - Salary (Form 138 / 24Q).
Employers that deduct tax from salaries file a quarterly TDS statement. For quarters from April 2026 this is Form 138, covering deductions under section 392 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (earlier section 192); Form 24Q still applies to periods up to March 2026 and their corrections. We compute monthly TDS, reconcile challans and file the statement so employees see their credit on time.
Prepared every quarter and filed before the quarterly due date, typically within 5–7 working days of final payroll data; PAN errors and unmatched challans are the usual causes of delay.
A partner — a chartered accountant or company secretary — from the first call to sign-off.
Based on your situation, and fixed in writing before any work starts.
Is this for you?
- Companies, LLPs, firms and other employers deducting tax from salaries
- Employers with staff on both the new and old tax regimes
- Growing teams moving payroll in-house or between providers
- Employers that need to correct salary statements for earlier quarters
What you receive at the end.
- 01Employee-wise monthly TDS computation
- 02Filed Form 138 (or Form 24Q for earlier periods) with acknowledgement
- 03Challan-to-deduction reconciliation
- 04TRACES processing summary and default resolution notes
TDS Return - Salary (Form 138 / 24Q), step by step.
Prepared every quarter and filed before the quarterly due date, typically within 5–7 working days of final payroll data; PAN errors and unmatched challans are the usual causes of delay.
- 1
Collect declarations
We collect each employee's regime choice and investment declaration in Form 124 (earlier Form 12BB) and set up the annual TDS projection.
- 2
Monthly TDS and deposit
We compute monthly TDS on salary and confirm it is deposited on time through the e-pay tax facility.
- 3
Prepare the statement
We prepare Form 138 in the Protean return preparation utility, validate it with the File Validation Utility, and clear PAN and challan errors.
- 4
File and verify
We upload the statement on the e-filing portal under your TAN and e-verify it; once accepted, it moves to TRACES for processing.
- 5
Year-end annexure
In the fourth quarter we add the employee-wise salary annexure with exemptions and deductions, which feeds each employee's Form 130 (earlier Form 16).
- 6
Clear defaults
We review the TRACES processing result and resolve any short-payment or short-deduction defaults.
What we need from you.
Don't have everything yet? We send a short checklist after the first call and work with what you have.
- TAN and e-filing portal access for the deductor
- Monthly payroll registers
- Employee PANs, regime choices and investment declarations
- TDS challans for each month
- Details of joiners and leavers, including salary from previous employers
- Perquisite details, where applicable
The fee depends on your situation. After a short call, the partner who will do the work tells you what's involved and gives you a fixed fee in writing — before any work begins.
- Government fees and statutory charges are billed at actuals.
- When you pay — upfront, in stages or on completion — is agreed in writing with the fee.
Questions about TDS Return - Salary (Form 138 / 24Q).
Ready to discuss TDS Return - Salary (Form 138 / 24Q)?
30-minute confidential call — no proposal, no commitment. A partner will write back within one business day.