- Monthly deadlines: salary TDS is deposited by the 7th of the following month; EPF, ESI, and professional tax are all due by the 15th.
- Quarterly TDS: the salary-TDS return is Form 138 (formerly Form 24Q), due at the end of the month after each quarter, with Q4 running to 31 May.
- Annual filings: issue the Form 130 salary-TDS certificate (formerly Form 16) to employees by 15 June, plus the EPF annual and ESI half-yearly returns.
- Penalties: late TDS is 1.5%/month, late EPF is 12% a year plus 1%/month damages, and PF deducted but not deposited is a criminal offence.
- No entity needed: an EOR becomes your single legal employer and files every India payroll return on the deadline, so the calendar stops being your problem.
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Miss an India payroll deadline and the cost is automatic: 12% annual interest, daily fines, and in some cases criminal exposure for the company's officers. The dates are fixed, they fall only days after each month closes, and they do not pause for a US holiday calendar.
This is the complete month-by-month compliance calendar for a US employer, current as of August 2026. For the full compliance landscape behind these dates, see our guide to payroll compliance in India.
What are India's monthly payroll deadlines?
India's core monthly deadlines are tight: salary tax deducted at source (TDS) is deposited by the 7th of the following month, while EPF, ESI, and professional tax are all due by the 15th. Each goes to a different authority, so a single late run can trigger several penalties at once.
| Obligation | Due date | Authority | Penalty for delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary payment | 7th of following month | Code on Wages | State labour fines |
| TDS deposit | 7th of following month | Income Tax Department | 1.5%/month interest + Rs 200/day |
| EPF contribution | 15th of following month | Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) | 12% p.a. interest + 1%/month damages |
| ESI contribution | 15th of following month | Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) | 12% p.a. interest |
| Professional tax (PT) | 15th of following month | State authority | Varies by state |
The rates and thresholds behind each of these contributions, with worked examples, are set out in our guide to PF, ESI, and gratuity compliance for US startups.
What are the quarterly TDS filing deadlines for FY 2026-27?
Beyond the monthly TDS deposit, you file a quarterly salary-TDS return on Form 138 (the return formerly known as Form 24Q, renamed under the Income-tax Act 2025). Each quarter's return is due at the end of the month following the quarter, except the final quarter, which runs to 31 May.
| Quarter | Period covered | Form 138 due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April to June 2026 | 31 July 2026 |
| Q2 | July to September 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Q3 | October to December 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| Q4 | January to March 2027 | 31 May 2027 |
The underlying withholding rates and the two tax regimes that drive them sit in our breakdown of payroll tax in India.
What are the annual payroll filing deadlines in India?
A handful of filings fall once a year rather than monthly. The most visible is the salary-TDS certificate, now Form 130 (formerly Form 16), which you issue to each employee by 15 June after the tax year closes. The rest are the provident fund annual return, the ESI half-yearly returns, the bonus return, and state labour-welfare-fund contributions.
| Filing | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Form 130 to employees (replaced Form 16 under the Income-tax Act 2025) | 15 June (after the tax year closes) | Income Tax Department |
| EPF annual return | 30 April (verify with EPFO before filing) | EPFO |
| ESI half-yearly return | 11 May and 11 November | ESIC |
| Bonus return | Within 8 months of the financial year close | Labour Department |
| Labour Welfare Fund (LWF) contribution | Half-yearly or annually, varies by state | State LWF Board |
How you split each salary across basic, allowances, and benefits determines several of these figures, which is why we set a compliant salary structure in India at onboarding rather than adjusting it later.
What penalties apply for missing India payroll deadlines?
Penalties escalate from interest to criminal exposure. Late TDS carries 1.5% interest per month; late EPF carries 12% annual interest plus uniform damages of 1% per month; and Employee State Insurance carries 12% annual interest. PF that is deducted from pay but not deposited is a criminal offence under Section 14(1A) of the EPF Act.
| Obligation | Penalty | Criminal risk |
|---|---|---|
| TDS delay | 1.5% per month interest + Rs 200 per day | Yes, under the prosecution provisions of the Income-tax Act 2025 |
| EPF delay | 12% p.a. interest + 1% per month damages | Yes, for wilful default under the EPF Act |
| ESI delay | 12% p.a. interest under the Employees State Insurance Act | Yes, under Section 85 of the ESI Act |
| Professional tax | State-specific fines | Rarely |
The uniform 1% per month EPF damages figure replaced the older graded 5% to 25% scale under the 14 June 2024 gazette, so any calculator or checklist still using the old range overstates the number. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor to sidestep these filings is its own trap, covered in our guide to employee misclassification penalties in India.
