Advance Tax Calculator
The four instalments, and what deferring or underpaying them costs in interest.
Cumulative — the total paid on or before each date, not four separate amounts.
The four instalments4 instalments
| Due by | Payable by then | You paid | 234C interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2026 · 15% | ₹22,500.00 | ₹0.00 | ₹675.00 |
| 15 September 2026 · 45% | ₹67,500.00 | ₹0.00 | ₹2,025.00 |
| 15 December 2026 · 75% | ₹1,12,500.00 | ₹0.00 | ₹3,375.00 |
| 15 March 2027 · 100% | ₹1,50,000.00 | ₹0.00 | ₹1,500.00 |
Interest only starts if you have paid under 12% by 15 June, or under 36% by 15 September — but once it starts, the shortfall is measured against the full 15% and 45%.
- Section 234C — deferring an instalment
- ₹7,575.00
- Section 234B — paying under 90% for the year
- ₹6,000.00
- Total
- ₹13,575.00
FY 2026-27 (AY 2027-28), under the Income-tax Act 2025 — sections 403 to 408 for the liability and instalments, 424 and 425 for the interest, previously sections 207 to 211, 234B and 234C. Both run at 1% per month or part of a month. Section 234B is a cliff, not a taper: pay 89.9% of the year's liability and interest applies to the whole shortfall, not to the fraction you missed by. Its clock starts on 1 April of the assessment year, which is what the "months to assessment" slider sets. A resident aged 60 or over with no business or professional income is exempt from advance tax entirely. No 234C arises on a shortfall you could not have foreseen — capital gains, lottery or dividend income — provided the tax on it is paid in the remaining instalments, or by 31 March if none is left; that relief is not modelled above, so a late capital gain will show interest here that you may not owe. It still counts toward the 90% test for 234B.
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Independent · No commissions · No fund-house data — how the numbers are computed
How it works
Advance tax is income tax paid during the year it is earned rather than after it, in four instalments due on 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March. You owe it if your tax for the year, after subtracting TDS and other credits, comes to ₹10,000 or more. A resident aged 60 or over with no business or professional income is exempt from it entirely.
Miss an instalment and section 234C charges 1% a month for three months on the shortfall; end the year having paid less than 90% of what you owed and section 234B charges 1% a month from 1 April of the assessment year until your return is assessed. Both can apply at once — they are not alternatives. This calculator shows the instalment schedule and prices both.
One rule is worth knowing before you read the schedule. For the first two instalments, the level at which interest starts and the level it is measured against are different numbers. Interest begins only if you have paid under 12% by 15 June or under 36% by 15 September — but once it begins, the shortfall is computed against the full 15% and 45%. Pay 13% in June and you owe nothing; pay 11% and you are measured against 15%.
234C interest = shortfall from the cumulative instalment x 1% x months (3, 3, 3, then 1). 234B interest = (assessed tax - advance tax paid) x 1% x months from 1 April of the assessment year, whenever advance tax paid is under 90% of assessed tax.Shortfalls are rounded down to the nearest ₹100 before interest, and part of a month counts as a whole month. A taxpayer under presumptive taxation pays in one instalment by 15 March instead of four, so the most section 234C can cost them is 1% for a single month.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I pay 89% of my tax as advance tax?
Section 234B applies to the whole shortfall, not to the 1% by which you missed the mark. The 90% test is a cliff rather than a taper: at 90.0% you owe nothing under this section, and at 89.9% you pay 1% a month on the entire difference between your assessed tax and what you paid. It is worth rounding your final instalment up rather than cutting it fine.
Do I owe interest on a capital gain I could not have predicted?
Not under section 234C, provided you pay the tax on it in the instalments still remaining after the gain arose, or by 31 March if none remain. The same relief covers lottery winnings and dividend income. It does not extend to section 234B, though, so a gain realised in late March can leave you clear of 234C and still short of the 90% test for 234B.
I am a freelancer under presumptive taxation. When do I pay?
In a single instalment by 15 March, rather than across four dates. This is one of the real benefits of section 58 (the old section 44ADA): your exposure to deferment interest is capped at 1% for one month instead of the three-plus-three-plus-three-plus-one months a regular taxpayer faces. The ₹10,000 threshold still applies, so below that you pay no advance tax at all.
Does tax paid on 31 March still count as advance tax?
Yes. Any tax paid on or before 31 March of the financial year is treated as advance tax for that year, even though the last instalment was due on 15 March. Paying between those dates does not avoid the section 234C interest on the 15 March instalment, but it does count toward the 90% test that section 234B uses.