What is the due date for Form 16A or Form 131?

Form 131 must be issued within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement. With statements due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May, the certificates are due by 15 August, 15 November, 15 February and 15 June. The fourth-quarter Form 16A for January–March 2026, under the old Act, was due on 15 June 2026.

Can I download Form 16A myself as the payee?

No. Only the deductor, logged in to TRACES with its TAN, can generate and download Form 131 or Form 16A. As the payee you can check every deduction against your PAN in the Annual Information Statement on the e-filing portal, and you can verify a certificate you receive using the 'Verify TDS Certificate' option on TRACES.

What is the difference between Form 16 and Form 16A?

Form 16 (now Form 130) is the annual certificate an employer issues for TDS on salary, due by 15 June after the end of the tax year. Form 16A (now Form 131) is a quarterly certificate for TDS on everything else. A person can receive both: Form 130 from an employer and Form 131 from a bank, tenant or client.

Form 132 replaced Forms 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E. It is the certificate for tax deducted through the Form 141 challan-cum-statement — on property purchases, rent paid by individuals not under audit, large contract or professional payments by such individuals, and virtual digital assets. It is due within 15 days from the due date for furnishing Form 141.

What is the penalty for not issuing Form 16A?

The deductor is liable to ₹500 a day for every day the certificate is late, under section 465 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (old section 272A(2)(g)), capped at the tax deductible. The payee does not lose the credit in the meantime if the deductor has filed the quarterly statement, because the credit flows from the statement.

Income tax & TDS

Form 16A and the New Form 131: The TDS Certificate for Non-Salary Payments (2026)

Form 16A became Form 131 for TDS deducted from 1 April 2026. What it shows, quarterly due dates, TRACES download steps, Form 132, penalties and worked ₹ examples.

Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources

Updated October 2026 Verified against official sources 12 October 2026 16 min read

Form 16A and the new Form 131 — TDS certificate for non-salary payments — MSMETOOLS guide cover

Contents (11)

1. What Form 16A was, and what Form 131 is now
2. What the certificate shows
3. Due dates for Form 131
4. How deductors download Form 131 from TRACES
5. How payees use and check Form 131
6. Form 16 versus Form 16A
7. Worked examples in ₹
8. Penalties and other consequences for deductors
9. Common mistakes and how to fix them
10. What changed under the Income-tax Act, 2025
11. What to do next

Anyone who earns from more than a salary meets Form 16A sooner or later. A consultant billing companies, a contractor on a factory job, a landlord letting a showroom, a commission agent and an investor with a large fixed deposit all receive one from each payer that deducted tax. This guide is for those payees and for the businesses that must issue the certificates. It explains how Form 16A became Form 131 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, what the certificate shows, the quarterly due dates, how deductors download it from TRACES, how payees check it, and what happens when it is late or wrong — with worked examples in rupees.

Quick answer

Form 16A is the quarterly certificate of TDS on payments other than salary. For tax deducted from 1 April 2026 it is Form 131, issued under section 395(4) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The deductor downloads it from TRACES after filing the quarterly statement and must issue it within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement — by 15 August, 15 November, 15 February and 15 June.

Covers professional fees, contracts, rent, commission, interest, dividends and payments to non-residents
Deductions made by individuals through Form 141 get Form 132 instead (old 16B/16C/16D/16E)
Only the deductor can download it; payees check credits in the AIS
Late issue: ₹500 a day, capped at the tax
Form 16A still applies to deductions up to 31 March 2026

What Form 16A was, and what Form 131 is now

Under the 1961 Act, section 203 required every deductor to give the payee a certificate of tax deducted, and rule 31 prescribed Form 16 for salary and Form 16A for other payments. The Income-tax Act, 2025 moved that duty to section 395(4)(a), which requires every person deducting tax to issue a certificate stating the tax deducted, the rate and other prescribed particulars within the prescribed time. Rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 then prescribes four certificates.

Form 131 is the one that replaces Form 16A. Rule 215(1) Table Sl. No. 2 applies it to deductions under section 392(7) (payments of accumulated provident fund balances), under section 393(1) other than four specific rows, and under sections 393(2) and 393(3). In plain terms: professional and technical fees, contract payments, rent paid by businesses, commission, interest, dividends, insurance commission, purchase of goods, e-commerce payments, winnings, and all payments to non-residents.

The four rows left out of Form 131 are those individuals report through the Form 141 challan-cum-statement: rent paid by individuals and HUFs not under audit, purchase of immovable property, large contract and professional payments by such individuals, and transfers of virtual digital assets. Their certificate is Form 132, which merged the old Forms 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E.

