> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.pragmachartered.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Prepare a client's TDS return > Keep deductees, record deductions and challans, clear the quarter's checks, export the FVU input file and record the filing. ![A client's TDS tab in the Deductions view, highlighting the View, Quarter and Show filters and the Record payment button](https://help.pragmachartered.com/images/compliance/tds.png) The **TDS** tab covers a client's non-salary deductions: Form 26Q for residents and 27Q for non-residents (Form No. 140 / 144 from tax year 2026-27). Salary TDS is handled with [payroll](https://help.pragmachartered.com/compliance/payroll.md). Owners can work on every client; Managers and Preparers only on clients assigned to them. Connector admins and Client portal users do not see the tab. Open **Clients**, select the client, then **Tax → TDS**. Each view has a **View** filter in its toolbar; most views also have a **Quarter** filter. Pragma prepares the working paper and the FVU input file. It does not run the FVU, pay a challan or file the return; you do that and then record the result here. ## Before you start * **TAN.** Tax is deducted, deposited and returned under the deductor's TAN. If the client has no TAN, the tab says so and deductions and challans cannot be recorded until it is added with **Edit profile** (see [Manage clients](https://help.pragmachartered.com/clients/manage-clients.md)). You can set up deductees in the meantime. * **Archived clients.** An archived client's TDS records are read-only. Restore the client to change them. * **Dates.** Pragma's TDS rates start on 1 April 2024. Payments before that are not computed here. ## Add deductees Deductees are the parties the client deducts tax from: contractors, professionals, landlords, non-residents. Recording a purchase for TDS also saves its supplier here. **1. Open the deductee form** Set **View** to **Deductees** and select **Add deductee**, or click a row to edit it. You can search by name, PAN or GSTIN. **2. Fill in the details** Complete the fields below. If the GSTIN contains a PAN and the **PAN** box is empty, the form offers it. Select **Use it** to copy it in; the form never fills it in for you. **3. Save** Select **Add deductee** (or **Save deductee** when editing). **Remove** deletes a deductee, but only one with no entries: the entries are the record of what was deducted. | Field | What to enter or check | | - | - | | **Name** | The deductee's name, up to 120 characters. | | **PAN** | Five letters, four digits and a letter. The fourth letter gives the holder status, shown under the box. Leave it blank if the deductee has not given a PAN; tax is then deducted at the higher of the section's rate and 20% (5% for 194Q and 194-O). Two deductees of the same client cannot share a PAN. | | **Residency** | **Resident (26Q)** or **Non-resident (27Q)**. You cannot change it once the deductee has entries. | | **Holder status** | Shown only when there is no valid PAN. Choose who the deductee is, because it decides the rate under sections such as 194C. | | **GSTIN** | Optional 15-character GSTIN. | | Transporter checkbox | Residents only, and only with a PAN. For a transporter who declared owning ten or fewer goods carriages: 194C payments are made without deduction and reported with reason T. | | **Country of residence**, **Tax ID in that country**, **Address there**, **Email**, **Phone**, **Tax residency certificate** | Non-residents only. Without a PAN, giving all of these lifts the 20% rate on interest, royalty, fees for technical services, dividends and payments for a capital asset. The form tells you whether the particulars are complete. | | Specified person checkbox | Section 206AB, for payments up to 31 March 2025 only. | | **Lower / nil deduction certificates** | Select **Add certificate** and enter **Certificate no.**, **Section**, **Rate (%)**, **Amount limit**, **Valid from** and **Valid to**. A certificate needs a PAN, and each certificate number can appear only once. The certificate rate applies within its dates and up to its amount; beyond either, the section's rate applies. | ## Record deductions **1. Start from a purchase or from scratch** To work from the client's approved bills, set **View** to **Purchases to check**. It lists purchases [approved in review](https://help.pragmachartered.com/invoices/review-and-approve.md) (status **Approved**) and dated in the quarter that have not yet been recorded for TDS or set aside. Click a row or choose **Record TDS…** from its actions menu. Purchases without an invoice date are shown as a count of **undated** and cannot be placed in a quarter until the date is added in review. To record a payment with no purchase behind it, open **Deductions** and select **Record payment**. **2. Fill in the entry** Choose the **Deductee** (or **New deductee** to add one without leaving the form), then **Entry** (**Payment or credit** or **Credit note**) and **Section**. Enter the dates and amount from the table below. A purchase prefills the form; GST shown separately on the bill is left out of the amount taxed. **3. Check the computation** The **Computed** box recalculates as you type and shows the **Basis**, **Rate**, **TDS**, the amount **Taxed on** and the **Year's total to this deductee**. Aggregate thresholds are counted across the deductee's whole financial year. When a bill crosses one, tax on earlier bills below it is added (**Includes earlier bills**). If you entered a **Date of deduction**, it also shows **Deposit due**. If the box shows a refusal, correct the date, section or rate. **Record** stays unavailable until the entry can be computed. **4. Save** Select **Record** (or **Save** when editing). The entry appears in **Deductions** with its **Flags**. Use **Show → Needs attention** to find entries that need action, such as **Deduction date missing**, **Not under a challan**, **No PAN: higher rate**, **Deposited late** or **Recompute**. | Field | What to enter or check | | - | - | | **Date of payment / credit** | The earlier of the payment and the credit to the party's account. It cannot be after today. | | **Amount paid / credited** (**Credit note amount**) | Excluding GST shown separately on the bill. | | **Bill / invoice no.