Payroll Compliance Calendar for Indian Employers

A payroll compliance calendar is the simplest control an Indian employer can put in place: every statutory payment and return, mapped to its due date, with an owner. Missing a date rarely causes a dramatic penalty on day one, but interest and damages compound, and a late PF or TDS deposit eventually shows up in employee complaints, notices and audit qualifications. This calendar lists monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual payroll deadlines as they stand in late 2026, after the Labour Codes (in force from 21 November 2025) and the Income-tax Act, 2025 (effective 1 April 2026).

How to Use This Calendar

• Dates are the statutory due dates as we understand them. Where a date falls on a holiday, portals sometimes extend it, but do not plan around extensions.
• State-level items (professional tax, labour welfare fund) vary by state. Confirm the rule for each state where you have employees.
• Set internal deadlines three to five working days before the statutory date to leave room for portal outages and bank delays.
• Check for government notifications that change dates or forms, especially in the first year of the new Income-tax Act.

Monthly Payroll Compliance Calendar

Due date	Compliance	Notes
7th of next month	Salary payment	Under the Code on Wages, monthly wages are to be paid by the 7th of the following month.
7th of next month	Deposit of TDS on salary	For March, the due date is 30 April. Government offices have different rules.
15th of next month	PF: ECR upload and payment	EPF, EPS, EDLI and admin charges on one challan.
15th of next month	ESI contribution payment	Monthly online filing and payment on the ESIC portal.
State-specific	Professional tax payment	Monthly for larger employers in many states; quarterly or annual for smaller ones.
Ongoing	New joiner registrations	PF (UAN) and ESI (IP number) on or soon after joining.

For the calculations behind these deposits, see how to calculate PF on salary.

Quarterly Deadlines

Quarter	TDS statement for salaries (formerly Form 24Q)	Other
April to June	31 July	Professional tax returns in states with quarterly filing
July to September	31 October	ESI contribution period ends 30 September
October to December	31 January	Start collecting investment proofs
January to March	31 May	Includes annexure with full-year salary details

The quarterly TDS statement form numbers changed under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Use the form currently prescribed for salary TDS on the TRACES and e-filing portals.

Half-Yearly and Annual Deadlines

When	Compliance	Notes
15 June	Salary TDS certificate to employees (formerly Form 16)	Part A from TRACES, Part B from payroll.
June and December (some states)	Labour welfare fund	Half-yearly in some states, annual in others (for example, January in some).
By 30 November	Statutory bonus payment	Within eight months of the close of the accounting year (for a March year end).
Within 30 days of becoming payable	Gratuity payment	Interest applies on delay.
Annual (state-specific)	Professional tax annual return and enrolment payment	Varies by state.
Annual	Returns under the Labour Codes	Consolidated returns as prescribed by the applicable rules; check the portal.

A Month-by-Month View of the Payroll Year

April

• Collect tax regime declarations and investment declarations for the new tax year.
• Apply revised salaries, increments and any minimum wage revisions effective 1 April.
• Deposit March TDS by 30 April.
• New ESI contribution period begins; recheck coverage for every employee.

May

• File the Q4 TDS statement by 31 May.
• Reconcile full-year TDS with Part A data before issuing certificates.

June

• Issue salary TDS certificates by 15 June.
• Labour welfare fund for the half-year in states with June deadlines.

July

• File the Q1 TDS statement by 31 July.
• Help employees with return filing queries; employees file returns, usually by 31 July for non-audit cases.

September and October

• ESI contribution period ends 30 September; from 1 October, drop employees above ₹21,000 and add newly eligible ones.
• File the Q2 TDS statement by 31 October.
• Many states revise variable DA on minimum wages from 1 October.

November

• Pay statutory bonus by 30 November if not already paid (for a 31 March year end).

December and January

• Labour welfare fund in states with December deadlines.
• Send reminders for investment proof submission; start collecting proofs.
• File the Q3 TDS statement by 31 January.

February and March

• Close investment proof verification and recompute TDS for the remaining months.
• Adjust shortfall TDS in February and March payroll so the year closes without under-deduction.
• Some states collect a higher professional tax instalment in February.
• Plan increments and salary structure changes for 1 April.