Certificate	Old form	New form	Issued for	Due
Salary TDS	Form 16	Form 130	s.392 salary	15 June after the end of the tax year
Non-salary TDS	Form 16A	Form 131	s.392(7), s.393(1) most rows, s.393(2), s.393(3)	within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement
Form 141 deductions	Forms 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E	Form 132	Rent by individuals, property, s.393(1) Sl. 6(ii), VDA	within 15 days from the due date for furnishing Form 141
TCS	Form 27D	Form 133	s.394(1)	Within 15 days of the TCS statement due date

What the certificate shows

Form 131 keeps the structure practitioners knew from Form 16A. Part A carries the certificate details — a certificate number generated by TRACES, the period — and the particulars of the deductor (name, address, TAN and PAN) and the deductee (name, address and PAN). Part B summarises the payments made to the deductee in the quarter and the tax deducted on them, with the section and rate. A challan section lists how the tax was deposited — the challan identification number made up of the bank's BSR code, the date of deposit and the challan serial number, or book-adjustment details for government deductors. A declaration signed by the deductor closes the form.

For the payee, the figures that matter are the PAN, the amounts paid and the TDS against each, and the challan status. If the PAN is wrong, the credit has gone to someone else; if the challan shows as unmatched, the deductor's deposit has not been linked to your deduction and the credit will not appear in your tax statement until it is fixed.

Form 131 at a glance (2026-27)

Quarterly

Frequency

one per deductor per quarter

15 days

After the statement due date

rule 215(1) Sl. 2

TRACES only

Where it is generated

self-made certificates are not valid

₹500 a day

Penalty for delay

s.465, capped at the tax

Due dates for Form 131

Rule 215 ties the certificate to the quarterly statement: Form 131 is due within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement. Statements of non-salary TDS — Form 140 for payments to residents and Form 144 for non-residents — are due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. That gives four certificate dates a year.

Form 131 due dates for tax year 2026-27

15 August 2026

April–June quarter (statement due 31 July)

15 November 2026

July–September quarter (statement due 31 October)

15 February 2027

October–December quarter (statement due 31 January)

15 June 2027

January–March quarter (statement due 31 May)

The certificate cannot be produced until TRACES has processed the statement, so a deductor who files on the last day leaves itself little time. If the statement is rejected or processed with defaults that block the download, the certificate will be late even though the deductor acted in good faith. Filing the statement a week or two early is the simplest protection.

Deductions made before 1 April 2026 stay on the old forms. The January–March 2026 quarter was the last for Form 16A: its Form 26Q statement was due on 31 May 2026 and the Form 16A on 15 June 2026. If a 2025-26 certificate needs correcting now, the deductor corrects the Form 26Q and reissues a Form 16A; it cannot be replaced with a Form 131.

How deductors download Form 131 from TRACES

Rule 215(1) requires the certificate to be generated and downloaded from the portal specified by the Director General of Income-tax (Systems), which is TRACES. A certificate typed up in the deductor's own accounting software, or an Excel summary, does not meet the rule. The steps below follow the long-standing Form 16A process on TRACES; menu names may show the new form number, so check the screens.

Downloading Form 131 from TRACES

1
Check the statement status
The quarter's Form 140 or Form 144 must show 'Statement processed with default' or 'without default'. Fix rejections first.
2
Log in as deductor
Use your TRACES user ID, password and TAN.
Open TRACES
3
Request the certificates
Under Downloads, choose the non-salary certificate, select the tax year, quarter and form type, and search for one PAN or request all deductees in bulk.
4
Pass KYC validation
Validate with your registered digital signature, or without it by entering the token number of the regular statement for that quarter and challan and deduction details from it.
5
Collect the file
Note the request number and track it under Downloads → Requested Downloads; when it shows 'Available', download the zip file.
6
Convert and sign
Open the TRACES PDF generation utility, select the zip, enter your TAN in capitals as the password, and generate one PDF per deductee — digitally signed if you choose.
Tip: Rule 215(4)-(5): digitally signed certificates must not be editable afterwards, must carry a control number, and you must keep a log.

Send each payee their certificate by email or through a vendor portal, and keep a record of when you sent it. Rule 215(3) allows a duplicate if a payee loses the original, marked as a duplicate. A payee paid by several units of the same business under one TAN gets one certificate per quarter; a payee paid by two different deductors gets a separate certificate from each.

Form 131 for non-residents and lower-rate payees

Form 131 is also the certificate for payments to non-residents. When a business pays a foreign consultant, an overseas software supplier or an NRI landlord, it deducts under section 393(2), reports the payment in Form 144 rather than Form 140, and downloads the non-resident's Form 131 from TRACES in the same way. The non-resident needs it to claim credit in an Indian return and, often, a foreign tax credit at home, so send it promptly and in English.

