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TDS Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the TDS terms that come up most often — updated for the Income-tax Act 2025, where many forms and sections were renumbered (Form 16 → 130, Form 26AS → 168, Section 192 → 392, the 194-series → 393). By a CA firm.
- TDS
- Tax Deducted at Source — tax withheld by the payer and deposited against the payee’s PAN.
- Deductor / Deductee
- The person who deducts TDS; the person from whose payment it is deducted.
- TAN
- Tax Deduction & Collection Account Number — the 10-character number every deductor must quote.
- FY vs Tax Year
- Financial year (1 Apr–31 Mar); the Income-tax Act 2025 uses the term “Tax Year”.
- Section 392
- Salary TDS under the Income-tax Act 2025 (was Section 192). See the salary TDS guide.
- Section 393
- Consolidated non-salary TDS under the Act 2025, with payment-type codes 1001–1067. See codes & mapping.
- Payment / return code
- Numeric code (1001–1067) identifying the nature of payment on challans and returns.
- Form 138 / 140 / 144
- TDS returns: salary / non-salary resident / non-resident (were 24Q / 26Q / 27Q).
- Form 130
- TDS certificate (was Form 16 / 16A) issued to the deductee.
- Form 168
- Annual tax statement (was Form 26AS) — tax credited against your PAN.
- Form 121
- Self-declaration for nil-TDS on certain income (replaces 15G & 15H from FY 2026-27). See Form 121 explained.
- AIS
- Annual Information Statement — a wider statement of your financial transactions.
- Threshold limit
- Amount above which TDS applies; once crossed, TDS usually applies on the full amount.
- No-PAN rate
- 20% (or the normal rate, if higher) where the payee gives no valid PAN — Section 397(2) (old 206AA).
- Section 197 certificate
- TRACES certificate allowing lower or nil TDS for a specific deductee. Track it with the 197 LDC tracker.
- Section 194Q
- TDS by buyers (turnover > ₹10 cr) at 0.1% on purchase of goods over ₹50 lakh. See the 194Q guide.
- Section 194T
- TDS at 10% on partner remuneration/interest by firms/LLPs over ₹20,000 (from FY 2025-26). See the 194T guide.
- Section 201(1A)
- Interest for late deduction (1%/month) and late deposit (1.5%/month).
- Section 234E
- Late-filing fee of ₹200/day for a TDS return, capped at the TDS in the statement.
- Section 43B(h)
- Disallows expense to MSME suppliers unpaid beyond the 15/45-day MSMED timeline. Use the MSME declaration.
- TRACES
- TDS Reconciliation, Analysis and Correction Enabling System — the TDS portal.
- Challan (ITNS 281)
- The challan used to deposit TDS/TCS to the government.
- FVU / RPU
- File Validation Utility / Return Preparation Utility used to validate TDS returns.
- Justification report
- TRACES report detailing each default in a processed TDS statement.
Need the rate for a specific payment? Use the TDS Wizard or the rate chart. Free templates are on the Downloads page.
General information for FY 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act 2025, not professional advice. Verified 2026-06-29.