Advance Tax & Interest

Advance tax is payable when your estimated tax for the year, after reducing TDS and TCS, is Rs 10,000 or more. It is paid in instalments during the financial year instead of in one amount when filing the return. Resident senior citizens who have no income from business or profession are generally not required to pay advance tax.

Advance tax is due in four instalments: at least 15% of the tax by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March. The same schedule applies for FY 2025-26 under Section 211 and for Tax Year 2026-27 under Section 408 of the Income Tax Act, 2025. Taxpayers under the presumptive schemes of Sections 44AD and 44ADA can pay the entire amount by 15 March; goods-carriage income under Section 44AE is not covered by that single-instalment rule, and the same holds under Section 408(2) for Tax Year 2026-27. A shortfall attracts interest under Section 234C.

The tool splits your net tax, after TDS, into cumulative instalment amounts and compares each instalment whose date has passed, as on the date you choose, with what you had paid by then. On any shortfall, rounded down to the nearest ₹100, it charges 1% per month for three months for the first three instalments and one month for the last, with no interest for June or September if at least 12% or 36% was paid. Section 234B interest is not included. From Tax Year 2026-27, Sections 234B and 234C correspond to Sections 424 and 425 of the Income Tax Act, 2025.