Form 26QB Is Now Form 141: TDS When You Buy Property

If you are buying a flat, house or plot and the price or the stamp duty value is ₹50 lakh or more, you still have to deduct 1% TDS from what you pay the seller. What changed on 1 April 2026 is the form. Form 26QB is gone for payments under the Income-tax Act, 2025. You now deposit and report the TDS with Form 141, Schedule B, from your own PAN login on the e-filing portal. You still don't need a TAN.

The deadline is the same as before: deposit the tax within 30 days from the end of the month in which you deducted it. If the seller is a non-resident, there is a separate schedule, Schedule E, and since 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer doesn't need a TAN for that either. Both cases are below, with a worked example.

What replaced Form 26QB

Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, TDS on property was section 194-IA and you paid it with Form 26QB. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the same rule is a row in a table: section 393(1) [Table: Sl. No. 3(i)]. (How these table references work is explained in TDS under sections 392 and 393.)

The department merged four PAN-based forms into one. Its Form 141 FAQ says that Form 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE "have now been merged into a single unified form, Form 141". Each old form became a schedule:

One Form 141 covers one type of transaction. If you pay rent and also buy a flat, those are two separate forms.

The 2025 Act applies from 1 April 2026. The portal's e-Pay Tax page asks you to choose the Act first, and Form 141 sits only under the Income-tax Act, 2025. For tax you deducted before 1 April 2026, use the 1961 Act option instead.

When you have to deduct TDS on a property purchase

The rule in section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 3(i), in plain terms:

• What property: any land (other than agricultural land) or any building or part of a building. A flat, a house, a commercial unit and a non-agricultural plot are all covered.
• Threshold: fifty lakh rupees. The threshold column for this row points to a note that says tax is deducted where the consideration or the stamp duty value is equal to or greater than ₹50 lakh. (The note as printed in the Act refers to serial number 3(iii), which looks like a drafting slip, and the portal's manual says TDS applies when the value "exceeds" ₹50 lakh. A price of exactly ₹50 lakh is the edge case; ask a CA if yours is one.)
• Rate: 1% of the consideration or the stamp duty value, whichever is higher.
• Who deducts: the buyer. The Form 141 FAQ says "the buyer/purchaser of the property is the deductor". So even when a bank pays your loan amount straight to the seller, plan for the TDS yourself, for example by holding it back from your own contribution.
• What counts as consideration: the Act includes charges such as club membership, car parking, electricity or water facility, maintenance and advance fees, and any similar charges incidental to the transfer.
• When: at the time of payment or credit to the seller, whichever is earlier. For an under-construction flat paid in instalments, that means TDS on each instalment.

Joint buyers or sellers count together. The ₹50 lakh threshold is tested on the total paid by all buyers to all sellers. Two people buying a ₹60 lakh flat, ₹30 lakh each, both have to deduct TDS, even though each share is below ₹50 lakh. Each buyer files their own Form 141 for their share.

If the seller doesn't give a valid PAN, section 397(2) applies and the rate becomes 20% instead of 1%. The portal fills the higher rate in automatically when a PAN isn't available. If the seller's PAN is inoperative because it isn't linked to Aadhaar, see what an inoperative PAN does to TDS before you pay.

If the seller has a lower or nil deduction certificate under section 395(1), you deduct at the rate in the certificate and enter its number in the form.

A worked example

Ravi and Meera are buying a resale flat together, 50% each, from a resident seller. The agreed price is ₹78 lakh. The stamp duty value is ₹82 lakh. They pay the full amount on 12 November 2026.

1. Is TDS due? Yes. Both the price and the stamp duty value are ₹50 lakh or more.
2. On what amount? The higher of ₹78 lakh and ₹82 lakh, which is ₹82 lakh.
3. How much? 1% of ₹82 lakh = ₹82,000 in total.
4. Who pays what? Each buyer reports their own share. Ravi's share of the stamp duty value is ₹41 lakh, so he deducts ₹41,000. Meera does the same. That is two separate Form 141s.
5. By when? They deducted the tax in November 2026. The deadline is 30 days from the end of November, which is 30 December 2026.
6. What the seller receives: ₹78 lakh minus ₹82,000 = ₹77,18,000. The seller then claims the ₹82,000 as TDS credit in their own return.

Notice that the stamp duty value, not the price, decided the TDS here. The portal makes a similar comparison: for a lump-sum payment or the last instalment, it pre-fills the amount on which tax is due as the higher of your share of the stamp duty value and the amount you are paying now. The field is editable, so check it, especially on a last instalment, where the earlier instalments have already had TDS.

If you pay in instalments, you deduct 1% of each instalment when you pay it and file a Form 141 for each month in which you deducted tax. On a subsequent or last instalment, the form asks for the acknowledgement number of the previous Form 141 for the same property. On the last instalment, it also asks for the total paid so far.

How to file Form 141 on the e-filing portal

You need an e-filing account, an active PAN, and (recommended) PAN linked with Aadhaar. The steps below are from the department's Form 141 user manual.

1. Log in to the e-filing portal with your PAN.
2. Go to e-File > e-Pay Tax, choose Income Tax Act 2025, then New Payment.
3. On the Form 141 tile, click Proceed.
4. Choose the deductee type. The FAQ says to pick Corporate Deductee only when the fourth character of the seller's PAN is "C" (a company). For everyone else, including individuals, HUFs and firms, pick Non-Corporate Deductee.
5. On the deductor screen, your details come from your profile. Enter the tax year of the transaction, the month of deduction, and pick Schedule B as the nature of transaction.
6. In the transaction details, enter: - type of property and its full address - date of agreement, and date of registration if it's done - the total stamp duty value and the total consideration (don't split these between buyers or sellers) - lump sum or instalments - your share as a buyer (the first row is filled from your login; add co-buyers so the shares total 100%) - every seller's name, PAN and share
7. In the deductee-wise table, enter the amount paid in this transaction. The portal works out the amount on which tax is due; you enter the rate, the lower-deduction certificate number if there is one, and the date of deduction. The tax is calculated and rounded to the nearest rupee.
8. If you are late, enter the interest and fee in the tax deposit section. The total payment updates.
9. Choose a payment mode, check the preview, and click Pay Now.

