Section 194C covers payments to contractors for carrying out any work, at 1% for individuals or HUFs and 2% for companies. Section 194J covers professional or technical services (doctors, lawyers, CAs, engineers, management consultants) at 10%. Section 194I covers rent payments at 10% for land and buildings and 2% for plant and machinery. Section 194H covers commission and brokerage at 5%. Section 194A covers interest payments other than interest on securities at 10%. Section 194Q, added for high-value goods purchases above INR 50 lakhs per year, is at 0.1%.
Open a vendor contact record in Zoho Books and find the TDS Settings section. Toggle “TDS Applicable” and select the relevant TDS section. You can also set a lower deduction rate if the vendor holds a Form 13 certificate from the Income Tax department. From the next bill onwards, Zoho Books calculates TDS at the configured rate automatically. If a vendor qualifies for multiple TDS sections (for example, a consultant who also handles rent), create separate bills for each payment type and select the appropriate section on each.
Most TDS sections have annual payment thresholds below which TDS is not required. For example, Section 194J TDS applies only if the total payments to that vendor exceed INR 30,000 in a financial year. Zoho Books tracks cumulative payments per vendor per section and can alert you when the threshold is crossed. Review the threshold settings for each section during initial Zoho Books setup to avoid under-deduction or over-deduction.
A TDS section in Zoho Books is the Income Tax Act provision (such as 194C or 194J) that defines the TDS rate for a type of payment. Assigning the correct section to a vendor ensures Zoho Books deducts the right percentage from their payments.
Common sections include 194C (contractors), 194J (professional fees at 10%), 194I (rent at 10%), 194H (commission at 5%), and 194Q (high-value goods purchases at 0.1%).
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