Who has to pay advance tax?

Anyone whose estimated tax for the year, after subtracting TDS and TCS, comes to ₹10,000 or more. That threshold is unchanged under the Income-tax Act, 2025, where the liability now sits at Section 404 rather than Section 208. It catches freelancers, consultants, landlords, traders and anyone with substantial interest or capital gains, and it catches salaried people too once they have income the employer does not withhold against. The single exemption is a resident senior citizen with no business or professional income.

What are the advance tax due dates and percentages?

Four instalments, on cumulative percentages rather than equal quarters: 15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March. Because the figures are cumulative, the individual payments are 15%, 30%, 30% and 25% — which is why the second and third instalments are twice the first. Presumptive taxpayers under 44AD or 44ADA are outside this schedule entirely and pay the whole amount in one instalment by 15 March.

What is the 12% and 36% tolerance?

A relaxation in the deferment provision that means the published schedule is not quite the real deadline. Interest is not charged on the first instalment if you have paid at least 12% by 15 June, or on the second if you have paid at least 36% by 15 September — even though the schedule asks for 15% and 45%. So paying 13% and 38% leaves you technically behind and costing nothing. The catch is that it is a cliff rather than a slope: pay 11.99% and interest is charged on the shortfall measured from 15%, not from 12%.

What is the difference between Section 424 and Section 425?

They punish different failures and can both apply at once. Section 425, formerly 234C, is about timing within the year: it charges 1% a month for three months on each of the first three instalment shortfalls and one month on the last, and it applies even if you pay the full amount by 15 March. Section 424, formerly 234B, is about the year-end total: if the advance tax paid came to less than 90% of the assessed tax, it charges 1% a month on the shortfall from 1 April of the assessment year until you pay. One is a deferment charge, the other a default charge.

What are the new section numbers for advance tax?

The Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbered the whole scheme from 1 April 2026. Section 208 on liability became Section 404, Section 234A on late filing became 423, Section 234B became 424 and Section 234C became 425, with the advance tax provisions collected into Sections 403 to 410. Nothing substantive changed — same ₹10,000 threshold, same four dates, same percentages, same 1% monthly rate. But the Department has confirmed that a default relating to FY 2025-26 is still governed by the 1961 Act, because the obligation arose before the new Act took effect.

Are senior citizens exempt from advance tax?

Only some of them, and the condition is stricter than most people assume. A resident individual aged 60 or above is exempt from advance tax entirely — but only if they have no income from business or profession. A retired person living on pension, interest and rent is exempt however large the liability. The same person with any consultancy or trading income loses the exemption completely and pays on the ordinary four-instalment schedule. Being a senior citizen is not by itself enough.

How does advance tax work under the presumptive scheme?

One payment instead of four. Taxpayers under Section 44AD for business or 44ADA for professions pay the whole of their advance tax by 15 March, and the June, September and December dates do not apply to them. That is a real cash-flow advantage, since the money stays with you nine months longer. The trade-off is concentration of risk: miss the single date and the entire liability is exposed to interest rather than a quarter of it, and there is no earlier instalment to have partly covered you.

What if I could not have predicted the income — capital gains, for example?

There is relief, but it is conditional and it is not automatic. Interest for deferment is not charged on a shortfall arising from capital gains, winnings, dividend income or the first year of a new business, provided the tax on that income is paid in the remaining instalments for the year, or by 15 March if it arose after the last instalment date. The logic is that you cannot be expected to have estimated in June something that only happened in November. The relief covers the deferment charge, not the year-end default charge, so the 90% test still has to be met.

How do I pay advance tax?

Through the e-Pay Tax service on the income tax portal, selecting the correct assessment year and choosing advance tax as the payment type rather than self-assessment tax. Getting either of those wrong is the commonest practical error, because the payment lands correctly at the bank and then sits against the wrong head, which takes a correction request to fix. Keep the challan identification number, and report the payments in the return so they are set against the liability rather than showing as unclaimed.

What happens if I pay too much advance tax?

You get it back with interest, which makes over-paying much less costly than under-paying. An excess is refunded when the return is processed, and Section 244A allows interest at 0.5% a month on the refund from 1 April of the assessment year, provided the refund exceeds 10% of the tax determined. Against that, under-paying costs 1% a month under two separate sections. Given the asymmetry, erring slightly high on an uncertain estimate is usually the cheaper mistake.

Advance Tax Calculator

Advance tax is the part of the system that catches people out, because the penalty for getting it wrong is not a penalty at all — it is interest, charged quietly, in two separate places, and often on a taxpayer who paid the full amount in the end. That is the distinction most calculators skip. Sect...

