Three things changed in 2026 that make an FY 2026–27 calendar different from any you have used before. The Central Rules under the four Labour Codes were notified on 8 May 2026. A new EPF Scheme replaced the 1952 scheme at the end of June. And on 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act 2025 came into force, renumbering every payroll tax form you file — Form 24Q, Form 16 and Form 12BB no longer exist for periods from that date.
The monthly rhythm underneath all of it is unchanged. What has changed is the paperwork wrapped around it, and the transition rules that decide which set of forms applies to which period.
What is actually in force
| Change | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Four Labour Codes brought into effect | 21 Nov 2025 | In force; 29 central labour laws repealed |
| Draft Central Rules published for consultation | 30 Dec 2025 | Superseded |
| Income-tax Act 2025 and Income-tax Rules 2026 | 1 Apr 2026 | In force; Tax Year replaces Assessment Year |
| Final Central Rules under all four Codes | 8 May 2026 | Notified. Apply where the Centre is the appropriate government |
| EPF Scheme 2026 replaces EPF Scheme 1952 | Late Jun 2026 | In force under the Code on Social Security |
| State Rules under the Codes | Ongoing | Uneven. Several states notified; several major industrial states still in draft |
The Central Rules — the Code on Wages (Central) Rules 2026, Social Security (Central) Rules 2026, Industrial Relations (Central) Rules 2026 and OSH (Central) Rules 2026 — apply only where the central government is the appropriate government for your establishment. For most mid-market companies, the operative rules are your state's, and those are at different stages in different states. If you operate across states, you are complying with a patchwork, and any national checklist including this one is a starting point rather than an answer.
On the EPF Scheme 2026 date: sources differ between publication in the Gazette on 29 June 2026 and effect from 1 July 2026. Both dates appear in reputable secondary reporting. Check the gazette notification if the distinction matters to a filing.
The monthly rhythm
Two dates carry almost the entire monthly burden. Miss either and the consequences are automatic rather than discretionary.
| Obligation | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| TDS deposit on salary | 7th of the following month | Exception: March deductions are payable by 30 April |
| Provident fund contribution and ECR | 15th of the following month | Unchanged by the Social Security (Central) Rules 2026 |
| ESI contribution | 15th of the following month | Contribution periods run Apr–Sep and Oct–Mar |
| Professional tax | State-specific | Varies by state; some states are monthly, some annual, some by slab |
| Labour Welfare Fund | State-specific | Mostly half-yearly or annual where applicable |
The renumbering, and the transition trap
From 1 April 2026 every payroll tax form has a new number. This is a renumbering rather than a rewrite — filing frequency and due dates are unchanged — but a return prepared on the wrong form number creates an avoidable default.
| Until 31 Mar 2026 | From 1 Apr 2026 | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Form 24Q | Form 138 | Quarterly TDS statement, salary |
| Form 26Q | Form 140 | Quarterly TDS statement, non-salary resident |
| Form 27Q | Form 144 | Quarterly TDS statement, non-resident |
| Form 16 | Form 130 | Annual TDS certificate, salary |
| Form 16A | Form 131 | TDS certificate, non-salary |
| Form 12BB | Form 124 | Employee declaration of deductions and allowances |
The trap is the boundary. The governing law is fixed by the date of the payment or credit, not the date of filing. Q4 of FY 2025–26 — payments up to 31 March 2026 — is filed on the old Form 24Q with old section references, even though the filing itself happened in May 2026. The same applies to any revised or belated statement for a period ending on or before 31 March 2026. Filing a FY 2025–26 correction on Form 138 is wrong.
Two further consequences worth flagging to your payroll team. Assessment Year is gone: the Act uses a single Tax Year equal to the financial year, so every system reference and template needs updating. And TDS returns now reference numeric payment codes rather than the familiar section numbers, so a return citing 192 or 194J for a post-April 2026 payment is incorrectly classified even if the amount is right.
