Swiggy & Zomato Delivery Partner TDS Refund 2026: Complete Mobile Step-by-Step Guide
MenuHelper Editorial
Senior Business & Food-Tech Analyst
Every week, Swiggy and Zomato deduct TDS from delivery partner payouts under Section 194C of the Income Tax Act. Every week, the majority of India's 10 lakh+ delivery partners have no idea this deduction is happening — and almost none of them file an Income Tax Return to claim it back. The money sits in a government tax credit account under their PAN, unclaimed, year after year. This guide is about getting that money back. On your phone. Without a CA. In under an hour.
The ugly truth is that the platforms are legally compliant — they deduct TDS and file the required TDS returns with the Income Tax Department. What they have zero obligation to do is explain to delivery partners that this money is recoverable through an ITR filing. So most partners assume the deduction is a tax they simply owe. It isn't. For most delivery partners earning below ₹5 lakh per year, the entire TDS deducted is refundable.
So let's look at what the platforms don't tell you — and walk through exactly how to claim your Swiggy Zomato TDS refund using only your mobile phone, step by step, in 2026.
First: Understanding Which TDS Section Applies to You
Most experts get this wrong. There is a genuine confusion in the delivery partner community — and even among some tax practitioners — about whether delivery partner income is subject to Section 194C or Section 194-O. The distinction matters because the rates and recovery mechanisms differ.
| TDS Section | Who It Applies To | Rate (with PAN) | Rate (without PAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 194C | Delivery partners (gig workers, contractors) | 1% | 20% |
| Section 194-O | Restaurant partners (sellers on e-commerce platforms) | 1% | 5% |
| Section 206AA | Any payee without valid PAN | 20% (overrides all) | 20% |
If you are a delivery partner — someone who picks up food from restaurants and delivers it to customers — your income is covered under Section 194C. The platform pays you delivery fees (commission per delivery) and deducts 1% TDS before crediting your account. This is the TDS you need to claim back.
If you are a restaurant owner listed on Swiggy or Zomato, your TDS is under Section 194-O. The restaurant-side TDS refund process is covered in our separate guide. This article is specifically for delivery partners.
And — if you don't have your PAN registered with Swiggy or Zomato — you're being deducted at 20% instead of 1%. That is a 20× overpayment that is entirely your loss until you file to recover it. Register your PAN with the platform first. Then file the ITR for every year you've been deducted at the 20% rate.
How Much TDS Has Been Deducted From Your Account?
Before you file anything, you need to know the exact TDS amount sitting in your credit account. Here's a rough calculation, and then the exact way to verify it.
Estimated Annual TDS — Delivery Partner (Section 194C at 1%)
Result: ₹1,800 TDS paid → ₹0 tax liability → Full ₹1,800 refundable
At ₹25,000/month earnings: ₹3,000 TDS → likely fully refundable if total income under ₹7 lakh basic + 87A rebate threshold.
For Context: How TDS Fits Into a ₹550 Restaurant Order's Economics
For restaurant partners reading this guide, here is where TDS sits in the complete per-order deduction chain — so you understand the full picture of what both the restaurant and delivery partner lose to platform deductions on a single ₹550 order.
| Deduction | Who Bears It | Rate / Amount | Recoverable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform Commission (25%) | Restaurant | ₹137.50 | No — platform's revenue |
| GST on Commission (18%) | Restaurant | ₹24.75 | Yes — via ITC if GST-registered |
| Fixed Platform Fee | Restaurant | ₹5.00 | No — platform's revenue |
| TDS — Sec 194-O (1%) | Restaurant | ₹5.50 | Yes — via ITR refund |
| TDS — Sec 194C (1%) | Delivery Partner | 1% of delivery fee | Yes — via ITR refund |
| Restaurant Net Payout | Restaurant keeps | ₹377.25 | Before food cost & packaging |
| ⚠️ Both the restaurant AND the delivery partner have TDS deducted from their respective platform payouts. Both can claim it back via ITR. Most delivery partners never do — and that unclaimed money stays with the government indefinitely. | |||
📊 Restaurant owner? See your full per-order deduction breakdown.
Check your own margins using our Swiggy & Zomato Profit Calculator — see exactly what commission, GST, platform fee, and TDS are deducting from every order you fulfil.
The Mobile Step-by-Step Guide: Claiming Your TDS Refund in 2026
You need three things before you start: your PAN number, your Aadhaar number (linked to PAN — if not linked, do it first at myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in), and your bank account details (account number and IFSC code). Open your mobile browser and follow these steps.
Register / Login on the Income Tax Portal
Go to incometax.gov.in on your mobile browser. Tap "Register" if you haven't used the portal before. Select "Individual." Enter your PAN as your User ID. Your PAN becomes your login — you don't need to create a username. Verify using Aadhaar OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
Verify Your TDS Credits in Form 26AS and AIS
After logging in, go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS. You'll be redirected to TRACES. Select the financial year (e.g., 2025–26 for FY April 2025 – March 2026). Look for entries under Part A — TDS on Non-Salary. You should see Swiggy's or Zomato's TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number) with the total TDS deducted and confirmed deposited.
Also check your AIS (Annual Information Statement): go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View AIS. The AIS shows all platform payments made to you in a given year, pulled from the TDS returns the platform filed. This is your ground truth — it's what the government knows about your income.
