Tax Planning & Compliance
Compliance Calendar FY 2025-26: Every Due Date in One Place
The cost of a single missed compliance is rarely the late fee itself — it’s the cascading interest, the GST input tax credit (ITC) you can’t claim, the ROC strike-off risk, and the time spent responding to notices. We see the same five or six deadlines slip every quarter at firms that haven’t built a calendar.
This is the master compliance calendar we hand our clients on day one. Bookmark it.
How to use this calendar
- All dates assume FY 2025-26 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) and the corresponding AY 2026-27 for income tax.
- Dates falling on Sundays / public holidays push to the next working day, but rely on official notification — don’t assume.
- Penalty references are indicative; check the latest CBIC / CBDT notifications before relying on them.
For a personalised view of what your business owes right now, use our free Compliance Checker — it asks a few questions and gives you a clear, dated to-do list.
Recurring monthly due dates
| Compliance | Due date | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 (outward supplies) | 11th of next month | Monthly filers (turnover > ₹5 Cr or opted in) |
| GSTR-1 (QRMP) | 13th of month after quarter | Quarterly filers under QRMP |
| GSTR-3B | 20th / 22nd / 24th of next month | All regular taxpayers (date varies by state) |
| GST PMT-06 | 25th of next month | QRMP taxpayers — monthly tax payment |
| TDS payment | 7th of next month | All deductors (April TDS due 7 May) |
| TCS payment | 7th of next month | All collectors |
| EPF contribution | 15th of next month | Establishments with ≥ 20 employees |
| EPF return (ECR) | 15th of next month | Same |
| ESI contribution + return | 15th of next month | Establishments covered |
| Professional tax | Varies by state (typically 10th–21st) | Employers in PT states |
Quarterly due dates
| Compliance | Period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| TDS return Form 24Q / 26Q / 27Q | Q1 (Apr-Jun 2025) | 31 July 2025 |
| Q2 (Jul-Sep 2025) | 31 October 2025 | |
| Q3 (Oct-Dec 2025) | 31 January 2026 | |
| Q4 (Jan-Mar 2026) | 31 May 2026 | |
| TCS return Form 27EQ | Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 | 15 days after TDS due dates |
| Form 16A (TDS certificate) | Q1 / Q2 / Q3 | 15 days after return |
| Q4 | 15 June 2026 | |
| Form 16 (salary) | Annual | 15 June 2026 |
| Advance tax | Q1 | 15 June 2025 (15%) |
| Q2 | 15 September 2025 (45% cumulative) | |
| Q3 | 15 December 2025 (75% cumulative) | |
| Q4 | 15 March 2026 (100%) | |
| Sec 44ADA / 44AD presumptive — single advance tax instalment | Annual | 15 March 2026 |
Annual income tax due dates (AY 2026-27)
| Compliance | Due date |
|---|---|
| ITR for individuals / HUFs (no audit) | 31 July 2026 |
| Tax audit report (Form 3CA / 3CB-3CD) | 30 September 2026 |
| ITR for audit cases | 31 October 2026 |
| Transfer pricing report (Form 3CEB) | 31 October 2026 |
| ITR for TP cases | 30 November 2026 |
| Belated / revised return | 31 December 2026 |
| Updated return (ITR-U) | Up to 31 March 2030 |
| Form 10B / 10BB (trusts) | One month before ITR due date |
| Form 67 (foreign tax credit) | Before due date of original return |
If you’re filing for AY 2026-27, our complete ITR filing guide walks through form selection and documentation.
