Tax Due Dates October 2026 at a Glance

The calendar below shows all the tax due dates October 2026 brings, colour-coded by regulator. Below it, the table gives the same dates with the form, the period covered and who must act.

Tax Due Dates October 2026: Five Deadlines That Moved

The biggest risk with the tax due dates October 2026 brings is habit. Payroll and accounts teams have followed the same quarterly calendar for years, and several of those dates changed on 1 April 2026 when the Income-tax Rules, 2026 took effect. If your software or your office calendar still carries last year’s template, it will show the wrong day.

1. Form 121 particulars: now due on 7 October, not 15 October

Forms 15G and 15H have been merged into a single declaration, Form 121. Banks, companies and other payers who receive these declarations must upload their particulars on the e-filing portal. According to the department’s Form 121 FAQs, the deadline is the 7th of the month following the quarter. So declarations received between July and September 2026 must be reported by 7 October 2026, a full week earlier than the old 15 October date.

2. TCS quarterly statement: now due on 31 October, not 15 October

The TCS statement, formerly Form 27EQ, is now Form 143. The department’s Form 143 user manual gives the due date for the July to September quarter as 31 October. In other words, TCS collectors now file on the same day as TDS deductors. It is a welcome change, but it also means 31 October 2026 carries even more filings than usual.

3. TCS certificates: no longer due on 30 October

The TCS certificate, formerly Form 27D, is now Form 133. Because it follows the quarterly statement, and the statement has moved to 31 October, the certificate for the July to September quarter now falls due in mid-November, 15 days after the statement due date. Any October reminder for “Form 27D on 30 October” can therefore be dropped.

4. Property TDS from NRI sellers: new route from 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, a resident individual or HUF buying property from a non-resident can report and pay TDS through Form 141, Schedule E, using their PAN and without obtaining a TAN. Earlier, such buyers had to take a TAN and file a quarterly non-resident TDS statement. Our guide to TDS on property purchase explains the new schedule in detail.

5. Revised ITR for AY 2026-27: open until 31 March 2027

Revised returns for AY 2026-27 can now be filed until 31 March 2027, not 31 December 2026, although a fee under Section 234I applies to revisions made after 31 December. Belated returns still close on 31 December 2026. This is not an October deadline, but it changes how much time taxpayers have to fix returns filed in July and August.

Income Tax and TDS: Tax Due Dates in October 2026

Two statutes shape the income tax due dates in October 2026, and they run side by side. The Income-tax Act, 2025 governs TDS and TCS on payments made from 1 April 2026, while the Income-tax Act, 1961 still governs returns and audit reports for AY 2026-27, that is, income earned in FY 2025-26.

7 October: TDS and TCS deposit for September

Tax deducted or collected in September 2026 must be deposited by 7 October. Government offices paying without a challan deposit on the same day as the deduction. For challans, select Tax Year 2026-27, not an assessment year; tagging a challan to the wrong year is one of the most common errors of the transition and can take weeks to correct.

Late deposit is expensive because interest runs monthly and a part of a month counts as a full month. Under the long-standing structure, carried into the new Act, interest is 1.5% per month from the date of deduction to the date of payment. So tax deducted on 30 September and deposited on 8 October attracts interest for two months, not eight days.

15 October: Form 132 for property TDS deducted in August

Buyers who deducted TDS on a property purchase in August 2026 had to file Form 141 by 30 September. The certificate in Form 132 must then reach the seller within 15 days, that is, by 15 October.

30 October: Form 141 for TDS deducted in September

Form 141 is the PAN-based challan-cum-statement that replaced Forms 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE. For TDS deducted in September 2026, whether on a property purchase, rent paid by an individual, payments to contractors and professionals by individuals, or virtual digital assets, the tax must be paid and the form filed by 30 October.

31 October: Quarterly TDS and TCS statements for July to September

The second-quarter statements are due on 31 October 2026, which is a Saturday. This is only the second quarter filed in the new forms, so expect validation errors if your data carries old section codes.

A late statement attracts a fee of ₹200 per day until it is filed, capped at the amount of TDS or TCS. Beyond that, persistent failure can lead to a penalty. For the full mapping of old and new forms, including TRACES payment codes, see our guide to TDS forms for FY 2026-27.

