ABSS Books · Settings

Direct taxes

Direct taxes is where you keep your income tax TDS and TCS rates. Each rate has a name, a percentage, a section and the period it applies for. You then pick a rate in the totals of a bill, an invoice or another document that offers TDS or TCS.

Who it's for: Admins and accountants who set up the TDS and TCS rates the company uses
Where to find it: SettingsDirect taxes
What you need: The Admin role, or the Direct Taxes permission: View to open the screen, and Create, Edit or Delete for those actions

Direct taxes walkthrough

Coming soon

What you can do here

Keep your income tax TDS rates and TCS rates, each on its own tab.
Add a rate with a name, a percentage, a section and the period it applies for.
Edit a rate, mark it Inactive, or delete it.
See which rates are Active, Expired or Inactive.
Pick these rates in the totals of the documents that offer TDS or TCS.

Before you start

How to open Settings: Choose the Settings gear icon in the top bar. It opens All settings. Direct taxes is under Taxes & Compliance. The screen itself is titled Direct Taxes, with the line Income tax TDS and TCS rates.
The Admin role or the Direct Taxes permission: Admins always see Direct taxes. Other roles need the View permission for Direct Taxes, which sits under Other Settings on the role. Adding needs Create. Editing and changing the status need Edit. Deleting needs Delete. Icons you cannot use are greyed out.
The rates that apply to you: Have the rate, the section and the date it starts from ready before you add anything. Books does not decide which rates apply to your business. Confirm them with your accountant or tax adviser.
Customers and vendors marked for TDS or TCS: A rate is offered on a document only when the customer or vendor has TDS / TCS applicable ticked under Direct Tax on their record.

Note: Books supplies the list of sections you pick from. It does not supply rates: every rate on this screen is one you added. The rates shown in this guide are examples only.

Add a TDS or TCS rate

You add a rate in a small window, without leaving the list. The tab you are on decides whether it is a TDS rate or a TCS rate.

Open the right tab
Go to Settings → Direct taxes and choose Income TDS or Income TCS.
Choose Add TDS Tax or Add TCS Tax
The button follows the tab. It opens a window with the same name.
Fill in the rate
Enter the Tax Name and the Rate (%), pick the Section, and set the Applicable Period.
Choose Save
The window closes and the rate joins the list. Cancel closes the window without saving.

Tax Name: Required. The name you will pick on documents, so make it easy to recognise. It must be different from every other rate on the same tab.
Rate (%): Required. A number from 0 to 100. For example, type 2 for a rate of two percent.
Section: Required. Pick the income tax section this rate belongs to. The list is built in: the Income TDS tab offers TDS sections and the Income TCS tab offers TCS sections. Each choice shows its payment code, section number and name, with a short description below and the earlier section number where there is one.
Start Date: Required. It is the first of the two dates under Applicable Period, and the first day the rate can be used.
End Date: Optional. The last day the rate can be used. Leave it empty for a rate with no end. It must be on or after the Start Date.

Edit, deactivate or delete a rate

Each tab lists its rates, a page at a time. Everything you can do to a rate is in the Action column of its row.

Tax Name: The name you gave the rate.
Payment Code and Section: The payment code, section number and name of the section you picked.
Rate: The percentage, for example 2%.
Start Date and End Date: The Applicable Period of the rate.
Status: Active, Expired or Inactive.
Action: Three icons on each row: Edit, Mark as Inactive or Mark as Active, and Delete.

Status	What it means
Active	The rate is switched on and its End Date has not passed.
Expired	The rate is switched on, but its End Date is before today. Books sets this for you.
Inactive	You marked the rate Inactive.

Edit: Opens the Edit TDS Tax or Edit TCS Tax window with the same fields as when you added the rate. Change what you need and choose Save.
Mark as Inactive, Mark as Active: Books asks you to confirm, for example: Are you sure you want to mark "TDS on rent" as inactive? Choose Yes. An Inactive rate is no longer offered on documents.
Delete: Books asks: Delete this tax? This cannot be undone. Choose Yes to delete it, or No to keep it.

Warning: Delete cannot be undone. If a rate has simply stopped applying, give it an End Date or mark it Inactive instead. It then drops out of the pickers and stays on the list as a record. A rate already picked on a saved document stays on that document.

Use a rate on a document

A rate does nothing on its own. It is there to be picked in the totals of a document, for a customer or vendor marked for TDS or TCS.

Document	What it offers	When the row is shown
Invoices, Credit Note and Recurring Invoices	TCS	The customer has TDS / TCS applicable ticked.
Bill, Debit Note and Recurring Bills	TDS or TCS	The vendor has TDS / TCS applicable ticked.
Expenses	TDS or TCS	The party is a vendor with TDS / TCS applicable ticked, and the expense is not billable.

Mark the customer or vendor
On the customer or vendor record, tick TDS / TCS applicable under Direct Tax.
Find the TDS or TCS row in the totals
It sits below Total Tax Amount. On a purchase document, choose TDS or TCS first. A sales document offers TCS only.
Pick the rate
Each choice shows the payment code, the Tax Name and the rate. The list holds the Active rates whose Applicable Period covers the date of the document. On a recurring invoice or bill, that date is Start On.
Check the amount
TDS shows with a minus sign and is deducted from the total. TCS shows with a plus sign and is added. TDS is worked out on the amount before GST, and TCS on the amount after GST. You can type a different amount.

Note: Quotes, Sales Orders, Delivery Challans, Purchase Orders and GRPO have no TDS or TCS row. Payments Received has its own Tax deducted? field for TDS a customer deducted, and it does not use the rates on this screen.

For the forms themselves, see Bill, Expenses and Invoices.

Rules to know

The rules behind this screen, in one place.

Topic	Rule
Who sees it	Settings → Taxes & Compliance → Direct taxes. You need the Admin role or the View permission for Direct Taxes.
Two lists	TDS rates and TCS rates are kept on separate tabs. A rate belongs to the tab it was added on and cannot be moved to the other one.
Your own rates	Books supplies the sections. The rates are the ones you add, and Books uses them as you typed them.
Unique name	Two rates on the same tab cannot share a name, whatever the capital letters. Books shows: A tax with this name already exists.
Rate	A number from 0 to 100. Books shows Rate cannot be negative, or Rate cannot be more than 100.
Applicable Period	Start Date is required. End Date is optional. Books shows: End Date must be on or after the Start Date.
Status	Active, Expired or Inactive. Expired is set for you once the End Date has passed.
Offered on a document	Only Active rates whose Applicable Period covers the date of the document, and only when the customer or vendor has TDS / TCS applicable ticked.
Which documents	TCS on Invoices, Credit Note and Recurring Invoices. TDS or TCS on Bill, Debit Note, Recurring Bills and Expenses.
In the totals	TDS is worked out on the amount before GST and is deducted from the total. TCS is worked out on the amount after GST and is added to the total. You can type a different amount.
View-only mode	If your plan period has ended and Books is view-only, the Add button and every icon in the Action column are greyed out.