After payment you get an SMS and email. The challan receipt is under e-File > e-Pay Tax > Income Tax Act 2025 > Payment History. The FAQ says the TDS certificate is downloaded from the TRACES portal; give it to the seller.

If something goes wrong

You entered a wrong figure or PAN. Form 141 can't be corrected on the e-filing portal. The FAQ says corrections are made only on TRACES, where you register as a "Taxpayer". A wrong seller PAN is the mistake that matters most, because the seller's credit goes to that PAN.

You can't see the filed form under Payment History. The FAQ's advice is to raise a grievance on the e-filing portal straight away. Keep the bank's payment confirmation. Our e-Nivaran guide shows where to file it.

You paid late. Pay as soon as you can, with interest and fee in the form's own fields. The longer the delay, the more interest builds up.

The seller says the TDS isn't in their AIS. Check that the PAN in your Form 141 is right and the payment shows in your Payment History. A PAN mistake has to be fixed on TRACES before the credit can move. The seller's side of this is in TDS deducted but missing in 26AS or AIS.

Buying from an NRI: Schedule E

When the seller is a non-resident, the TDS is not under Table Sl. No. 3(i). It falls under section 393(2) [Table: Sl. No. 17], which covers payments to non-residents.

What changed on 1 October 2026. The Schedule E user manual says that before 1 October 2026, a resident individual or HUF buying from a non-resident had to get a TAN and file Form 144 through TRACES. From 1 October 2026, a TAN is not needed and you report the TDS in Form 141, Schedule E, with your PAN. The manual credits the TAN change to provisions introduced through the Finance Bill, 2026. Notification 121 of 2026 then added Schedule E to Form 141 from 1 October 2026.

Who can use Schedule E: only a resident individual or HUF buyer. Other buyers, such as companies, still use the TAN-based statements.

The rate is not 1%. Table Sl. No. 17 says "rates in force", which means the rates set each year by the Finance Act, or a lower rate under a tax treaty where one applies to the seller. The rate depends on whether the seller's gain is long-term or short-term, and the TDS includes surcharge, if any, and cess. Two things can reduce what you deduct:

• the seller can get a lower or nil deduction certificate from the Assessing Officer under section 395(1), or
• you, as the payer, can apply under section 395(2) for the Assessing Officer to decide what part of the payment is actually chargeable to tax, and deduct only on that part.

Without either, the cautious approach many buyers take is to deduct on the whole payment, since a buyer who deducts too little can be held liable for the shortfall. Because the amounts are large, this is the stage to involve a chartered accountant.

What the form asks for. Schedule E asks for the seller's PAN if available, their status, phone number, email and overseas address. If the seller has no valid PAN, give their tax residency certificate number and foreign tax identification number to avoid the higher rate under section 397(2). It also asks whether the seller has opted out of the new tax regime, whether the gain is long-term or short-term, any section 395 certificate numbers, and the acknowledgement number of Form 145 if one was filed. In Schedule E you enter the tax amount yourself, including surcharge and cess.

If there are resident and non-resident sellers, file Schedule B for the resident seller and Schedule E for the non-resident. They can't go on the same form.

Dates. Schedule E only accepts payment dates from 1 October 2026. The 30-day deposit deadline is the same as Schedule B.

Frequently asked questions

Is Form 26QB still available?

For deductions made on or after 1 April 2026, use Form 141, Schedule B. The department's manual describes Form 141 as replacing 26QB, 26QC, 26QD and 26QE. For tax deducted before 1 April 2026, choose the 1961 Act on the e-Pay Tax page.

Do I need a TAN to deduct TDS on property?

No, for a resident seller. Section 397(1)(c) exempts a buyer deducting under Table Sl. No. 3(i) from getting a TAN. For a non-resident seller, the portal's Schedule E manual says a resident individual or HUF buyer hasn't needed a TAN since 1 October 2026 and reports in Schedule E.

The flat costs ₹48 lakh but the stamp duty value is ₹52 lakh. Is TDS due?

Yes. The note the threshold points to applies it to the consideration or the stamp duty value, so TDS is due once either crosses ₹50 lakh. The 1% is worked out on the higher of the two, ₹52 lakh, which gives ₹52,000.

My spouse and I are buying jointly. Do we file one form or two?

Two. The FAQ says each deductor files a separate Form 141 for their own share. Enter both buyers in each form so the shares add up to 100%.

Can one Form 141 cover two sellers?

Yes, if both are the same deductee type (both individuals, say) and you deducted the tax in the same month. If one seller is a company and the other an individual, or the months differ, file separate forms.

Sources

• Income-tax Act, 2025 (Gazette of India, Act 30 of 2025): section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 3(i) and its notes, section 393(2) Table Sl. No. 17, sections 395 and 397, and the definitions of "consideration for transfer of any immovable property" and "immovable property".
• Notification No. 121/2026, Income-tax (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, 22 September 2026, in force 1 October 2026: Schedule E in Form 141.
• Form 141 FAQs, Income Tax Department e-filing portal.
• Form 141 user manual (Schedules A to D), Income Tax Department e-filing portal.
• Form 141 Schedule E user manual, Income Tax Department e-filing portal.