The monthly rhythm
These dates repeat every month, for every company you run payroll for. They are counted from the end of the month in which salary is paid.
| Due by | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 7th of next month | TDS on salaries deposited (challan ITNS 281); for March, 30 April | Income-tax portal / bank |
| 15th of next month | EPF contribution paid and ECR filed | EPFO unified portal |
| 15th of next month | ESI contribution paid and monthly filing done | ESIC portal |
| State-specific (Karnataka: 20th) | Professional tax deducted and remitted | State PT portal |
| Month end | Payroll close: payslips issued, registers updated | Your payroll system |
Note: If a due date falls on a holiday, pay before it, not after. Deadlines are as commonly notified and states differ on PT and LWF; confirm current notifications for your states before filing.
Quarterly: TDS returns
| Quarter | Period | Return due |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April – June 2026 | 31 July 2026 |
| Q2 | July – September 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Q3 | October – December 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| Q4 | January – March 2027 | 31 May 2027 |
Late filing attracts a fee of ₹200 per day under section 234E (capped at the TDS amount), separate from interest on late deposit. The Q4 return matters twice over: Form 16 is generated from it.
Annual and state-specific dates
- Form 16 issued to every employee by 15 June, after the Q4 24Q return is processed.
- Professional tax annual enrolment renewal (Karnataka: 30 April) for the establishment itself.
- Labour Welfare Fund: state-specific; Karnataka collects annually in January for the December period. Several states collect half-yearly.
- ESI contribution periods run April–September and October–March; keep both halves reconciled even though filing is monthly.
What actually slips
Consultancies running many companies rarely miss the big monthly dates. What slips is the long tail: a PT registration in a second state with a different date, an LWF cycle that only comes around once a year, a new company added mid-year whose ECR was never mapped, TDS on a March supplementary payroll. One missed date per hundred companies is still a client-facing failure.
Interest and damages compound the pain: late PF attracts interest at 12% a year plus damages that scale with the delay; late TDS deposit runs at 1.5% a month from the date of deduction.
Running this calendar for 100+ companies
On spreadsheets, every date above multiplies by the number of client companies. A compliance platform tracks each company's registrations, generates challans and ECRs in bulk, files EPFO and ESIC in one run, and surfaces exceptions instead of relying on someone remembering. That is the model Compliance Suite is built around: one operator, one calendar, every client company on it.
Common questions
What happens if the 15th falls on a Sunday or bank holiday?
Pay on the last working day before the due date. EPFO and ESIC treat payment after the due date as late even when the delay is a single day caused by a holiday.
Is professional tax the same in every state?
No. PT is a state subject: rates, slabs, due dates and even whether it exists differ by state. Karnataka remits monthly by the 20th; other states use different dates, and some states have no PT at all.
When do employees get Form 16?
By 15 June following the financial year, generated after the Q4 Form 24Q return is filed and processed.
What is LWF and does it apply to my clients?
Labour Welfare Fund is a small state-level contribution collected annually or half-yearly depending on the state. Applicability depends on the state and the class of establishment, so it must be tracked per company, per state.