FY 2026–27 dated calendar
Recurring monthly items are omitted from this table — they are in the section above. These are the dated events.
| Date | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 30 Apr 2026 | TDS deposit for March 2026 (non-government deductors) |
| 31 May 2026 | Q4 FY 2025–26 TDS statement — old Form 24Q |
| 15 Jun 2026 | Form 16 for FY 2025–26 issued to employees — old form |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Provisional social security contribution by aggregators, Form XX (gig and platform workers) |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Q1 TY 2026–27 TDS statement — first filing on Form 138 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | ESI contribution period one closes |
| 31 Oct 2026 | Q2 TDS statement (Form 138); aggregator final return Form XXI with balance contribution |
| 30 Nov 2026 | Statutory bonus payable — within eight months of the close of the accounting year, now under the Code on Wages |
| 31 Jan 2027 | Q3 TDS statement (Form 138) |
| 31 Mar 2027 | Tax Year closes; ESI contribution period two closes; investment proof cut-off (internal deadline, set earlier in practice) |
| 30 Apr 2027 | TDS deposit for March 2027 |
| 31 May 2027 | Q4 TY 2026–27 TDS statement (Form 138) |
| 15 Jun 2027 | Form 130 issued to employees — the first year of the new salary certificate |
Gratuity remains payable within 30 days of becoming due. Full and final settlement timelines are set by the Code on Wages and, where notified, state rules — check your state's position rather than assuming the two-day rule applies to your establishment.
What we have deliberately not tabulated
A calendar that is wrong is worse than one that is incomplete, so four things are missing on purpose.
Professional tax schedules. PT is a state tax with different slabs, frequencies and due dates in each state that levies it, and several states do not levy it at all. A single national PT table would be wrong for most readers. Build yours from the states you actually operate in.
Labour Welfare Fund. Same reasoning — applicability, rates and periodicity vary by state, and the amounts are small enough that teams routinely discover the obligation during an inspection rather than a calendar review.
State rules under the Labour Codes. These are in motion. Any table would be stale within weeks, which is precisely why this is a dated snapshot rather than a tracker.
Shops and Establishments returns and registers. Municipal and state-level, highly variable, and frequently the obligation people forget entirely.
The operational point underneath the calendar
Every deadline above depends on the same underlying facts being correct and current: who is on the payroll, on what wages, from what date, in which state, under which category. Where hiring, HR and payroll records sit in separate systems, those facts exist in multiple copies and the calendar becomes a reconciliation exercise before it becomes a filing exercise. The day-one ESI registration change makes this concrete — if a joiner is created in a recruiting system on Monday and reaches payroll on Friday, the obligation was already missed on Monday.
Helion holds hiring, HR and payroll on one database, so a joining date is a single fact rather than three that must be made to agree. That does not file your returns for you — but it removes the class of failure where the return was late because nobody knew the person existed.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Labour Codes fully in force now?
The Codes themselves are in force from 21 November 2025, and the Central Rules were notified on 8 May 2026. But labour is a concurrent subject and enforcement in most establishments depends on state rules, which are at different stages. "In force" and "fully enforceable in your state" remain different questions as at July 2026.
Which form do I use for a correction to a FY 2025–26 TDS return?
The old form. Governing law follows the date of payment or credit, not the date of filing, so a revised or belated statement for a period up to 31 March 2026 stays on Form 24Q.
Did the PF and ESI due dates change under the new rules?
No. Both remain the 15th of the following month. What changed for ESI is the registration timing for new joiners, not the contribution deadline.
Is Form 16 still valid?
For FY 2025–26 salaries, yes — that certificate is issued under the old law. For Tax Year 2026–27 salaries the correct certificate is Form 130, and a document labelled Form 16 for that year is technically non-compliant.
When is statutory bonus due?
Within eight months of the close of the accounting year, which for a 31 March year-end means 30 November. The obligation now sits under the Code on Wages rather than the Payment of Bonus Act, which stands repealed.
Current as at 29 July 2026 and not maintained as a live tracker. The Labour Codes' state rules, gig-worker contribution rates and several transition provisions were unresolved at the time of writing. Statutory dates for TDS, PF and ESI are longstanding and widely documented; form renumbering is per the Income-tax Rules 2026; Central Rules dates are per notifications reported by DLA Piper, KPMG, BDO and L&E Global. Professional tax, Labour Welfare Fund and state-level obligations are deliberately excluded because they vary by state. This is general information, not tax or legal advice — verify against the gazette or your advisor before acting.