India Payroll Deadlines 2026: Monthly Compliance Calendar for US Employers

Are India payroll deadlines tripping up your HR and finance teams every month?

Managing payroll compliance in India is not just about processing payroll on time. It's five separate statutory obligations every month, each filed with a different authority, each governed by its own payroll laws and penalty regime. Miss the TDS deposit by even a day and the Income Tax Department starts charging interest. Miss EPF contributions for two months and the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation puts your company on a public defaulting employers list.

This payroll compliance calendar covers every deadline you need to hit in 2026, what you owe both the employer and employee side, and the penalty for missing each one.

What are India's monthly payroll deadlines?[toc=Monthly Payroll Deadlines]

Every month has five deadlines that every employer with staff in India must track. These cover salary payments, income tax deductions, provident fund contributions, employees state insurance contributions, and professional tax remittances.

Two things worth noting here. First, there's a special rule for March: TDS deducted from March salaries must be deposited by 30th April, not the usual 7th. This one catches a lot of companies off guard. Second, Professional Tax only applies in states that levy it Maharashtra, Karnataka, and West Bengal are the most common for tech hiring, and rates vary by state.

Check our guide on payroll tax in India for a full state-by-state breakdown.

For a clear picture of how salary structure affects these statutory deductions, see our salary structure in India guide.

What are the quarterly TDS filing deadlines for FY 2026-27?[toc=Quarterly TDS Deadlines]

Beyond the monthly TDS deposit, employers must file Form 24Q every quarter. This is the TDS return on salary, a summary of all income tax deducted from employee salaries during the quarter. It's separate from the monthly deposit and has its own due dates.

One annual obligation to flag: after Q4 is filed, employers must issue Form 16 to every employee by 15 June 2027. Form 16 is the TDS certificate, the document employees use to file their personal income tax returns. Missing this deadline creates problems for your entire India team at tax filing time, and it's your obligation as the employer to get it right.

See our guide on how to pay employees in India for more on managing the full payroll cycle.

What are the annual payroll filing deadlines in India?[toc=Annual Deadlines]

India's financial year runs April to March, not January to December. That means April through June is the most demanding compliance window of the year, annual statutory returns pile up on top of the usual monthly obligations. HR and finance teams managing payroll in India need a dedicated statutory compliance calendar for this period.

The Labour Welfare Fund is worth calling out specifically because US employers almost always miss it. LWF is a state-level statutory contribution designed to support worker welfare initiatives, it applies in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, among others. Contribution amounts and due dates differ across states. Some states collect it half-yearly, others annually. If your India team is spread across multiple states, you'll have multiple LWF deadlines to track under the Labour Welfare Fund Acts applicable in each location.

The Payment of Bonus Act applies to companies with 20 or more employees. Eligible employees earning below the threshold are entitled to a statutory bonus of at least 8.33% of salary, and the annual return must be filed within 8 months of the financial year close, so by 30 November for FY 2025-26.

What penalties apply for missing India payroll deadlines?[toc=Penalties]

India's payroll regulations are not lenient. Interest on late statutory payments starts from the first day of default. There is no grace period, and for sustained delays, the consequences go well beyond financial penalties.

EPF damages under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act aren't just interest. The EPFO can levy additional penal damages from 5% to 25% of arrears depending on how long the delay runs, and for sustained defaults, it can attach company bank accounts. The EPFO also maintains a public defaulting employers list, once your company is on it, hiring top India talent becomes significantly harder.

On the TDS side, late deposit under Section 276B of the Income Tax Act is a criminal provision, not just a financial one. Directors and payroll officers can face prosecution for willful defaults. Common payroll compliance mistakes like treating TDS as a soft deadline are exactly the errors that trigger retrospective audits and penalties that compound over months.

What payroll records do US employers need to maintain?[toc=Payroll Records]

Payroll documentation in India is a legal requirement under evolving labour laws, not just good practice. The Labour Codes that came into effect in November 2025 now mandate digital payroll records, physical statutory registers alone are no longer sufficient. Stringent data protection laws also apply to how payroll data is stored and accessed.

Proper payroll record-keeping requires maintaining the following for a minimum of 8 years:

• Wage registers and salary structure records for every employee
• Monthly payslips showing all payroll deductions and statutory contributions
• Statutory payment challans for EPF, ESI, TDS, and Professional Tax
• Form 24Q quarterly returns and Form 16 TDS certificates
• EPF and ESI payment receipts and return acknowledgments
• Attendance records and overtime pay calculations
• Statutory registers under the applicable Shops and Establishments Act

Regular payroll audits are the best compliance and risk aversion tool available to international employers. From our experience helping 300+ global companies with India payroll, the companies that get flagged in statutory audits are almost always the ones using spreadsheets for payroll calculations instead of proper payroll systems or payroll software. Adjust your payroll systems now, automated reminders, built-in compliance calendars, and digital record storage are the baseline for managing payroll in India from abroad.

For a full breakdown of what goes into running compliant payroll in India, read our guide on payroll compliance in India.

Get Started with India Payroll Compliance Through Wisemonk EOR[toc=Wisemonk EOR]

Wisemonk is a trusted India-specialist Employer of Record that offers three payroll services depending on how you hire in India.

• For full-time employees, our EOR service handles legal employment, salary processing, and every statutory filing TDS, EPF, ESI, Professional Tax, quarterly returns, and annual compliance.
• For contractors, our Agent of Record (AOR) service manages compliant contracts, TDS, GST, and cross-border payments.
• For companies that already have an India payroll setup, our Managed Payroll service takes over the processing, deductions, and filings entirely.

We have processed $20M+ in Indian payroll for 300+ global companies. EOR starts at $99/employee/month, contractor payments at $19/month, and every client gets a dedicated HR manager.

Talk to our India payroll experts today.

Wisemonk Client review/feedback:

“I love their payroll feature, which allows me to pay my workforce easily without any errors. In just a few seconds, I can see the invoices generated for all of the payouts”

- Mithun V.
Mid-Market
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“Wisemonk has successfully hired high-quality candidates, which has impressed the client. The team is responsive to the client's requests and changes via Slack. The team also collaborates through a hiring tracker in Google Sheets. Wisemonk communicates via email and virtual meetings.”

- Dan Sampson
VP of Engineering, Cobu
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