Payroll Compliance Calendar FY 2026-27: PF, ESI, TDS, PT and LWF Due Dates

Monthly deposits: PF, ESI and salary TDS

PF and ESI for a wage month are both due by the 15th of the following month. Salary TDS deducted in a month is due by the 7th of the following month, except tax deducted in March, which is due by 30 April.

The dates are the statutory last day. Pay a few days early: the EPFO and ESIC portals slow down near the 15th, and a challan generated on the due date can fail to clear the same day.

Quarterly and annual returns for salary TDS

From Tax Year 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026 apply. The quarterly statement of TDS on salary that was Form 24Q is now Form 138, and the salary certificate that was Form 16 is now Form 130 (Income Tax Department form list).

The dates below are the ones published for the earlier Form 24Q and Form 16 and widely reported for Tax Year 2026-27. One compliance publication reports that the Income-tax Rules, 2026 revise the quarterly statement dates; we could not confirm a revision from an official text, so check the TRACES or e-filing portal before relying on them.

State professional tax and labour welfare fund

Professional tax (PT) and labour welfare fund (LWF) are state levies, so the due date depends on the state, the employer's size and sometimes the local body. The table summarises the states with a NeevHR state guide; each guide gives the slab, the rule and its source.

State dates change by notification more often than national ones. Maharashtra moved its monthly PT return to the 15th of the following month by a notification of 28 February 2026, and West Bengal published a proposed new PT schedule from 1 October 2026 that was not final when we reviewed it.

What changed in FY 2026-27

• PF wage ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026 (S.O. 5109(E)). September 2026 is a split month.
• The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026: salary TDS is under section 392, Form 24Q became Form 138 and Form 16 became Form 130.
• Karnataka LWF now covers establishments with 10 or more persons, from 7 January 2026, so more employers pay for calendar year 2026 by 15 January 2027.
• Maharashtra PT monthly return moved to the 15th of the following month.

How an HRMS keeps these dates

In NeevHR every published payroll run creates its PF, ESI, TDS, PT and LWF obligations with the due date for that state and statute, and the compliance calendar shows what is due, paid and overdue. The dates follow the same rules as this page, including the 30 April date for March TDS and the last day of a short month.