YOUR YEAR

FINANCIAL YEAR

REGIME

Governed by the Income-tax Act, 2025. The liability sits at Section 404, with interest under Section 424 for a year-end shortfall and Section 425 for late instalments.

ESTIMATED INCOME FOR THE WHOLE YEAR

SALARY (₹)

BUSINESS OR PROFESSION (₹)

INTEREST (₹)

RENT, NET (₹)

CAPITAL GAINS (₹)

OTHER (₹)

₹18.60 lakh gross. Advance tax is an estimate made in advance — recompute before each instalment as the year becomes clearer.

DEDUCTIONS (₹) — IGNORED

TDS / TCS ALREADY DEDUCTED (₹)

ADVANCE TAX ALREADY PAID, IN EACH WINDOW

BY 15 JUNE (₹)

16 JUN TO 15 SEP (₹)

16 SEP TO 15 DEC (₹)

16 DEC TO 15 MAR (₹)

ADVANCE TAX PAYABLE FOR THE YEAR

₹1,38,880

₹1,78,880 of tax less ₹40,000 of TDS. Payable in four instalments.

TOTAL TAX

₹1,78,880

PAID SO FAR

₹0

INTEREST

₹12,569

₹7,014 of interest under Section 425. This is charged for paying late within the year, and it applies even if you pay the full amount by 15 March. Three months of interest on each of the first three shortfalls, one month on the last. It cannot be undone retrospectively — only the remaining instalments can still be paid on time.

A further ₹5,555 under Section 424. The year's advance tax of ₹0 is below 90% of ₹1,38,880, which triggers separate interest running from 1 April 2027 until you pay. Shown here for four months, being April to a July filing — it grows by ₹1,389 a month until settled.

Due	Cumulative	Required	Paid	Interest
15 June 2026	15%	₹20,832	₹0	₹625
15 September 2026	45%	₹62,496	₹0	₹1,875
15 December 2026	75%	₹1,04,160	₹0	₹3,125
15 March 2027	100%	₹1,38,880	₹0	₹1,389

Gross total income

₹18,60,000

Taxable income

₹18,60,000

Tax, new regime

₹1,78,880

Tax, old regime

₹3,38,520

Less TDS / TCS

₹40,000

Advance tax payable

₹1,38,880

Paid so far

₹0

Still to pay

₹1,38,880

Section 425 interest

₹7,014

Section 424 interest

₹5,555

This is an estimate, not tax advice. Section 424 interest is shown for four months as an illustration and depends on when you actually pay. Capital gains and other unforeseeable income get relief from Section 425 if the tax on them is paid in the remaining instalments, which this page does not model. Pay through the e-Pay Tax service, keep the challan, and speak to a chartered accountant where the amounts matter.

THE SCHEDULE

The first two instalments carry a tolerance. The schedule asks for 15% by 15 June and 45% by 15 September, but Section 425 charges nothing if you have paid at least 12% and 36%. Pay 13% and 38% and you are technically behind the schedule and owe no interest at all. Fall a rupee below the tolerance and interest is charged on the full shortfall from 15%, not from 12%.

Live calculation · updates as you type

Created with❤️byeaglecalculator.com

HOW TO USE

1
Choose the year and the regime you expect to file under. Advance tax is an estimate, and estimating it on the wrong regime creates either a shortfall to pay interest on or a refund to wait for.
2
Enter your expected income for the whole year, not just what has arrived so far. The standard deduction only applies if some of it is salary, so it drops out for a purely business or professional income.
3
Enter TDS and TCS already deducted. Advance tax is only the amount left over, which is why many salaried people owe nothing at all until they have rent, interest or capital gains on top.
4
Fill in what you have already paid in each window. The page then shows the interest already accrued, which cannot be undone, and what to pay by the next date to stop it growing.

THE SCHEDULE AND THE TOLERANCE

Instalment	Due	Schedule asks	No interest if at least	Interest period
1st	15 June	15% cumulative	12%	3 months at 1%
2nd	15 September	45% cumulative	36%	3 months at 1%
3rd	15 December	75% cumulative	75% — no tolerance	3 months at 1%
4th	15 March	100% cumulative	100% — no tolerance	1 month at 1%

Paying nothing until 15 March and then settling in full costs 3% on the June shortfall, 3% on September and 3% on December — on a ₹1,00,000 liability that is ₹450 plus ₹1,350 plus ₹2,250, or ₹4,050, with nothing owed on the final instalment because it was met. Presumptive taxpayers under 44AD or 44ADA pay once, by 15 March, and the intermediate dates do not apply to them at all.

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Last updated: 30 July 2026 · Verified against the Income Tax Department portal and the Income-tax Act, 2025 · Estimate only, not tax advice.