Get Your TAN Number for TDS/TCS Compliance
Form 49B Preparation. NSDL/UTIITSL e-Filing. Allotment in 7-15 Working Days. Starting at ₹999 ComplianceBharo professional fee for end-to-end assistance. Government/statutory fees are charged separately at actuals.
TAN — short for Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number — is a 10-digit alphanumeric identifier that Section 203A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 makes mandatory for anyone deducting or collecting tax at source. It exists purely to track a deductor's TDS/TCS obligations and has nothing to do with the deductor's own income tax assessment, which is what PAN is for.
TAN is allotted online through Protean (formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL, the two authorised intermediaries appointed by the Income Tax Department, using Form 49B. The application carries a fixed government fee of ₹77 and typically results in allotment within 7–15 working days, though fully digital, paperless applications can move faster.
Once allotted, TAN has to be quoted on every TDS/TCS challan, certificate, and return the deductor files — without it, the quarterly TDS return simply cannot be submitted, and any TDS certificate issued to an employee or vendor becomes practically useless for their own tax credit.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Governing Section | Section 203A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 |
| Full Form | Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number |
| Format | 10-digit alphanumeric — 4 letters, followed by 5 digits, followed by 1 letter |
| Issuing Authority | Income Tax Department, through Protean (formerly NSDL) and UTIITSL as authorised intermediaries |
| Application Form | Form 49B, filed online through the Protean or UTIITSL portal |
| Government Fee | ₹77 (₹65.50 application charge plus 18% GST) |
| Processing Time | Typically 7–15 working days from submission of a complete application; as quick as 3–7 working days for fully paperless, digitally signed applications |
| Validity | Lifetime — once allotted, a TAN never expires and requires no periodic renewal |
A TAN — for example, something like MUMD12345E — is built from four distinct segments, each carrying its own meaning.
| Segment | What It Represents |
|---|---|
| First 3 characters | An alphabetic jurisdiction code identifying the city or region where the TAN was allotted — for example, MUM for Mumbai or DEL for Delhi |
| 4th character | The first letter of the deductor's name — the individual, company, or entity that applied for the TAN |
| Next 5 characters | A unique, system-generated numeric sequence with no independent meaning beyond identifying the specific TAN record |
| Last character | An alphabetic check digit generated by the system to detect errors and prevent duplication or forgery |
Most TDS/TCS obligations do require a TAN — but a few specific, individual-facing provisions were deliberately designed to work through PAN instead, and it's worth knowing which is which.
| Category | Applicable Section | TAN Required? | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employers | Section 192 | Yes | Any employer deducting TDS on salary paid to employees above the applicable exemption threshold |
| Companies & Firms | Section 194C / 194J | Yes | Deducting TDS on contractor payments or professional and technical fees paid in the course of business |
| Banks & Financial Institutions | Section 194A | Yes | Deducting TDS on interest paid on deposits above the prescribed annual threshold |
| E-commerce Operators | Section 194-O | Yes | Deducting TDS on payments made to e-commerce participants selling goods or services through the operator's platform |
| Any Person Buying Goods | Section 194Q | Yes | Purchasing goods worth more than ₹50 lakh from a single resident seller in a year, where the buyer's turnover exceeded ₹10 crore in the preceding financial year |
| Tenants (Individual/HUF) | Section 194-IB | No — PAN-based | Rent above ₹50,000/month is still subject to TDS, but the tenant deducts and deposits it using their own PAN through Form 26QC, without needing a TAN |
| Property Buyers | Section 194-IA | No — PAN-based | TDS on purchase of immovable property worth ₹50 lakh or more is deducted and deposited using the buyer's PAN through Form 26QB, again without a TAN |
These three identifiers are often confused with one another, but each serves a distinct purpose under a different piece of legislation.
| Parameter | TAN | PAN | TIN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Form | Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number | Permanent Account Number | Taxpayer Identification Number |
| Purpose | Identifies a person responsible for deducting or collecting tax at source | Identifies a taxpayer for all income tax purposes and specified financial transactions | Historically tracked VAT/CST-registered dealers under state sales tax laws |
| Format | 10-digit alphanumeric (4 letters + 5 digits + 1 letter) | 10-digit alphanumeric (5 letters + 4 digits + 1 letter) | 11-digit numeric, prefixed with a state code |
| Who Needs It | Any deductor or collector of tax at source | Every taxpayer, entity, or person entering specified financial transactions | VAT/CST-registered dealers under the erstwhile state sales tax regime |
| Issuing Authority | Income Tax Department, via Protean/UTIITSL | Income Tax Department, via Protean/UTIITSL | State Commercial Tax Departments |
| Applicable Law | Section 203A, Income-tax Act, 1961 | Section 139A, Income-tax Act, 1961 | Erstwhile state VAT/CST laws |
| Current Status | Active and mandatory for TDS/TCS compliance | Active and universally required | Largely obsolete — replaced by GSTIN since GST subsumed VAT/CST from July 2017 |
Go to the official Protean (formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL TAN application portal and select the option for a new TAN application under Form 49B.
Enter the applicant category, name, address, existing PAN (if any), responsible person details, and the nature of TDS/TCS the entity expects to deduct or collect.
Attach identity proof of the responsible person, address proof for the registered office, and entity formation documents such as the Certificate of Incorporation or Partnership Deed, as applicable.
Complete the payment online via net banking, debit/credit card, or UPI — the fee is fixed at ₹77 regardless of applicant category or entity type.
