Advance Tax
Calculator India FY 2025-26

Advance tax is the income tax payable in instalments during the same financial year in which the income is earned, rather than at the end of the year. Required under Sections 207-211 of the Income Tax Act 1961 for any taxpayer whose total tax liability for the financial year — after subtracting TDS already withheld — exceeds ₹10,000. Applies to salaried (if non-salary income like rent, capital gains, dividends pushes liability past ₹10,000), self-employed professionals (Section 44ADA), business income, freelancers, F&O traders, capital gains realisers, and rental landlords. Senior citizens (60+) with NO business income are completely exempt from advance tax — they pay only on filing.

Four instalments with cumulative minimum thresholds: (1) 15 June 2025 — pay at least 15% of estimated total tax. (2) 15 September 2025 — cumulative 45%. (3) 15 December 2025 — cumulative 75%. (4) 15 March 2026 — cumulative 100%. If a due date falls on a Sunday or public holiday, the next working day applies. Presumptive taxation taxpayers under Sections 44AD (business) or 44ADA (professionals) have a single instalment due — 100% of liability by 15 March of the FY. Payment via Challan ITNS-280 (online at incometax.gov.in, or via bank). Acknowledgment number must be retained for Form 26AS reconciliation.

Interest under Section 234C — 1% per month for 3 months — on the shortfall. Example: if you should have paid ₹1,00,000 by 15 June and only paid ₹70,000, the ₹30,000 shortfall accrues 1% × 3 = 3% interest = ₹900 added to your March 15 liability. The interest is per instalment-period — multiple missed deadlines compound. Section 234B kicks in if total advance + TDS by year-end is less than 90% of assessed tax — 1% per month from 1 April of the assessment year until the date of payment. Section 234A is for late ITR filing — 1% per month from 1 August (or revised return deadline) until filed. All three interests can stack on the same shortfall.

Section 207(2): Resident senior citizens (aged 60+ as of any time during the FY) who do NOT have income from a business or profession. They pay all their tax at filing time, no advance instalments required. The exemption does NOT apply to resident senior citizens with business or professional income — they still pay advance tax like anyone else. Non-resident seniors are NOT exempt. The exemption also does NOT cover capital gains on senior citizens' shares/property — though if total liability stays under ₹10,000, no advance tax is due regardless of source.

Standard approach: take last year's actual income from Form 16/ITR as the baseline, adjust for known changes (raise, new clients, expected dividends, planned sales). For capital gains realised mid-year, you must include them in the next instalment after realisation — failing to do so attracts 234C interest. For freelancers and consultants under Section 44ADA presumptive: 50% of gross receipts is deemed profit, no requirement to maintain books if turnover < ₹50 lakh. Reduce by anticipated 80C/80D/HRA deductions (old regime only). Adjust estimate at each instalment date as the year unfolds — December and March numbers should be quite accurate.

Yes. Any excess of advance tax + TDS over actual tax liability is refunded after ITR filing. CPC processes refunds typically within 30-60 days of e-verification. Interest at 0.5% per month under Section 244A is added to the refund from 1 April of the AY (or date of payment if later) until the refund is granted. Common cause of overpayment: a large capital gain expected in Q1-Q2 doesn't materialise by year-end — advance tax already paid based on the expected gain is refunded. There is no penalty for overpaying; the only cost is opportunity cost (your money earns 0.5%/month while government holds it, vs your alternative investment).

TDS deducted by your employer, bank, customers, or other parties throughout the year is credited automatically via Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS). At each advance tax due date, subtract YTD TDS from your estimated total annual liability to determine the additional advance tax to pay. Common pitfall: bank TDS on FD interest is deducted at 10% but the FD interest is added to your income and taxed at marginal slab — high earners (30%+ slab) face a gap that advance tax must cover. Crypto TDS at 1% under Section 194S is similar — full crypto LTCG/STCG rate may be 20% or 30%, leaving a 19-29% gap.

Three distinct penalty interest provisions under the Income Tax Act 1961: Section 234A: late filing of ITR — 1% per month from 1 August (regular deadline) or the extended deadline until actual filing. Applies on unpaid tax. Section 234B: shortfall in advance tax — 1% per month from 1 April of AY (e.g., 1 April 2026 for FY 2025-26) until payment, if total advance + TDS is less than 90% of assessed tax. Applies on the shortfall. Section 234C: instalment-by-instalment shortfall — 1% per month for 3 months on each missed instalment. Applies only to the shortfall, not the entire amount. The three can compound: e.g., missing all four instalments triggers 234C, the resulting year-end shortfall triggers 234B, and late filing triggers 234A — three layers of interest on overlapping periods.

Under the new regime (default since FY 2023-24, optionally elected each year for salaried taxpayers; sticky 'lock-in' for business/profession unless they opt out): no 80C/80D/HRA/LTA deductions — gross taxable income is just gross income. FY 2025-26 slabs: 0% (≤₹4L), 5% (₹4-8L), 10% (₹8-12L), 15% (₹12-16L), 20% (₹16-20L), 25% (₹20-24L), 30% (>₹24L). Section 87A rebate up to ₹60,000 for total income ≤ ₹12 lakh (effectively tax-free). For salaried taxpayers ALSO entitled to ₹75,000 standard deduction. Advance tax calculation under new regime is generally simpler — no deductions to track and lower rates make smaller advance instalments.

Yes, but you'll owe Section 234C interest on each missed earlier instalment. For example, paying 100% on 15 March instead of cumulative 15/45/75/100% per quarter means you owe 234C interest of 1% × 3 months × (15% by 15 June) + 1% × 3 months × additional 30% by 15 September + 1% × 3 months × additional 30% by 15 December. Total 234C interest on full ₹1 lakh liability paid only in March: ~₹2,250 (3% on Q1 shortfall + 3% on Q2 shortfall + 3% on Q3 shortfall, weighted). Some taxpayers prefer this trade-off (keeping cash invested at higher returns than 1%/month interest cost). However, presumptive taxation taxpayers (Section 44AD/44ADA) can legitimately pay 100% by 15 March without 234C — single instalment regime.