TDS Return Filing Fees: Quick Answer
A TDS filing fee should cover preparing and filing each quarterly return, matching challans and deductee PANs, and issuing TDS certificates. Fees depend on how many deductees and returns you have, so compare written quotes. At Tax Garden, TDS filings are Rs 3,000 a month for up to 200 transactions and Rs 5,000 above that, or included in the Rs 2,100 Retail Shops GST Package (up to 200 TDS transactions). A late return costs Rs 200 a day under Section 234E.
TDS filing quotes vary a lot between providers because the work varies: a company with five salaried staff files one simple return a quarter, while a business paying dozens of contractors, landlords and consultants files two or three, each with many deductees. This guide explains what drives the fee, what is usually extra, and how to compare.
Which TDS Returns a Business Files
| Payment | Return up to FY 2025-26 | Return from Tax Year 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Form 24Q | Form 138 |
| Other payments to residents (contractors, rent, professional fees, interest) | Form 26Q | Form 140 |
| Payments to non-residents | Form 27Q | Form 144 |
| TCS (tax collected at source) | Form 27EQ | Form 143 |
Returns are quarterly. The new form numbers come from Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. See our TDS return filing guide for due dates.
What Drives the Fee
- Number of deductees and challans in each quarter
- Number of return types: salary only, or salary plus contractor, rent and professional payments
- Number of TANs or branches
- State of your records: missing PANs, wrong section codes and unmatched challans take time to fix
- Back quarters: returns for earlier periods that were never filed
What a Quarterly Fee Should Cover
| Usually included | Often billed separately |
|---|---|
| Preparing and validating the return (RPU and FVU) | Correction statements after a CPC-TDS default |
| Matching challans and deductee PANs | Replies to TDS default notices |
| Filing and acknowledgement | Returns for back quarters |
| Downloading Form 16 and 16A from TRACES | Lower or nil deduction certificate applications |
| Due-date reminders | Late fee and interest reconciliation |
Ask for the scope in writing before you sign up, especially for corrections and back quarters.
Tax Garden's TDS Filing Prices
From our pricing page, per month unless stated:
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| TDS filings, up to 200 transactions | Rs 3,000 |
| TDS filings, above 200 transactions (up to 500) | Rs 5,000 |
| TDS filings, above 500 transactions | Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 (quote) |
| Retail Shops GST Package (GSTR-1 and 3B plus TDS up to 200 transactions) | Rs 2,100 |
| Compliance Standard (GST, TDS, ROC and ITR) | Rs 6,200 |
| TDS correction or amendment | Rs 1,000 per correction |
| Late fee and interest reconciliation | Rs 2,500 |
| Lower or nil deduction certificate | Rs 30,000 |
Filings come with same-day acknowledgements, and Kavach covers up to Rs 50,000 in service charges for clerical errors made by our team.
What Late or Wrong Filing Costs
These are statutory costs you pay whoever files for you, so they are the real benchmark for any fee:
| Default | Cost |
|---|---|
| Late TDS return | Rs 200 per day until filed, capped at the TDS amount in the return (Section 234E) |
| Return not filed within one year of the due date, or wrong particulars | Penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 (Section 271H) |
| TDS not deducted | Interest at 1% per month |
| TDS deducted but deposited late | Interest at 1.5% per month |
A return filed one month late with Rs 20,000 of TDS costs about Rs 6,000 in late fee alone (Rs 200 x 30 days). Our Section 234E and 271H guide has worked examples.
Doing It Yourself
You can file TDS returns without paying anyone. Protean provides a free Return Preparation Utility (RPU) and File Validation Utility (FVU), and the validated file is uploaded through your TAN login on the income tax e-filing portal. You need correct PANs, section codes and challan details for every entry, and you download certificates from TRACES yourself.
DIY works for a business with a few deductees and clean records. With many contractors, monthly salary changes, or past defaults to clear, the time and correction risk usually justify outside help.
How to Compare Quotes
- List your return types and the number of deductees per quarter.
- Ask each provider for a written quote that names every return, and whether corrections, notices and back quarters are included.
- Check whether GST at 18% is extra.
- Compare the yearly total, not the quarterly headline, against the late fee you would risk.
For contractor and professional-fee TDS rules, see our guides to Section 194C and Section 194J.