The following video walks through filing the new quarterly TDS and TCS returns in Forms 138, 140, 143 and 144. Use it to get familiar with the new utility before the last week of the month.

31 October: ITR for companies and audited taxpayers

For AY 2026-27, the income tax return is due on 31 October 2026 for every company and for any person whose accounts must be audited, including tax-audited individuals, firms and LLPs. Taxpayers with transfer pricing reporting have until 30 November 2026 for the return, but their tax audit report and Form 3CEB are due on 31 October. Companies choosing the concessional regime under Section 115BAA must file Form 10-IC by the return due date as well. Our guides to ITR-6 filing for AY 2026-27 and tax audit for companies cover both steps.

All month: belated and revised returns for AY 2026-27

Salaried and other non-audit taxpayers who missed 31 July or 31 August can still file a belated return until 31 December 2026, with a late fee. Those who filed on time but made mistakes can revise without a fee until 31 December. Our guide to the belated return for AY 2026-27 explains the costs, including the loss of the old tax regime.

GST Return Due Dates in October 2026

The GST share of the tax due dates in October 2026 is the largest by count. GST dates are fixed by law and notification, and they do not shift automatically when they fall on a weekend or holiday. Three of this month’s GST dates need special attention for that reason.

GSTR-1 falls on a Sunday

The monthly GSTR-1 for September is due on Sunday, 11 October. The portal works on Sundays, but support desks and many accountants do not. Because your customers’ GSTR-2B and input tax credit depend on your GSTR-1, file by Friday, 9 October, and use the GSTR-1 preparation tool to build the upload file if you prepare it in-house.

GSTR-3B falls on Dussehra

The monthly GSTR-3B for September is due on Tuesday, 20 October, which is also Dussehra. Banks in many states will be closed, and while online payments usually work, bank-side delays around holidays are common. Pay the tax and file by 19 October. Late filing costs a late fee of ₹50 per day (₹20 for nil returns), subject to caps, plus interest at 18% a year on tax paid late.

QRMP and composition taxpayers

Quarterly filers complete their July to September cycle this month. The quarterly GSTR-1 is due on 13 October, and the quarterly GSTR-3B on 22 October for taxpayers in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the associated Union Territories, and on 24 October for the rest of India. Composition taxpayers file CMP-08 by 18 October, which is a Sunday, so aim for 16 October. There is no PMT-06 payment this month, since September is the last month of the quarter and its tax is paid through the quarterly return.

The GST Three-Year Bar Hits September 2023 Returns

Since the Finance Act, 2023 amendments took effect on the portal, a GST return cannot be filed once three years have passed from its due date. The bar covers GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8 and GSTR-9/9C. In October 2026, the returns whose due dates fell in October 2023, namely the September 2023 monthly returns and the July to September 2023 quarterly returns, reach that limit.

The bar is permanent. Once a return is barred, the portal will not accept it, which leaves any tax liability for that period to be settled through demand proceedings rather than a return, and it can leave your buyers without the input tax credit they were expecting. So if your GSTIN, or a client’s, still shows a pending return for September 2023, treat it as the most urgent item in this month’s list, ahead of the current month’s filings.

Company and LLP Due Dates in October 2026

Company law adds its own tax due dates in October 2026. For companies that held their AGM on the last permitted day, 30 September 2026, October brings the first of the post-AGM filings. If your AGM was earlier, count the days from your actual AGM date instead.

• ADT-1, by 14 October: intimation of the auditor appointed or re-appointed at the AGM, due within 15 days.
• AOC-4, by 29 October: financial statements, due within 30 days of the AGM. Companies required to file in XBRL use AOC-4 XBRL, and those with subsidiaries also file AOC-4 CFS.
• LLP Form 8, by 30 October: the statement of account and solvency for FY 2025-26.
• MSME Form I, by 31 October: the half-yearly return of amounts due to micro and small enterprises for more than 45 days, for April to September 2026.
• MGT-7 / MGT-7A: not due until 28 November, within 60 days of the AGM.

Note that DIR-3 KYC is no longer an annual September or October item for directors who have already completed it, following MCA’s move to a three-yearly cycle. For the wider company calendar, see our guide to MCA compliance for private limited companies.