Review all entered details for accuracy, since even minor mismatches with supporting documents are a common reason applications get sent back for correction, and submit the completed Form 49B.
Once processed, the Income Tax Department allots the TAN and dispatches the allotment letter; the number is also available for verification on the e-Filing portal well before the physical letter arrives.
Every field in Form 49B feeds directly into how the TAN is structured and how the Income Tax Department will correspond with the deductor going forward.
| Field | What It Captures |
|---|---|
| Applicant Category | Whether the deductor is a company, individual, HUF, firm, trust, government office, or another specified category — this determines part of the TAN's internal formatting |
| Full Name | The legal name of the deductor, matching the entity's constitution documents or, for individuals, the name as per PAN |
| Address | The registered office or principal place of business, which also determines the jurisdictional prefix assigned to the TAN |
| PAN | The deductor's own Permanent Account Number, where already allotted |
| Responsible Person Details | Name and designation of the individual authorised to sign TDS/TCS returns and correspond with the department on the entity's behalf |
| Existing TAN | Disclosure of any previously allotted TAN, to prevent the system from issuing a duplicate |
| Source of TDS/TCS | The nature of the income or transaction on which tax will be deducted or collected — salary, contractor payments, rent, commission, and so on |
| Contact Details | Phone number and email address used for all communication regarding the application and its status |
Documentation for TAN is comparatively light — most of it overlaps with what an entity already holds for its PAN or incorporation filings.
A TAN's core allotment never changes, but the details attached to it — name, address, applicant category, contact details, the responsible person, and PAN linking — can and often do change as a business grows, restructures, or relocates. These corrections are filed through a TAN Change Request Form on the same NSDL/UTIITSL portal used for fresh applications, rather than through a fresh TAN application.
The correction carries the same ₹77 fee as a new application and is typically processed within 7–10 working days. Keeping these details current matters more than it might seem — an outdated address or a responsible person who has since left the organisation can delay important department correspondence, including notices about pending TDS return discrepancies.
Getting the TAN is only the starting point — the recurring work is deducting the right amount, at the right rate, and depositing it on time under whichever section applies to each payment.
| Section | Nature of Payment | TDS/TCS Rate | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 192 | Salary | At the employee's applicable slab rate for the year | No fixed threshold — applies once taxable income exceeds the basic exemption limit after deductions |
| Section 194A | Interest (other than on securities) | 10% | ₹50,000/year for senior citizen bank deposits, ₹40,000/year for other bank/post office deposits, ₹5,000/year otherwise |
| Section 194C | Payments to contractors | 1% (individual/HUF payee) / 2% (other payees) | ₹30,000 for a single payment, or ₹1,00,000 in aggregate for the financial year |
| Section 194H | Commission or brokerage | 2% (reduced from 5%, effective 1 October 2024) | ₹20,000/year (raised from ₹15,000, effective 1 April 2025) |
| Section 194-I | Rent | 2% (plant & machinery) / 10% (land, building, furniture & fittings) | ₹2,40,000/year |
| Section 194J | Professional / technical fees | 2% (technical services, call centre operations, royalty for film distribution) / 10% (professional fees, other royalty) | ₹30,000/year per payee |
| Section 194Q | Purchase of goods | 0.1% on value exceeding ₹50 lakh | Buyer's turnover must have exceeded ₹10 crore in the preceding financial year |
| Section 206C | Tax collected at source on specified transactions | Varies by category — e.g., scrap, minerals, motor vehicles above ₹10 lakh, overseas tour packages, LRS remittances | Varies by category; note that TCS on general sale of goods under Section 206C(1H) was omitted effective 1 April 2025, leaving buy-side TDS under Section 194Q as the primary compliance route for high-value goods transactions |
*Tax deducted or collected in any month must generally be deposited by the 7th of the following month — the sole exception being deductions made in March, which must be deposited by 30 April of the same year.
TAN-related defaults are treated as strict-liability matters — the penalty applies regardless of whether the lapse was deliberate or an oversight.
| Non-Compliance | Provision | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Failure to apply for TAN | Section 272BB | Penalty of ₹10,000 |
| Quoting an incorrect TAN | Section 272BB | Penalty of ₹10,000 |
| Not quoting TAN in TDS/TCS returns, certificates, or challans | Section 272BB | Penalty of ₹10,000 for each default |
| Late filing of TDS/TCS returns | Section 234E | Fee of ₹200 per day of delay, capped at the total TDS/TCS amount deductible or collectible for that period |
Holding a valid TAN before the first TDS deduction keeps the deductor on the right side of Section 203A and avoids the ₹10,000 penalty under Section 272BB for operating without one.
Every quarterly TDS/TCS return requires a valid TAN to even be accepted on the e-Filing portal — without it, returns simply cannot be filed, however accurate the underlying figures are.
Banks and institutional counterparties routinely ask for a valid TAN as part of onboarding or compliance verification for business accounts and vendor payment processing.
TAN is a mandatory field on every TDS certificate issued to employees and vendors — without a correctly quoted TAN, the recipient cannot claim their TDS credit while filing their own return.
Timely TDS deposit and correctly issued certificates, both dependent on a properly registered TAN, signal financial discipline to employees, contractors, and vendors relying on those credits.
Tenders and empanelment processes for government and PSU contracts commonly require proof of TAN registration and TDS compliance history as part of the financial eligibility criteria.
Have questions about TAN registration for your business? Let our experts help you figure out the right compliance approach.
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