What payroll records must US employers keep in India?
India requires you to retain the documentation behind every filing, not just proof of payment. A US employer should keep wage registers, monthly payslips, EPF, ESI, and TDS challans, filing acknowledgements, and signed contracts, so an audit or a funding-round diligence request can be answered from one folder. If you are still standing payroll up, our guide to setting up payroll for a startup in India covers which registrations create these records.
The records that matter most each cycle are:
- Wage and attendance registers: the statutory registers of wages, deductions, and days worked for every employee.
- Payslips and challans: an itemized payslip per employee and the deposit challans for EPF, ESI, TDS, and professional tax.
- Filing acknowledgements: the return confirmations that prove each deposit was reported on time.
- Employment contracts and final settlements: signed contracts, and full and final settlement records for anyone who has left.
Keeping this in order is most of what steady-state compliance actually is, and our walkthrough of how US teams manage India payroll without an entity shows where each record comes from in the monthly cycle.
Final settlement itself is a deadline, not a document: under the Code on Wages, an exiting employee's dues are payable within two working days, as our guide to full and final settlement in India explains.
How can Wisemonk keep your India payroll on schedule?
An Employer of Record removes the deadline problem entirely by becoming the single legal employer of your India team and filing every contribution on time under its own registrations. This is not co-employment; one legal employer carries the whole calendar. If you are checking whether the model is sound, see our explainer on whether an EOR is legal in India.
Running through an EOR also keeps your US company clear of permanent establishment risk in India, since you never incorporate or hold a bank account there.
If you would rather build your own entity, we weigh both paths in our comparison of EOR versus entity in India, which is where most founders start before committing.
Wisemonk is an India-native Employer of Record. We help global companies hire, pay, and manage talent in India without setting up a local entity, and keeping the statutory calendar is core to what we do. We work with 300+ global clients, manage 2,000+ employees across India, process $20M+ in annual payroll, and hold a 4.8/5 rating on G2.
Here is how we keep your India payroll on schedule:
- EOR from $99/employee/month: we are the single legal employer for your India team and file every statutory return on the deadline.
- Deadline tracking: we monitor every TDS, EPF, ESI, and professional-tax due date so nothing slips through a month-end.
- Income-tax Act 2025 ready: we file salary TDS under Section 392 on Form 138 and issue Form 130 certificates on time.
- A dedicated HR manager: one point of contact who owns your India payroll calendar end to end.
- Contractor payments via AOR: where you engage contractors instead, we run those payouts compliantly as your Agent of Record.
For the underlying model and everything it covers, our India Employer of Record page has the detail. We provide EOR services in India, and we are expanding rapidly into the US and UK markets.
Never miss an India payroll deadline again
We track and file every TDS, EPF, ESI, and PT due date for your India team, on time, every month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the TDS payment deadline in India for 2026?
Salary TDS must be deposited by the 7th of the month following the deduction, except the March deduction, which is due by 30 April. Late deposits carry interest of 1.5% for every month or part of a month of delay.
When must EPF contributions be deposited each month?
EPF contributions are due by the 15th of the following month, with no grace period since the earlier five-day window was withdrawn in February 2016. Late deposits attract 12% annual interest plus uniform damages of 1% per month.
What happens if I miss an ESI filing deadline in India?
A missed ESI deadline attracts 12% annual interest on the delayed contribution and can trigger prosecution under Section 85 of the ESI Act. ESI is due within 15 days of the month-end for employees earning up to Rs 21,000 a month.
Does India's payroll calendar follow the calendar year or the financial year?
India's payroll and tax calendar runs on the financial year, 1 April to 31 March. Quarterly TDS returns and the annual Form 130 certificate are keyed to that year, so a US employer should map its India filings to the Indian FY, not the calendar year.
What is Form 138 and when must it be filed?
Form 138 is the quarterly salary-TDS return under the Income-tax Act 2025, the return formerly known as Form 24Q. It is due at the end of the month following each quarter, so 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, and 31 May for Q1 to Q4.
Do payroll deadlines differ by Indian state?
The central deadlines for TDS, EPF, and ESI are the same nationwide, but professional tax and labour-welfare-fund due dates are set by each state, and several states levy neither. A multi-state team therefore tracks the central calendar plus each state's own schedule.
How does an EOR help US companies meet India payroll deadlines?
An Employer of Record becomes the single legal employer and files every statutory return, TDS, EPF, ESI, professional tax, Form 138, and Form 130, on the deadline under its own registrations. The US company funds payroll and approves inputs, and never touches a government portal.
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