Generating TDS returns (Form 24Q) for salaried employees

Available for plans : Foundation, Growth, Strength.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What are TDS returns?
• What is the process of filing TDS returns?
• What are the different types of TDS returns?
• How to generate Form 24Q on Keka?

What are TDS returns?

When certain payments are made, such as salaries, interest, rent, or professional fees, the person or entity who is making this payment is obligated to deduct a certain percentage of tax from the payment and deposit it to the government. Post deduction of TDS, the returns have to be filed to provide details of the deductions made and remit the deducted tax amount to the government. 

These TDS returns serve as a record and disclosure of the TDS deductions made by the payer. They include information about the deductor (the person or entity making the payment and deducting tax), the deductee (the person receiving the payment), the nature and amount of the payment, the rate at which tax was deducted, and other relevant details.

What is the process of filing TDS returns?

The process of filing TDS returns involves the submission of prescribed forms to the Income Tax Department, typically through online portals such as the TRACES (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) platform. The frequency of filing TDS returns depends on the type of deductor and the nature of the payment.

For instance, for salaries, Form 24Q is used to report TDS deductions on a quarterly basis. For non-salary payments, such as rent or professional fees, Form 26Q is filed on a quarterly basis as well. Additionally, there are separate forms for TDS on interest, dividends, and other types of income.

What are the different types of TDS returns?

There are different types of TDS returns based on the nature of the income and the deductor. The main types of TDS returns include:

• Form 24Q: This form is used for filing TDS returns related to salaries. Employers deduct TDS from the salaries of their employees and file Form 24Q on a quarterly basis.
• Form 26Q: Form 26Q is used for filing TDS returns quarterly for non-salary payments to residents. It covers deductions made on payments such as rent, interest, professional fees, commission, contract payments, and others.
• Form 27Q: Form 27Q is used for filing TDS returns quarterly for non-salary payments to non-residents. It includes deductions made on payments such as rent, interest, royalty, dividends, etc., made to non-resident individuals. 

Out of the above mentioned TDS returns, Keka only supports Form 24Q generation currently

How to generate Form 24Q on Keka?

To start generating Form 24Q on Keka, please ensure that the below details are available.

• TDS Challans for the quarter
• Challan Input file (CSI file)
• Company Details
• Responsible Person Details

The TDS Challans, Company details & Responsible person details of an organization will be available in the e-Filing portal and you can login into the portal using PAN/TAN number of the organization to check these details.

CSI file is an acronym of Challan Status Inquiry file which will be used as an challan input while generating Form 24Q. To know more about the CSI file and how to download it, please refer to FAQ's on CSI

Once the required details are acquired, please follow the below steps to generate Form 24Q on Keka

Step 1: Navigate to Payroll (1), click on Payroll Admin (2) and then go to Income tax & TDS management (Form 24Q) section as shown in the image below.

Step 2: Select the Financial Year and the Quarter for which you would like to do the TDS returns filing, add the Challans against each month and map employees to the challan.

To add challans, click "Manage" against any month, where you will find the options to add a single challan or multiple challans. Choose the preferred option and click on "Add Challan". Fill in the necessary details such as Minor head code, TDS deducted on, Challan number, Payment date, BSR code, Bank name, and payment details. Once the details are entered, proceed to the next step. Automatically, the system will map the employees based on the payment details provided in the challan. Review the employee mapping and click on "Save" to add the challan. Repeat this process for all three months in the quarter.

Step 3: Once the challans are added, click on Generate Return Files, upload the downloaded CSI file and then select the respective setting in case you would like to include employee employees with zero TDS or exclude employees with Zero gross earnings in a specific month.

Step 4: Click on Save and Continue to move ahead and add the company details like TAN number, Deductor Name, PAN number & other details of the deductor as shown in the image below.

Step 5: Click on Save and Continue to move ahead and add the responsible person details like Name, Designation, PAN number & other details of the responsible person as shown in the image below.

Step 6: Click on Save and Generate FVU to generate the 24Q files. The generation process would take around 30 seconds to 1 minute and once the process is complete.

• If there are any errors, then you can click on View Errors to check the same and resolve the errors accordingly. Once resolved, you will have to regenerate the return files.

• If the generation is successful, then the files will be available to download which can be downloaded and uploaded to TRACES portal.

Step 7: Once the files are uploaded, you will receive an acknowledgement receipt. Now navigate back to Income tax and TDS returns (Form 24Q) section on Keka and click on "Mark as Filed" for that quarter. Add the token number and receipt number details and click on Submit to mark the quarter as complete.

Please feel free to browse through other articles or reach out to one of our product experts in case of further queries!

Related Links:

Form 24Q automation

How to generate quarterly returns (Form 24Q)