I am entitled to receive 10L from a business as “Professional Fees”. The business transferred the money without any TDS. How should I deal with this? Should I pay advance tax for this amount? Will I be in trouble with the IT Department in future because of this TDS issue?
Hello @J_G
You need to pay tax advance tax, and for this you need to calculate your taxes before each advance tax payment due dates during the financial year.
1 Like
So as long as I pay advance tax accordingly, then I should face no issues?
First off, don’t panic—you’re not in trouble just because the business didn’t deduct TDS on your professional fees. Technically, the responsibility to deduct TDS lies with the business (if they cross the ₹30,000 threshold or annual limit for professional services), but since they didn’t, the liability to declare that income and pay the right taxes now falls completely on you. Think of it this way: the ₹10 lakh you received is your gross income, not net. You’ll have to include this under “Income from Business/Profession” in your ITR compute the tax liability as per the applicable slab, and then pay advance tax if your total tax payable for the year is more than ₹10,000. The advance tax deadlines are quarterly (June, Sept, Dec, March), so even if you missed one, you can still pay in the upcoming instalments along with applicable interest. The IT department won’t harass you if you’re transparent—what they care about is that you report the income and pay your dues, regardless of whether TDS was deducted earlier or not.
I actually went through something similar a few years back when I did freelance consulting for a tech startup. They transferred about ₹5 lakh in one go without deducting TDS, and at first, I thought I was lucky since I got the “full” amount. But when I sat down with my CA, he explained that it was my responsibility to calculate and pay the advance tax. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed—like, would the IT department think I was trying to hide income? But once I paid the tax online through the challan and showed the income clearly in my ITR, everything went smoothly. The next year, I was wiser and always asked clients to deduct TDS where applicable, so I didn’t face a big tax bill later. So in your case, just declare the ₹10 lakh honestly, pay advance tax as needed, and keep proper proof of the payment. That way, you’ll have peace of mind and no sleepless nights worrying about future notices
Yes, there is no issue on your part, if you comply.