** | Optional, up to 64 characters. A deductee cannot have two entries of the same kind with the same bill number under the same section. | | **Date of deduction** | Leave blank until the tax is actually deducted. It cannot be before the payment or credit date. You need it before the entry can go under a challan. | | **Months of rent this bill covers** | Rent sections only, from 1 to 12. | | **Rate (%)**, **Rate under**, **Surcharge (%)**, **Payment is**, **Nature of remittance** | Section 195 (non-residents) only. **Rate (%)** is required: the Act's rate before surcharge and cess, or the treaty's rate, which already includes them. **Rate under** says which it is. Surcharge cannot be entered for a treaty rate. | | Client-bears-the-tax checkbox | 195 payments only, not credit notes. The amount entered is what the non-resident receives, and the tax is grossed up on top of it. | | **Use a different rate** | Overrides the computed rate. Enter **Rate (%)** and **Why** (at least 3 characters), for example a certificate not yet on file. The reason is saved with the entry and in the audit trail. | | Ledger checkbox | Shown for a purchase that has a ledger. Suggests this section for every bill posted to that ledger. | | **Note** | Optional, up to 300 characters. | > [!TIP] > > If a purchase carries no TDS, choose **Set aside: no TDS…** from its actions menu and enter **Why no TDS** (at least 3 characters), for example goods below the 194Q limit, a reimbursement or an exempt payee. It then appears under **Show → Set aside**, and you can return it to the list with **Bring back**. When an entry is flagged **Recompute**, open it and select **Apply** to save the new figure. **Remove** deletes an entry; later entries of the same deductee and section are flagged if the year's computation changes for them. You cannot edit, recompute or remove an entry that is under a challan. Take it off the challan first. ## Record challans and place deductions under them **1. Record the challan** Set **View** to **Challans** and select **Record challan**. Enter the details from the challan counterfoil (see the table below) and select **Record challan**. Click a row to correct it (**Save challan**) or **Remove** it. **2. Place deductions under it** In **Deductions**, tick the entries the challan paid for and select **Place under challan**. Choose the **Challan** and select **Place under challan**. The panel shows how much tax the selected entries still need and how much of each challan is unallocated. To undo, select the entries and choose **Take off challan**. | Field | What to enter | | - | - | | **Return** | **26Q: residents** or **27Q: non-residents**. You cannot change it once deductions are under the challan. | | **Minor head** | **200: TDS payable by taxpayer** or **400: regular assessment**. | | **BSR code** | The bank branch's 7-digit BSR code. | | **Challan serial no.** | The challan's 5-digit serial number. The same BSR code, serial and date cannot be recorded twice for a client. | | **Date of deposit** | Cannot be after today. | | **Income tax**, **Surcharge**, **Health and education cess**, **Interest**, **Fee (late filing)**, **Penalty / others** | Whole rupees as printed on the counterfoil. At least one amount must be above zero. You cannot reduce tax, surcharge and cess below what is already allocated. | | **Note** | Optional, up to 300 characters. | A challan can carry no more tax than it deposited. Each entry you place under it must be from the challan's own quarter and return (26Q or 27Q), must have a **Date of deduction**, and must not be a credit note. ## Clear the return's checks and export it ![Return working paper view of the TDS tab, highlighting the Return and Sheet filters and the Mark filed, Deductor details and Export buttons](https://help.pragmachartered.com/images/compliance/tds-return.png) **1. Open the working paper** Set **View** to **Return working paper**, choose the **Quarter** and the **Return**. The tiles show the due date (or the filed date), **Tax deducted**, **Interest due** against interest paid, and the **Late-filing fee**. **2. Clear the checks** In **Sheet → Checks**, each row is labelled **Fix before filing**, **Check** or **For the file**, with the number of entries it concerns. Fix every **Fix before filing** row where the data lives: in the deduction, the deductee, the challan, or the client's profile. **Deductee annexure** and **Challan annexure** show the rows as they go into the return. **3. Complete the deductor details** Select **Deductor details**. The deductor's name, PAN, TAN, registered address, email and phone come from the client's profile, and anything missing is marked **Missing**. Correct those on the client's profile. Here, choose the **Deductor type** (defaulted from the entity type where possible) and **Branch / division** (blank reports NA). Then enter the person responsible for deduction: **Name**, **Designation**, **PAN**, **Email** and **Mobile** (a 10-digit Indian mobile number). Tick the address checkbox if their address differs from