India tax compliance calendar — 2026

Every deadline on this page is the statutory base case from the CGST Rules, the Income Tax Act 1961, the EPF Scheme and the ESI Regulations. The CBIC and CBDT sometimes extend specific dates via notification — we update this page when an extension is gazetted. For the binding date, always cross-check the linked authority for each entry.

Monthly GSTR-1 (due on the 11th of the next month) is for taxpayers with previous-FY aggregate turnover above ₹5 crore — or anyone who has not opted into QRMP. Quarterly GSTR-1 under the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme is due on the 13th of the month after each quarter end, and is available only to taxpayers with previous-FY turnover up to ₹5 crore who have opted in via the GST portal. QRMP filers may still upload B2B invoices via the optional IFF for the first two months of the quarter.

Notification 21/2021-Central Tax (and subsequent reaffirmations) splits QRMP taxpayers into two groups based on the principal place of business. Group I (mostly south and west: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Chhattisgarh, plus a few UTs) files by the 22nd. Group II (mostly north, east and central: HP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, the North-East, WB, Jharkhand, Odisha, J&K, Ladakh, Chandigarh and Delhi) files by the 24th. The grouping reduces peak-day load on the GSTN system.

TDS deducted during March must be deposited by 30 April of the next FY under Rule 30 — not the usual 7th-of-next-month deadline. This applies to non-government deductors. Government deductors making payment without a challan must deposit on the same day as deduction.

Section 211 of the Income Tax Act prescribes four cumulative instalments: 15 June (15%), 15 September (45%), 15 December (75%) and 15 March (100%). Section 234C levies 1% per month interest on any shortfall against these thresholds. Assessees opting for the presumptive scheme under Sec 44AD/44ADA pay 100% in a single instalment by 15 March.

All three are quarterly TDS returns under Rule 31A. 24Q reports salary TDS (Sec 192) — its Q4 filing carries Annexure II with the full-year salary break-up that feeds Form 16. 26Q reports TDS on non-salary payments to residents (Sec 193, 194-anything except 194E/195/196A-D etc.). 27Q reports TDS on payments to non-residents under Sec 195 and similar. Form 27EQ is the TCS return.

FY 2025-26 corresponds to assessment year 2026-27. The base-case due dates under Sec 139(1): 31 July 2026 for non-audit individuals/HUFs/AOPs/BOIs, 31 October 2026 for audit cases and companies, and 30 November 2026 for taxpayers required to furnish a transfer-pricing report u/s 92E. Belated and revised returns can be filed up to 31 December 2026 — but loss carry-forward (other than house property) is forfeited.

The .ics file is generated on demand from this page's data. The 'Download iCal' button gives you a snapshot. The 'Subscribe in Google Calendar' link, by contrast, points Google Calendar at hellobooks.ai/tax-calendar/2026/ics — so if we publish an extension during the year, your calendar will reflect it on the next refresh (typically within 24 hours).

Yes. Both returns are mandatory even when there is no outward supply and no tax payable. The portal accepts a nil filing via SMS for GSTR-3B (send 'NIL 3B GSTIN TaxPeriod' to 14409 from the authorised mobile number). Late fee for nil returns is ₹20 per day, capped at ₹500 (after recent notifications), but the bigger penalty is that subsequent returns are blocked till the nil return is filed.

Late fee under Sec 47(2) of the CGST Act and Notification 07/2023-Central Tax: ₹50/day (CGST 25 + SGST 25) capped at 0.04% of state turnover for AATO up to ₹5 crore; ₹100/day capped at 0.04% for ₹5–20 crore; ₹200/day capped at 0.5% above ₹20 crore. Interest under Sec 50 applies if additional tax is identified during reconciliation. Persistent non-filing can trigger Sec 73/74 assessment proceedings.

HelloBooks ships an India compliance dashboard that surfaces every upcoming deadline by GSTIN and PAN, auto-prepares GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B JSON for portal upload, generates 24Q/26Q TXT files for the TIN-FC utility, and emails reminders 7 days and 1 day before each due date. The Free plan covers all of this — no add-on, no per-return charge.