Where a payee gave you a lower deduction certificate or a Form 121 declaration, the statement still reports the payment with the right flag. If you deducted at a lower rate, the Form 131 shows that lower amount; if you deducted nothing under a declaration, there is no tax to certify, but the payment still appears in the payee's AIS.

Residential apartment blocks under construction along a wide city road — Contractors, consultants and suppliers on a project like this receive a Form 131 each quarter from every business that deducted TDS from their bills.· Image: Oviyan2014 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How payees use and check Form 131

You do not attach Form 131 to your return, and you do not need it in hand to claim the credit. The return draws TDS credit from the Annual Information Statement (Form 168, formerly Form 26AS) on the e-filing portal, which is fed by the deductor's quarterly statement. The certificate is your evidence and your way of spotting problems early: compare each certificate with the AIS entry for that deductor, quarter and amount.

To confirm a certificate is genuine, use the "Verify TDS Certificate" option on the TRACES home page, entering the deductor's TAN, your PAN, the certificate number, the tax year, the quarter and the TDS amount. A certificate that fails verification, or a deduction that appears on your invoice payment but not in the AIS, needs a call to the deductor.

If a deductor simply does not respond, you have three levers. First, show the deductor the AIS gap and the invoices — most defaults are clerical. Second, raise a grievance through the e-filing portal's grievance service, naming the deductor's TAN and the quarter, so the Department can follow up with the deductor. Third, keep the payment advice and invoices showing the deduction; they are your evidence if your return is processed with a mismatch and you need to respond to the intimation.

Only the deductor can fix errors. If your PAN was entered wrongly, the amount understated, or the challan not tagged, the deductor files a correction statement on TRACES — which section 397(3)(f) allows within two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was due — and then issues a revised certificate. Keep copies of your invoices and the payment advice showing the TDS, because they are what you will rely on if the deductor is slow.

Form 16 versus Form 16A

The two certificates are often confused because many people receive both. Form 16 — now Form 130 — comes from an employer once a year and summarises salary, exemptions, deductions and the tax deducted. Form 16A — now Form 131 — comes from anyone else who deducted tax, once a quarter, and lists only the payments and the tax. Our Form 16 and Form 130 guide covers the salary certificate in detail.

Form 130 (old Form 16) vs Form 131 (old Form 16A)

Point	Form 130 (Form 16)	Form 131 (Form 16A)
Income covered	Salary	Non-salary payments: fees, contracts, rent, commission, interest, dividends, NR payments
Issued by	Employer	Any deductor with a TAN
Frequency	Once a year	Every quarter
Due date	15 June after the end of the tax year	within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement
Generated from	Form 138 (old 24Q)	Form 140 (old 26Q) or Form 144 (old 27Q)
Shows income computation?	Yes	No — payments and TDS only

Income covered

Form 130 (Form 16): Salary
Form 131 (Form 16A): Non-salary payments: fees, contracts, rent, commission, interest, dividends, NR payments

Issued by

Form 130 (Form 16): Employer
Form 131 (Form 16A): Any deductor with a TAN

Frequency

Form 130 (Form 16): Once a year
Form 131 (Form 16A): Every quarter

Due date

Form 130 (Form 16): 15 June after the end of the tax year
Form 131 (Form 16A): within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement

Generated from

Form 130 (Form 16): Form 138 (old 24Q)
Form 131 (Form 16A): Form 140 (old 26Q) or Form 144 (old 27Q)

Shows income computation?

Form 130 (Form 16): Yes
Form 131 (Form 16A): No — payments and TDS only

Worked examples in ₹

1. A consultant's quarterly certificate. Ritu, a resident consultant, bills a company ₹1,20,000 in April–June 2026. Her fees for the year are above ₹50,000, so the company deducts 10% — ₹12,000 — and pays her ₹1,08,000. It deposits the tax by the 7th of each following month, files Form 140 by 31 July and must give Ritu a Form 131 showing ₹12,000 by 15 August 2026. Our guide to TDS on professional fees explains the rate and limit.

2. One contractor, two clients. A fabrication contractor works for two manufacturers in July–September. Each deducts TDS on its own bills and files its own Form 140, so the contractor receives two Form 131s for the quarter, by 15 November. If one client's certificate is missing, the contractor checks the AIS: if the deduction appears there, the credit is safe and only the paper is late.

