Income Tax

A Comprehensive Guide to File Form 140 for Non-Salary Tax

by TaxAcumen Team

Under the Income Tax Act of 2025, the new quarterly statement for tax deducted at source on non-salary payments is called Form 140. It is now the primary form required by Section 397(3)(b) for businesses and other deductors to report TDS on payments made to resident taxpayers.

The general concept is still recognisable. You still have to record who you paid, what you paid, the amount of tax you deducted, and how the tax was deposited. The form’s format and the deadlines for fixing any errors have changed.

What Form 140 Covers

Form 140 is used for TDS on various non salary payments made to resident taxpayers. It applies to a broad range of transactions:

  • Interest other than interest on securities
  • Payments to contractors and subcontractors
  • Commission and broking
  • Rent paid for land, buildings, plant, or machinery
  • Professional fees and technical service fees
  • Dividend payments
  • Any other resident payment where TDS is required under the Act

The requirement to file Form 140 covers Companies, Partnership firms and LLPs, Government Departments, Banks, Trusts, and Individuals & HUFs who are liable to deduct TDS.

Each quarter, the deductor must file Form 140 to report all relevant non-salary payments and the TDS deducted on those payments.

The form collects basic details of the deductor, information about the challans used to deposit TDS, deductee-wise details for each transaction.

This is similar to the old Form 26Q, but the layout is more unified, and there are fewer separate annexures to handle.

Due dates and filing process

The quarterly due dates for Form 140 are the same as they were for Form 26Q:

  • Quarter 1, April to June: due by 31 July
  • Quarter 2, July to September: due by 31 October
  • Quarter 3, October to December: due by 31 January
  • Quarter 4, January to March: due by 31 May of the following year

There is an appropriate order to the filing process:

  1. Compile all of the quarter’s non-salary payments that are subject to TDS.
  2. Pay close attention to the deductee’s PAN data.
  3. Verify that TDS has been timely deposited and deducted at the appropriate rate.
  4. Form 140 should be prepared with:
    1. Deductive information
    2. Challan information, including the date of deposit, challan number, and BSR code
    3. Deductee-specific information, such as the kind of payment, amount, and TDS withheld
  5. Run the file through the current File Validation Utility and correct any issues that are found.
  6. Using an electronic verification code or digital signature, submit the verified statement via the e-filing portal.

The acknowledgement number should be securely saved upon submission. If there are any questions or if a correction statement needs to be submitted later, this number will be required.

Changes from Form 26Q

Although the core purpose of reporting non-salary TDS has not changed, Form 140 introduces some key differences:

  • It now operates under Section 397(3)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 2025, instead of Section 200(3) of the earlier law.
  • The structure has moved from multiple annexures to a single, standardised format, which makes data entry and review more straightforward.
  • Validation checks in the File Validation Utility are stricter. This helps catch mistakes such as wrong PAN entries or incorrect challan references before filing.

Correction statements are still allowed. If an error is found after filing, the deductor can submit a correction statement. However, there is a clear time limit. TDS correction statement can be filed within six years from the end of the financial year in which the TDS statement is required to be furnished, applicable from 1 April 2025.

Once this period is over, the return usually cannot be changed further. Because of this, it is wise to reconcile TDS records, challan details, and deductee information regularly during the year instead of waiting until the last quarter.

Conclusion

Form 140 offers a simple and clear filing format while retaining the reporting functionality of Form 26Q. The change should be easy for deductors that update their systems, check PAN and challan details in advance of deadlines, and adhere to the well-known quarterly due dates.

However, careful and prompt submission is still crucial due to the more stringent validation and short rectification window. It is better to approach Form 140 compliance as a continuous process rather than a year-end duty because late filing or unresolved errors can continue to result in interest, penalties, and other financial consequences.