The Employer's Payroll Compliance Calendar (Month by Month)

Indian payroll compliance is not a once-a-year task. It runs on overlapping monthly, quarterly and annual clocks, and missing any one of them triggers interest or penalties. This calendar lays out what falls due when, so nothing slips through.

Key facts at a glance

• PF (EPF) contributions must be deposited and the ECR filed by the 15th of the following month.
• ESI contributions are also due by the 15th of the following month.
• TDS on salaries must be deposited by the 7th of the following month (30 April for March's TDS).
• Professional tax deadlines vary by state - there is no single national date.
• Bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act must be paid within 8 months of the close of the accounting year.
• Form 16 should be issued to employees by 15 June following the relevant financial year.
• Quarterly TDS returns (Form 24Q) are due roughly a month after each quarter closes.

What repeats every single month

Two obligations sit on your calendar every month without exception, as long as you have employees covered under the respective scheme:

• PF ECR and payment - by the 15th, covering the previous month's wages.
• ESI contribution - also by the 15th, covering the previous month's wages.

If either falls on a bank holiday, employers commonly pay a day early rather than risk a technical default; the portals do not extend deadlines for holidays.

TDS on salaries is a third monthly obligation, though its due date is the 7th rather than the 15th, with a special extension to 30 April for the March deduction (the last month of the financial year).

Quarterly and half-yearly filings

Beyond the monthly cash deposits, several returns are filed less frequently:

• TDS returns (Form 24Q) are filed quarterly - roughly one month after each quarter ends, with the Q4 return due by 31 May.
• ESI half-yearly return periods run April-September and October-March, each followed by a filing window.
• Some state Labour Welfare Fund contributions are collected half-yearly or annually, depending on the state.

Because these cycles don't align with each other, it helps to track them on a single shared calendar rather than relying on memory.

Annual deadlines you cannot miss

State-specific dates that trip up employers

Professional tax, Shops and Establishment renewals, and Labour Welfare Fund contributions are all state subjects, so due dates, thresholds and forms differ from one state to another. A company operating in multiple states cannot use one calendar for all locations - each state registration needs its own tracked deadline. This is one of the most common sources of missed compliance for growing companies expanding beyond their home state.

A sample month-by-month calendar

Building your own calendar

The safest approach is to maintain a single spreadsheet or compliance tracker listing every applicable scheme (PF, ESI, TDS, professional tax, bonus, gratuity, Labour Welfare Fund, Shops & Establishment) against your specific states and headcount, with the actual due date and the person responsible. Generic calendars are a starting point, but your actual obligations depend on which schemes apply to your business.

If you are not sure which of these obligations currently apply to your company, ComplianceCheck's statutory health assessment gives you a clear picture in a few minutes.

Sources

• EPFO - epfindia.gov.in
• ESIC - esic.gov.in
• Income Tax Department (TDS rules) - incometax.gov.in
• Ministry of Labour and Employment - labour.gov.in
• Respective state labour department and professional tax department websites

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state, sector and headcount - confirm specifics with a compliance professional or the relevant authority.