Section 393 sub-code cheatsheet

The IT Act 2025 collapsed 30+ TDS sections (192-206C) into a single Section 393 with a structured sub-coding scheme: 393(LETTER)(NUMBER). The letter denotes the income family; the number the specific scenario. Rates and thresholds are unchanged from FY 2025-26.

The letter families

| Letter | Family | Old sections it covers |
|--------|--------|------------------------|
| A | Employment / salary | 192, 192A |
| B | Interest & dividends | 193, 194, 194A, 194K |
| C | Rent & immovable property | 194I, 194IA, 194IB, 194IC |
| D | Contracts & professional fees | 194C, 194J, 194Q |
| E | Commission, brokerage & lottery | 194D, 194DA, 194G, 194H |
| F | Cash withdrawals & specified persons | 194N, 206AB |
| G | Non-resident payments | 195, 196, 196A-D, 196G |
| H | E-commerce, VDA, online winnings | 194O, 194S, 194BA |
| I | Mutual funds & securities | 194E, 194LBA, 194LBB, 194LBC |
| Z | TCS (collected-at-source) | 206C in all its forms |

A - Employment

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(A)(1) | Salary | Slab-based | Above basic exemption |
| 393(A)(2) | PF withdrawal (premature) | 10% | ₹50,000 |
| 393(A)(3) | NPS withdrawal | 10% | ₹50,000 (taxable portion) |

B - Interest & dividends

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(B)(1) | Interest on securities | 10% | ₹5,000 (non-listed) |
| 393(B)(2) | Dividend (other than Sec 115-O) | 10% | ₹5,000 |
| 393(B)(3) | Interest other than securities (banks, post office) | 10% | ₹40,000 (₹50,000 senior citizen) |
| 393(B)(4) | Income from MF units (Sec 194K) | 10% | ₹5,000 |

C - Rent & immovable property

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(C)(1) | Rent - plant/machinery | 2% | ₹2,40,000 p.a. |
| 393(C)(2) | Rent - land/building/furniture | 10% | ₹2,40,000 p.a. |
| 393(C)(3) | Purchase of immovable property (≥₹50L) | 1% | ₹50 lakh |
| 393(C)(4) | Rent by individual (not business) | 5% | ₹50,000/month |

D - Contracts & professional fees

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(D)(1) | Contractor - individual/HUF | 1% | ₹30,000 single / ₹1,00,000 p.a. |
| 393(D)(2) | Contractor - others | 2% | Same |
| 393(D)(3) | Professional fees | 10% | ₹30,000 |
| 393(D)(4) | Technical services | 2% | ₹30,000 |
| 393(D)(5) | Director sitting fees | 10% | No threshold |
| 393(D)(6) | Purchase of goods (≥₹50L from same seller) | 0.1% | ₹50 lakh p.a. |

E - Commission, brokerage, lottery

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(E)(1) | Insurance commission | 5% | ₹15,000 |
| 393(E)(2) | Life insurance maturity (non-exempt) | 5% | ₹1,00,000 |
| 393(E)(3) | Lottery / crossword winnings | 30% | ₹10,000 |
| 393(E)(4) | Horse race winnings | 30% | ₹10,000 |
| 393(E)(5) | Brokerage / commission | 5% | ₹15,000 |

F - Cash withdrawals & specified persons

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(F)(1) | Cash withdrawal (1Cr+) | 2% | ₹1 crore |
| 393(F)(2) | Cash withdrawal - non-filer | 2% | ₹20 lakh (then 5% above ₹1 crore) |
| 393(F)(3) | Payments to specified person (206AB) | Higher of 2x or 5% | n/a |

G - Non-resident payments

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Notes |
|----------|----------|------|-------|
| 393(G)(1) | NR - interest | 20% (or DTAA rate if TRC + 10F) | |
| 393(G)(2) | NR - dividend | 20% / DTAA rate | |
| 393(G)(3) | NR - royalty / FTS | 10% (10% with TRC) | |
| 393(G)(4) | NR - sportsperson / entertainer | 20% | |
| 393(G)(5) | NR - Sec 115AB / 196A unit holder | 20% | |

H - E-commerce, VDA, online winnings

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(H)(1) | E-commerce operator (194O) | 0.1% | ₹5,00,000 (individual seller) |
| 393(H)(2) | VDA transfer (194S) | 1% | ₹50,000 (₹10,000 specified person) |
| 393(H)(3) | Online gaming winnings | 30% | No threshold |

Z - TCS family

| Sub-code | Scenario | Rate | Threshold |
|----------|----------|------|-----------|
| 393(Z)(1) | Sale of alcoholic liquor / forest produce | 2.5% | n/a |
| 393(Z)(2) | Sale of scrap | 1% | n/a |
| 393(Z)(3) | Motor vehicle (≥₹10L) | 1% | ₹10 lakh |
| 393(Z)(4) | Foreign remittance (LRS) | 5% (20% beyond ₹7L from FY 2025-26) | ₹7 lakh |
| 393(Z)(5) | Sale of overseas tour package | 5% / 20% | ₹7 lakh |
| 393(Z)(6) | Sale of goods (≥₹50L from same buyer) | 0.1% | ₹50 lakh |

Practical impact

The rates and thresholds above are exactly the same as the corresponding 1961-Act sections. What changed:

1. Challan code - the unified 4-digit challan series (1001-1067) replaces BSR-section combos. ThynkTax maps automatically.
2. TDS return form mapping - Forms 24Q (salary), 26Q (resident non-salary), 27Q (non-resident), and 27EQ (TCS) survive but reference Section 393 sub-codes instead of legacy sections.
3. Specified-person check (206AB) - now Section 393(F)(3). The portal lookup for the specified-person list is unchanged.
4. DTAA override - Sections 393(G)(*) explicitly accept the lower of treaty rate or 20% on submission of TRC + Form 10F. The new portal flow auto-applies the treaty rate.

What ThynkTax does

• Every TDS entry in the spreadsheet UI auto-tags the correct Section 393 sub-code on save.
• The validation engine cross-checks rate + threshold against the sub-code table above before allowing the return to be marked READY-TO-FILE.
• The challan-OLTAS import recognises both legacy section codes and the new 1001-series.

• Reviewed by CA Anand Subramanian, Head of TDS, Payroll & ESI/PF