Pre-Validate Your Bank Account for Refund
Before filing, make sure your bank account is pre-validated on the IT portal — otherwise the refund can't be credited. Go to Profile → Bank Account → Add Bank Account. Enter your account number and IFSC. The portal will verify it via penny drop (a ₹1 transfer and recall). This takes 1–3 days. Do this before you start the ITR filing so you're not held up at the end.
Select the Correct ITR Form — ITR-4 for Most Delivery Partners
Go to e-File → File Income Tax Return → Assessment Year 2026–27 (for FY 2025–26 income). Select Online mode. Select ITR-4 (Sugam).
Why ITR-4? Because delivery income is business income, not salary — so ITR-1 is not applicable. ITR-4 with the presumptive taxation option under Section 44ADA or 44AD lets you declare a fixed percentage of your gross receipts as profit without needing to show detailed accounts. For gig workers, this is the fastest legal route.
Fill in the Key Numbers
The portal will pre-fill some data from your AIS. Verify and complete the following sections:
- Basic Information: Name, PAN, Aadhaar — pre-filled, just verify.
- Nature of Business: Select "Other Services" or "Transport/Logistics" — whichever fits delivery work.
- Gross Receipts: Total delivery earnings for the full financial year (check your Swiggy/Zomato annual payout summary in the app).
- Presumptive Income: System calculates 6% of gross receipts automatically if you select Section 44AD.
- TDS Schedule: The TDS entries from your Form 26AS should auto-populate. Verify each entry matches your records.
- Bank Account: Select the pre-validated account for refund credit.
Submit and e-Verify Your ITR
After reviewing, tap Submit. You must then e-verify your ITR within 30 days of submission — otherwise it's treated as not filed. On mobile, the easiest e-verification method is Aadhaar OTP: go to e-Verify → Generate Aadhaar OTP → enter OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
Once e-verified, you'll receive an acknowledgement number (ITR-V/Acknowledgement). Save this. Track your refund status at incometax.gov.in → e-File → Refund/Demand Status using your PAN and Assessment Year.
The 2026 Hidden Fee Update: What Changed for Delivery Partners This Year
The Swiggy Zomato TDS refund process itself hasn't changed fundamentally since Section 194C was first applied to delivery platforms. But 2026 has brought four developments that make getting this right more urgent and the consequences of ignoring it more significant.
Update 1 — AIS Now Shows Platform Income Automatically. The Income Tax Department's Annual Information Statement now aggregates all platform payments to delivery partners directly from the platforms' TDS filings. This means the government already knows exactly how much Swiggy and Zomato paid you in FY 2025–26 — your name, your PAN, your total payout amount. If you don't file an ITR and the AIS shows significant income, the IT Department's automated systems may issue a compliance notice. Filing proactively is now far safer than not filing.
Update 2 — Platforms Are Filing TDS Returns Monthly in 2026. Both Swiggy and Zomato shifted to monthly TDS return filing in 2025. This means your TDS credits appear in Form 26AS faster than before — typically within 30 days of each month's payouts. You no longer need to wait until the end of the financial year to verify your TDS balance.
Update 3 — The ITR-4 Presumptive Scheme Threshold Was Revised. The turnover limit for using Section 44AD (presumptive taxation) was revised upward to ₹3 crore in 2024 for taxpayers receiving 95%+ digital receipts — which applies to virtually all Swiggy and Zomato delivery partners since platform payouts are digital. This means even relatively high-earning delivery partners (₹25,000–₹40,000/month) can use ITR-4 presumptive without needing to maintain formal books of accounts.
Update 4 — TDS Deducted at 20% (No-PAN Cases) Cannot Be Refunded Without Filing. The income Tax Department ran a campaign in 2025 specifically targeting gig workers with unregistered PANs on delivery platforms — the group being deducted at 20% instead of 1%. If you were deducted at 20% for even one financial year, that money is sitting in a government account and is only recoverable by filing an ITR for that year. The 7-year time limit for revised returns applies — so if you were deducted at 20% in FY 2021–22 and haven't filed, you have until July 2028 to claim it. Don't wait.
The Money Is Already There. You Just Haven't Claimed It.
A delivery partner earning ₹15,000/month has ₹1,800 in TDS sitting in a government account at year-end. A partner earning ₹25,000/month has ₹3,000. A partner who was deducted at 20% (no PAN registered) on ₹15,000/month has ₹36,000 sitting there — ₹3,000 per month for 12 months. That is real money. Recoverable money. With no legal complexity for the vast majority of delivery partners who are below the basic exemption limit.
The platforms will keep deducting. The government will keep crediting the amount against your PAN. And if you don't file an ITR and claim the credit, the money stays there until the applicable time limit expires — at which point it cannot be recovered at all. The process described in this guide takes 25–40 minutes on a mobile phone. The return on that time investment, for most delivery partners, is ₹1,500 to ₹36,000 per year in recovered taxes.
So file. This financial year. Before the July 31 ITR deadline. On your phone. Right now if you have the time.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax laws, rates, and procedures change frequently. Always verify current provisions at incometax.gov.in or consult a qualified tax professional before filing. Presumptive income percentages and exemption limits cited are based on regulations current as of June 2026.