Quick answer: From 1 April 2025, every partnership firm and LLP must deduct 10% TDS under Section 194T on salary, remuneration, commission, bonus and interest paid or credited to a partner, once the total of such payments to that partner crosses ₹20,000 in a financial year.
Section 194T of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is a brand-new TDS provision that forces firms to deduct tax at source on the money they pay their own partners. Until 31 March 2025 such payments carried no TDS at all. This guide explains the rate, the ₹20,000 threshold, what is covered, what is left out, and the exact compliance steps a small firm must follow.
Section 194T is a tax-deduction-at-source rule that applies to any partnership firm and any Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) when it pays a partner. The firm becomes the deductor, the partner is the deductee, and tax is withheld before the money reaches the partner. It applies to every firm and LLP, regardless of turnover or whether a tax audit applies.
Section 194T was inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 and takes effect from 1 April 2025 (financial year 2025-26, assessment year 2026-27). The administering authority is the Income Tax Department under the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
The section reads, in substance: any firm paying a partner a sum in the nature of salary, remuneration, commission, bonus or interest on any account (including interest on capital or on loan) must deduct income tax at 10%. No deduction is required if the aggregate of such sums paid or credited to that partner in the financial year does not exceed ₹20,000.
The firm must deduct TDS at the earlier of two events:
So even a year-end book entry crediting interest or remuneration to a partner's capital account triggers TDS, whether or not cash has moved.
Section 194T at a glance
① Rate 10% (20% if partner has no PAN, under Section 206AA)
② Threshold ₹20,000 aggregate per partner per financial year
③ Covered salary, remuneration, commission, bonus, interest
④ Excluded profit share under 10(2A) and capital drawings
A small Pune consultancy LLP pays partner Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak ₹80,000 a month as remuneration plus ₹1,20,000 a year as interest on his capital. For FY 2025-26 his covered payments total ₹10,80,000, far above the ₹20,000 threshold. The LLP deducts 10% TDS, that is ₹1,08,000 across the year, deposits it monthly, files Form 26Q each quarter and hands Dr. Pathak a Form 16A. His separate profit share of ₹4,00,000 carries no TDS because it is exempt under Section 10(2A). When he files his return, the ₹1,08,000 already paid is adjusted against his final tax.
The rate is 10%. If the partner has not given a valid PAN, Section 206AA raises it to 20%, applied regardless of the payment amount.
It applies from 1 April 2025, that is financial year 2025-26. It was inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024. Payments before that date carried no TDS under this section.
No. Profit share is exempt under Section 10(2A) of the Income-tax Act and is not covered by Section 194T. Only salary, remuneration, commission, bonus and interest are covered.
It is per partner. You add up all covered payments to each individual partner during the year. Once that partner's total crosses ₹20,000, TDS applies to the payments.
Yes. Section 194T has no turnover or tax-audit precondition. Every partnership firm and LLP making covered payments to partners must comply.
Yes. TDS is due at credit or payment, whichever is earlier, and the section expressly includes credit to the capital account. A book entry alone can trigger the deduction.