Annual GST due dates
| Compliance | Period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-9 (annual return) | FY 2025-26 | 31 December 2026 |
| GSTR-9C (reconciliation, turnover > ₹5 Cr) | FY 2025-26 | 31 December 2026 |
| GSTR-4 (composition) | FY 2025-26 | 30 June 2026 |
| CMP-08 (composition quarterly) | Q1–Q4 | 18th of month after quarter |
| ITC-04 (job work) | H1 / H2 | 25th of month after period |
ROC / MCA due dates
| Form | Purpose | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| DPT-3 | Return of deposits (companies) | 30 June 2026 |
| MSME Form-1 | Half-yearly outstanding dues to MSMEs | 30 April / 31 October |
| DIR-3 KYC | Director KYC | 30 September 2026 |
| AOC-4 / AOC-4 XBRL | Financial statements | Within 30 days of AGM |
| MGT-7 / MGT-7A | Annual return | Within 60 days of AGM |
| Form 11 (LLP) | Annual return of LLP | 30 May 2026 |
| Form 8 (LLP) | Statement of accounts (LLP) | 30 October 2026 |
| AGM | Annual General Meeting | Within 6 months of FY end (by 30 Sep 2026) |
Penalties at a glance
| Default | Penalty / interest |
|---|---|
| Late GSTR-3B / GSTR-1 | ₹50/day (₹20/day for nil) capped at ₹5,000 + 18% p.a. interest on tax |
| Late GSTR-9 | 0.04% of turnover per day (CGST + SGST), capped at 0.04% |
| Late TDS payment | 1.5% per month from deduction date till payment |
| Late TDS return | ₹200/day (Sec 234E) capped at TDS amount + ₹10,000–₹1,00,000 (Sec 271H) |
| Late ITR (Sec 234F) | ₹1,000 (income ≤ ₹5L) / ₹5,000 (income > ₹5L) |
| Late ROC filing | ₹100/day, no maximum (compounds quickly) |
| Late EPF | 12% interest p.a. + damages 5–25% |
That ₹100/day ROC penalty looks small until you realise it has no cap. We’ve seen one client carry a single missed AOC-4 for 18 months before discovery — ₹54,000 in additional penalty alone.
Building a compliance system, not a checklist
A calendar like this is necessary but not sufficient. The firms that never miss deadlines do three things:
- Centralise filings under one calendar tool (Outlook / Google Calendar with shared visibility, or a compliance management system) — not in WhatsApp groups or someone’s notebook.
- Build a 7-day pre-deadline buffer into every recurring date. If GSTR-3B is due on the 20th, your data should be reconciled by the 13th.
- Automate reconciliations — GSTR-2B vs purchase register, TDS vs 26AS, EPF challans vs payroll. We deploy RPA bots for clients running 5+ GSTINs to do this overnight; for smaller firms, even a Power Query refresh works.
If your finance function is missing more than one deadline a quarter, the issue isn’t discipline — it’s process. Talk to us about a Virtual CFO retainer and we’ll build the compliance machinery for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the most commonly missed compliance?
DIR-3 KYC for directors and MSME Form-1. Both are annual / half-yearly and easy to forget. The DIN gets deactivated if KYC is missed, and reactivation costs ₹5,000 plus the time it takes to file.
Is GSTR-9 mandatory for everyone?
GSTR-9 is mandatory for all regular taxpayers with turnover above ₹2 Cr in FY 2025-26. GSTR-9C (reconciliation) applies above ₹5 Cr. Composition dealers file GSTR-4 instead.
Can advance tax be paid in one go on 15 March?
Yes, but you’ll attract Sec 234C interest for shortfall in earlier instalments. The 15 June, 15 September, and 15 December dates are statutory checkpoints for individuals who have business income or significant non-salary income.
What if the due date falls on a Sunday or public holiday?
Most compliances allow filing on the next working day, but for income tax, the practice has tightened — file the previous working day to be safe. GST portal generally accommodates the next working day.
Does the compliance checker tool cover all of these?
Our Compliance Checker covers the most common business compliances — GST, TDS, income tax, ROC, EPF, ESI. For specialised filings (RBI, FEMA, SEBI, MCA reactivations), we recommend a one-on-one scoping call.
Related reading
- ITR Filing FY 2025-26: The Complete Guide
- TDS Rate Chart FY 2025-26
- New vs Old Tax Regime FY 2025-26
- Try our free Compliance Checker for a tailored deadline list.
Written by
CA Pardeep Jha
Chartered Accountant · ICAI Membership No. 520555 · FRN 024234N. 15+ years advising MSMEs, startups, NRIs, and high-growth businesses on tax, compliance, and financial automation.
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