the client's, and enter it (**PIN code** six digits, **State** from the list). Select **Save details**. **4. Create the FVU input file** Choose **Export → FVU input file (.txt)**. For Form 26Q or 27Q, if the deductor's or the responsible person's address changed since the last return, tick the matching box. Then select **Create file**. If something is missing, the panel lists what stops the file under **The file cannot be created yet:**, with a **Deductor details** shortcut. Once the file downloads, keep its name unchanged: FVU accepts file names of up to 12 characters. Validate it in Protean's FVU with the challan file (.csi) downloaded for the TAN, then file the .fvu file it produces. > [!NOTE] > > **Export** also offers **Working paper (.xlsx)** and each annexure as CSV. Excel drops the leading zeros of BSR codes and challan serials when it opens a CSV, so use the .xlsx file in Excel. ## Record the filing After filing, select **Mark filed** in the working-paper toolbar for that return. Enter **Filed on** (the date on the provisional receipt; it must be after the quarter ends and not in the future) and, optionally, the 15-digit **Token number**, which the next quarter's statement quotes. Select **Save filing**. The button then shows the filed date. 26Q and 27Q are marked separately, and each return's late-filing fee stops on its own filing date. To undo a filing recorded by mistake, open it and select **Not filed**, then **Mark not filed**. The late-filing fee then runs to today again, unless the quarter is marked filed on the [compliance calendar](https://help.pragmachartered.com/compliance/calendar.md). ## If something is refused > [accordion] No TAN or archived client > > "This client has no TAN recorded. Tax is deducted and deposited under the deductor's TAN; add it on the client's profile first." Add the TAN on the client's profile. > > "This client is archived, so its TDS records are read-only. Restore the client to change them." > [accordion] Duplicates > > "That PAN is already recorded for …. Use that deductee, or correct the PAN." > > "This purchase already has a TDS entry. Open that entry to change it." This also appears if you try to set aside a purchase that has an entry. > > "This deductee already has an entry for that bill number under that section. Open it instead of recording it twice." > > "A challan with this BSR code, serial number and date is already recorded for this client." > [accordion] The section or rate cannot be computed > > "Pragma's TDS rates start on 1 April 2024. A payment before that is not computed here; record it in the earlier year's working papers." > > "That section was not in force on the date of payment or credit (194T, for one, starts on 1 April 2025). Check the date or the section." > > "That section is for the other kind of deductee: section 195 is for non-residents only, and every other section here for residents. Check the deductee's residency." > > "Enter the rate for this payment to a non-resident: the rate in force under the Act, or the tax treaty's." > [accordion] Purchases to check > > "Only a purchase approved for Tally can be recorded for TDS. Finish its review first, or record the payment by hand." > > "That item is not a purchase bill. TDS is recorded against what the client pays." > [accordion] Entries under a challan > > "This deduction is under a challan, so what it deducted is what the return reports as deposited. Take it off the challan before changing or removing it." > [accordion] Placing deductions under a challan > > "The challan deposited ₹… of tax, but these deductions need ₹…. Use another challan for the rest, or correct the challan's amounts." This also appears if you lower a challan's tax below what is already under it. > > "One of these deductions is already under another challan. Take it off that challan first." > > "A credit note is not a return row and deposits nothing, so it cannot go under a challan." > > "Record the date the tax was deducted before placing the entry under a challan: the return reports both dates." > > "A challan reports the deductions of its own quarter's return. Pick deductions of the same quarter, or correct the challan's quarter." > > "Resident deductions go in 26Q and non-resident ones in 27Q, each with its own challans. Pick a challan of the same return." > > "This is a salary challan: it deposits payroll TDS for the 24Q and is linked to payroll months, not to deductions. Pick a 26Q or 27Q challan." > [accordion] Removing or changing a challan or deductee > > "Deductions are placed under this challan. Take them off it before removing it or moving it to another quarter or return." > > "Payroll months are linked to this salary challan (…). Unlink them in the payroll's salary TDS return before removing the challan or moving it to another quarter." > > "This deductee has entries, which are the record of what was deducted. Remove the entries first, or keep the deductee." > [accordion] Someone else saved first > > "Someone else changed this item while you were editing it (you had version …, it is now …). Reload before saving again." Other field errors name the field and what it expects, for example a 7-digit BSR code, a 15-digit token number, or a filing date after the quarter ends. Correct the field and save again. > [card] Still stuck? > > [Open a case](https://app.pragmachartered.com/support) from **Help & support** in Pragma, or [book a walkthrough](https://help.pragmachartered.com/support/book-a-walkthrough.md) and the team will show you around on a call. Can't sign in? [Contact support](https://app.pragmachartered.com/contact-support). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.