Event-Driven Deadlines

Not every deadline is on the calendar. These are triggered by events:

Event	Deadline
Employee resignation, termination or dismissal	Wages due to be paid within two working days of separation under the Code on Wages
Gratuity becomes payable	Pay within 30 days
Employee joins	PF and ESI registration
Employee leaves	Update date of exit on the EPFO portal
Workplace accident	Report to ESIC promptly
Establishment crosses a coverage threshold	Register for PF, ESI or state laws as applicable

The two-working-day rule for final wages is a significant change for many employers whose full and final settlement took 30 to 45 days. Our guide to full and final settlement covers how to meet it.

Penalties for Missing Payroll Deadlines

• TDS: interest for late deduction and late deposit, a daily late fee for late statements, and possible penalties. The employer can also be treated as an assessee in default.
• PF: interest and damages under EPFO rules, with damages increasing with delay.
• ESI: interest at the prescribed rate plus damages.
• Professional tax and LWF: state-specific interest and penalties.
• Labour Codes: monetary penalties, with compounding allowed for many first offences.

Check the current interest and damages rates on each portal; they are revised from time to time.

Records to Keep for Each Deadline

Meeting a deadline is half the job; proving it during an inspection or audit is the other half. Keep these records per month, per state:

Compliance	Evidence to retain
Salary payment	Bank upload file, bank confirmation, returned-credit report, payroll register
TDS deposit	Challan with identification number, payment confirmation, reconciliation to payroll
Quarterly TDS statement	Filed statement, provisional receipt, any default notice and its resolution
PF	ECR file, TRRN, challan receipt, list of new and exited members
ESI	Contribution history, payment receipt, list of registrations
Professional tax and LWF	State challans and returns
Bonus and gratuity	Computation, approval, payment proof, employee acknowledgement

Labour Codes and tax law prescribe retention periods for registers and records. Keeping at least eight years of payroll records is a common conservative practice; confirm the required period with your adviser.

Year-End Close Checklist

1. Verify investment proofs and finalise TDS for every employee by the February payroll.
2. Recompute TDS for anyone whose proofs fell short, and recover the shortfall in February and March.
3. Reconcile total TDS deducted in payroll with challans deposited.
4. Reconcile PF and ESI contributions for the year with portal statements.
5. Check that all exited employees have exit dates updated on EPFO.
6. Prepare the Q4 TDS statement with the full-year salary annexure.
7. Accrue bonus, gratuity and leave encashment for the books.
8. Archive the year's payroll registers, returns and acknowledgements.

Building Your Own Compliance Calendar

1. List every state where you have employees, and note professional tax and LWF rules for each.
2. Add central deadlines (TDS, PF, ESI) with an internal date three to five days earlier.
3. Assign an owner and a backup for each item.
4. Keep challans, acknowledgements and return files in one place per month.
5. Review the calendar each April and October for rule changes.

Common Calendar Mistakes

• Tracking only central deadlines. PF, ESI and TDS get attention while state professional tax, LWF and the employer's own PT enrolment payment slip.
• Treating the 15th as the working date. Bank cut-offs and portal slowdowns near due dates are common; uploading on the 14th evening is risky.
• Ignoring event-driven dates. Exit settlements and gratuity have their own clocks, which do not appear on a monthly calendar unless you add them for each exit.
• Not updating after law changes. The Labour Codes and the new Income-tax Act changed several forms and some timelines. A calendar copied from 2024 will be wrong in places.
• No backup owner. When the one person who files PF is on leave, the deadline still applies.
• Paying without reconciling. Paying a challan that does not match the payroll register just moves the problem to a later notice.

Staying on Schedule with Fininvo

Fininvo Payroll covers PF returns (ECR), ESI returns, professional tax, TDS challans and labour welfare fund, so the figures for each deadline come from the processed payroll. See the compliance features and Fininvo Payroll overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the due date for PF and ESI payment?

Both are due by the 15th of the month following the wage month.

When must TDS on salary be deposited?

By the 7th of the following month, except for March, where the due date is 30 April.

When should salary TDS certificates be issued?

By 15 June following the end of the tax year.

By when must salary be paid each month?

Under the Code on Wages, monthly wages are payable by the 7th of the following month, and final dues on separation within two working days.

Is this calendar legal advice?

No. It is general information as of late 2026. Due dates, forms and state rules change; confirm with official notifications or a professional.