What is Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is a procedure implemented by the Indian government to collect taxes at the source of income. A certain percentage of tax is deducted by the payer at the time of making payments to the receiver, and this amount is then remitted to the government. TDS is applicable to a wide range of income categories such as salaries, interest on fixed deposits, rent, commissions, etc. TDS helps prevent tax evasion and understanding it is crucial for both payers and receivers of income in India.

TDS has to be deducted at the rates prescribed by the tax department. The company or person that makes the payment after deducting TDS is called a deductor and the company or person receiving the payment is called the deducted. 
It is the deductor’s responsibility to deduct TDS before making the payment and deposit the same with the government. TDS is deducted irrespective of the mode of payment–cash, cheque or credit–and is linked to the PAN of the deductor and deducted.

Budget 2025 update

The Union Budget 2025 proposed the rationalisation of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS) to ease compliance challenges for taxpayers especially for middle-income earners. The government has raised the threshold limits across various TDS sections, aiming to simplify the tax process. The proposed changes are as follows

Section	Present	Proposed
193 - Interest on securities	NIL	10,000
194A - Interest other than Interest on securities	(i) 50,000/- for senior citizen; (ii) 40,000/- in case of others when payer is bank, cooperative society and post office (iii) 5,000/- in other cases	(i) 1,00,000/- for senior citizen (ii) 50,000/- in case of others when payer is bank, cooperative society and post office (iii) 10,000/- in other cases
194 – Dividend, for an individual shareholder	5,000	10,000
194K - Income in respect of units of a mutual fund	5,000	10,000
194B - Winnings from lottery, crossword puzzle Etc. & 194BB - Winnings from horse race	Aggregate of amounts exceeding 10,000/- during the financial year	10,000/- in respect of a single transaction
194D - Insurance commission	15,000	20,000
194G - Income by way of commission, prize etc. on lottery tickets	15,000	20,000
194H - Commission or brokerage	15,000	20,000
194-I - Rent	2,40,000 (in a financial year)	6,00,000 (in a financial year)
194J - Fee for professional or technical services	30,000	50,000
194LA - Income by way of enhanced compensation	2,50,000	5,00,000
206C(1G) – Remittance under LRS and overseas tour program package	7,00,000	10,00,000

Note: 

• The Tax Collected at Source (TCS) will be removed on remittances made for educational purposes when these remittances are financed through loans from specified financial institutions (Section 80E).
• The Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on the purchase of goods will be removed, effective from April 1, 2025.
• The higher TDS rate will only apply in cases where taxpayers do not provide PAN.

TDS is deducted on the following types of payments:

• Salaries
• Interest payments by banks
• Commission payments
• Rent payments
• Consultation fees
• Professional fees

However, individuals are not required to deduct TDS when they make rent payments or pay fees to professionals like lawyers and doctors. 

TDS is one kind of advance tax. It is tax that is to be deposited with the government periodically, and the deductor is responsible for making the deposit on time. 

For the deductee, the deducted TDS can be claimed in the form of a tax refund after they file their ITR.

What is a TDS return?

 A deductor has to deposit the deducted TDS to the government and the details of the same have to be filed in the form of a TDS return. 

A TDS return has to be filed quarterly. Different types of TDS deductions have to be filed using different TDS return forms.

Preparing TDS returns can be done easily using the ClearTDS software. Reach out to us if you need any help with your TDS returns.