3. Landlord with two kinds of tenant. A landlord lets a showroom to a private limited company and a flat to a salaried family paying ₹60,000 a month. The company deducts every month and issues Form 131 each quarter. The family deducts once, from the March rent, through Form 141, and gives the landlord a Form 132 within 15 days from the due date for furnishing Form 141. See TDS on rent.

4. Certificate issued late. A firm issues a Form 131 for July–September 2026 on 5 December 2026 instead of 15 November — 20 days late. The penalty under section 465 can be up to 20 × ₹500 a day = ₹10,000. If the TDS on that certificate was only ₹6,000, the penalty cannot exceed ₹6,000.

5. The last old-Act certificate. A bank deducted TDS on a depositor's interest in February 2026. That deduction belongs to the 1961 Act, so the bank issued a Form 16A for January–March 2026 by 15 June 2026. Interest credited from April 2026 appears on Form 131.

Check the TDS on your invoiceSee the TDS a client should deduct and the net amount you should receive — free, no login.

Penalties and other consequences for deductors

Failing to issue a certificate on time costs ₹500 a day for each day the default continues, under section 465 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, capped at the tax deductible under section 465(3). For 2025-26 certificates the same amount applies under the old section 272A(2)(g), as the Department's transition FAQs point out. The penalty is imposed by an officer, so a late certificate caused by a processing delay at TRACES can be explained.

The certificate is downstream of everything else. If the statement itself is late, the ₹200 a day fee and possibly a penalty apply; if tax was deposited late, interest at 1.5% a month or part of a month runs from the date of deduction. Our guide to TDS interest and penalties sets out each charge. For businesses, the reputational cost often matters more: contractors and consultants chase missing certificates hard in June and July when they file their returns.

Street view of the Aayakar Bhawan income tax building in central Kolkata — TDS credits flow from deductors' statements to payees' tax statements; the certificate is the payee's proof of what was deducted.· Image: Jayantanth (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Issuing self-made certificates. Rule 215 requires certificates generated from the portal. A letter on the firm's letterhead listing deductions is not a Form 131.

Using Form 16A for 2026-27 deductions. Payments credited or made on or after 1 April 2026 belong in Form 140 and Form 131. Form 16A is only for earlier periods.

Issuing Form 131 for a Form 141 deduction. Individuals paying rent, buying property or making large contract payments through Form 141 issue Form 132, downloaded after logging in to TRACES as a taxpayer.

Waiting for the certificate to file a return. Payees can file on the basis of the AIS. Use certificates to reconcile, not as a reason to delay.

Ignoring a mismatch. If the certificate and AIS differ, ask the deductor to file a correction now; corrections are allowed only within two years from the end of the tax year in which the statement was due.

What changed under the Income-tax Act, 2025

From 1 April 2026, the duty to issue certificates moved from section 203 to section 395(4), and the forms were renumbered by rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026: Form 16 to Form 130, Form 16A to Form 131, Forms 16B to 16E to Form 132 and Form 27D to Form 133. The 15-day timing after the statement due date, the TRACES-only generation and the ₹500 a day penalty were carried over. The transition rule follows the earlier of credit or payment: anything credited or paid up to 31 March 2026 stays with Form 16A.

Official links

What to do next

Deductors: put the four Form 131 dates in your compliance calendar, file each quarterly statement early, and download certificates as soon as TRACES processes it — our TDS return filing guide covers the statements. Payees: reconcile each certificate with your AIS every quarter and use our free TDS calculator to check what should have been deducted.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Form 16A was the quarterly certificate a deductor gave for TDS on payments other than salary — professional fees, contract payments, rent, commission, interest and similar. For tax deducted from 1 April 2026 it is replaced by Form 131, prescribed under section 395(4) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Form 16A still applies to deductions made up to 31 March 2026.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1.The Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act No. 30 of 2025), Gazette of India Extraordinary, 21 August 2025 — Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) · accessed 12 October 2026
2.TDS Compliance — e-Filing help (FAQs on the transition to the Income-tax Act, 2025) — Income Tax Department (e-Filing portal) · accessed 12 October 2026
3.Form 141 — FAQs — Income Tax Department (e-Filing portal) · accessed 12 October 2026
4.Rule 215, Income-tax Rules 2026 — certificates of TDS/TCS — TaxHeal (reproducing the notified rule) · accessed 12 October 2026
5.Form 131 — TDS certificate under section 395(4) for non-salary payments — TaxGuru · accessed 12 October 2026
6.How to download TDS certificate (Form 16A) from TRACES — Setindiabiz · accessed 12 October 2026
7.Form 132 — TDS certificate for rent, property, contract payments and VDA — ClearTax · accessed 12 October 2026

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