Payroll Due Dates in October 2026

For employers, the payroll tax due dates in October 2026 are straightforward. Employers deposit PF and ESI contributions for September wages by 15 October, alongside the ECR filing on the EPFO portal. Salary TDS for September goes out with the 7 October deposit, and the second-quarter salary TDS statement in Form 138 is due on 31 October.

Employers should also watch for the notification that brings the higher EPF wage ceiling of ₹25,000 into force. The Cabinet approved the revision on 16 September 2026, but contributions change only from the date the notification specifies, so keep October payroll on the existing basis unless and until that date arrives.

Weekends, Holidays and Last-Day Risk in October 2026

Five of the tax due dates in October 2026 fall on a weekend or public holiday: GSTR-7 and GSTR-8 on Saturday 10 October, GSTR-1 on Sunday 11 October, CMP-08 on Sunday 18 October, GSTR-3B on Dussehra, 20 October, and the quarterly statements, ITR for audit cases and MSME Form I on Saturday 31 October.

The safest rule is simple: treat the previous working day as the real deadline. Portals are busiest in the final hours, banks may not process payments on holidays, and relief for a missed holiday deadline is never automatic. In particular, a late TDS deposit or GST payment attracts interest from the due date regardless of why it was late.

Three Businesses, One October: How the Calendar Plays Out

The following illustrative examples show how the same tax due dates in October 2026 look very different depending on the business.

Case 1: A trading company in Pune

Sahyadri Traders Pvt Ltd files GST monthly, deducts TDS on rent and contractors, collects TCS on scrap sales, and needs a tax audit. Its October runs: TDS and TCS deposit on 7 October; GSTR-1 on 9 October to beat the Sunday; ADT-1 on 12 October; PF and ESI on 15 October; GSTR-3B and tax payment on 19 October to avoid Dussehra; AOC-4 on 27 October; and, on 30 October, Forms 140 and 143 for the quarter along with ITR-6. It finishes MSME Form I on the same day, because two of its suppliers were paid late.

Case 2: A consultant on QRMP

A proprietor offering design services in Indore is on the quarterly scheme with a tax audit. She files quarterly GSTR-1 on 13 October and GSTR-3B on 22 October, since Madhya Pradesh is in the first group. Her TDS on professional fees she pays is deposited by 7 October and reported in Form 140 by 31 October. Her income tax return, with the tax audit report already uploaded, is due on 31 October as well.

Case 3: A family buying a flat from an NRI

The Menon family agrees to buy a Kochi flat from a seller living abroad, with payment scheduled for 5 October 2026. Because the payment falls after 1 October, they report and pay TDS through Form 141, Schedule E, with their own PANs, by 30 November 2026. Had they paid on 28 September, they would have needed a TAN and a quarterly non-resident statement.

Coming Up in November 2026

The tax due dates in October 2026 feed directly into November, so it helps to see what comes next.

• 7 November: TDS and TCS deposit for October 2026.
• 11 and 20 November: GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for October 2026.
• 15 November: TDS certificates for non-salary payments (Form 131) and TCS certificates (Form 133) for July to September 2026, which falls on a Sunday.
• 28 November: MGT-7 and MGT-7A for companies that held their AGM on 30 September.
• 30 November: ITR for transfer pricing cases for AY 2026-27, and Form 141 for TDS deducted in October.
• 30 November: the last date to claim input tax credit for FY 2025-26 under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, and to correct FY 2025-26 invoices in GSTR-1. Start your reconciliation in October so that November is only for fixing gaps; the GST ITC reconciliation tool can help.

If you missed anything last month, our calendar of tax due dates for September 2026 lists the dates that have just passed.

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: Treat 30 October as Your Real Deadline

The tax due dates October 2026 brings are not individually difficult, but together they make one of the busiest months of the compliance year, and the new Rules have shifted enough dates to trip up anyone working from memory. The practical plan is simple: clear the 7 October deposit and Form 121 upload in the first week, file GST returns a working day early around Sunday the 11th and Dussehra, finish company filings in the third week, and aim to complete the quarterly statements and audit-case returns by Friday, 30 October.

Before you work through the tax due dates in October 2026, check for pending September 2023 GST returns, because once they are barred there is no way back. For deeper guidance, visit our complete TDS Guide, our complete GST Guide, and the latest posts in our Tax Updates hub.

For official references, see the Income Tax Department’s Form 143 user manual, the Form 121 FAQs, the GST portal, and the MCA portal.