TDS on rent calculator
Select who is paying, enter the rent and the period, and the calculator applies the right section — with the rate and threshold editable, because both are amended by the Finance Act.
An individual or HUF not subject to tax audit deducts under Section 194-IB, once a year, with no TAN required.
Without a valid PAN, tax must be deducted at the higher rate the Act prescribes.
Indicative only, and not tax advice. Rates and thresholds are amended by the annual Finance Act — the defaults here reflect the position when written and are editable for that reason. Confirm against the Income Tax Department's published rates for your financial year, and take advice where the landlord is a non-resident, for which a different regime applies.
TDS on rent falls under Section 194-I for businesses and tax-audited payers, and Section 194-IB for individuals and HUFs not subject to audit. The two use different thresholds, rates, deduction frequencies and compliance mechanics, so establishing which applies is the first step.
How the calculation works
The rate is the easy part. Which section applies to you is the question that decides everything else.
The formula: TDS = Rent × the applicable rate
Under Section 194-IB an individual or HUF not subject to tax audit deducts once a year, from the last month’s rent of the financial year or of the tenancy. Rent of ₹60,000 a month over twelve months is ₹7,20,000; at a 2% rate that is ₹14,400, deducted in one go from the final month’s payment.
Under Section 194-I the payer deducts at credit or payment, whichever is earlier — effectively monthly — at the rate applicable to land, building, furniture and fittings. The same ₹7,20,000 at 10% is ₹72,000 across the year, or ₹6,000 a month.
Inputs you will need
Your own status first: whether you are an individual or HUF not subject to tax audit, or a business, company, firm or audited payer. That determines the section, and the section determines the threshold, the rate and what you have to file.
The monthly rent, the number of months, and whether the landlord has furnished a valid PAN — without one, tax must be deducted at the higher rate the Act prescribes for that situation. The rates and thresholds in this calculator are editable inputs precisely because they change; confirm the current figures for your financial year before relying on the result.
- Your tax audit status. Which decides the section.
- Monthly rent and period. For the aggregate the rate applies to.
- The landlord’s PAN. Its absence raises the rate materially.
- Current rates and thresholds. Amended by the annual Finance Act.
Worked example: ₹60,000 monthly rent paid by an individual tenant
An individual tenant paying ₹60,000 a month is above the ₹50,000 monthly threshold and deducts under 194-IB — a single deduction of ₹14,400 from the last month’s rent of the year.
| Aspect | Section 194-I | Section 194-IB |
|---|---|---|
| Who deducts | Business, company, firm, or audited individual/HUF | Individual or HUF not subject to tax audit |
| Threshold | Annual rent above the prescribed limit | Monthly rent above ₹50,000 |
| Rate | 10% on land, building, furniture and fittings | 2%, following the reduction from 1 October 2024 |
| Frequency | At credit or payment — effectively monthly | Once a year, in the final month |
| TAN required | Yes | No — deduct against PAN |
| Deposit | By the 7th of the following month | Form 26QC within 30 days of the month of deduction |
| Certificate | Form 16A | Form 16C |
194-I vs 194-IB: which section applies to you?
The dividing line is tax audit status rather than the amount of rent. Any person other than an individual or HUF not subject to audit deducts under 194-I — that covers companies, firms, and individuals carrying on business or a profession whose accounts are audited under Section 44AB. Everyone else who is an individual or HUF falls under 194-IB, and then only where the monthly rent exceeds the threshold.
Section 194-IB exists to bring high-value residential rent paid by ordinary individuals into the net without imposing full TDS compliance on them, which is why its mechanics are deliberately lighter: no TAN, one deduction a year, and a challan-cum-statement rather than a quarterly return.
The trap in 194-IB is its annual rhythm. A tenant unaware of the obligation through the year discovers it, if at all, in March — by which time every month’s rent has been paid in full and the deduction that should have been made from one of them was not. Recovering it from the landlord afterwards is awkward and often unsuccessful, and the tenant remains liable. If your rent is anywhere near the threshold, work out your position in April rather than in March.
- Tax audit status decides the section. Not the amount of the rent.
- 194-IB is deliberately lighter. No TAN, one deduction, Form 26QC.
- Its annual timing is the trap. Establish your position at the start of the tenancy.
- Non-resident landlords are different. A separate regime applies — take advice.