Advance Tax in India: Who Must Pay, Due Dates, and How to Pay Online (2026)

How-To Guide · Income Tax

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Advance tax means paying your income tax in instalments during the year, instead of one lump sum when you file your return. You must pay it if your tax liability for the year, after TDS, is Rs 10,000 or more. You pay online through the e-Pay Tax service on the Income Tax portal, on or before 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March. Miss a date or pay too little and interest under sections 234B and 234C applies. If you later disagree with a demand or interest, the dispute goes to the CIT(A) and then the ITAT. Last verified: October 2026.

01Who must pay advance tax

You must pay advance tax if your estimated tax for the financial year is Rs 10,000 or more, after subtracting the tax already deducted at source (TDS) and collected at source (TCS). This rule sits in section 208 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

It applies to salaried people with other income, freelancers, professionals, business owners, landlords, investors with large capital gains, and companies. Many people think advance tax is only for businesses. It is not. A salaried person with large interest, rent or capital gains income can also cross the Rs 10,000 limit.

02Advance tax due dates and instalment percentages

There are four due dates in a year, and each one needs a minimum cumulative share of your total advance tax. Cumulative means each figure includes what you paid before.

If you pay under the presumptive scheme for small business (section 44AD) or professionals (section 44ADA), you can pay the whole advance tax in one go, on or before 15 March.

When a due date falls on a bank holiday, check the portal notice for that year. Do not leave payment for the last day. Net banking and UPI can slow down on deadline days.

03How to pay advance tax online, step by step

You pay advance tax through the e-Pay Tax service on the Income Tax e-filing portal. You do not need to log in, but logging in fills in your details for you.

1. Open the portal. Go to incometax.gov.in and choose e-Pay Tax. You can use it with or without login.
2. Enter your PAN and mobile number. Confirm with the OTP sent to your mobile.
3. Choose the assessment year. For income earned in FY 2026-27, pick the matching assessment year shown on the portal.
4. Choose the type of payment. Select Advance Tax (100). This is the payment code used in Challan ITNS 280.
5. Enter the amount. Put the tax, surcharge and cess in the right fields. The total updates by itself.
6. Choose how to pay. Options include net banking, debit card, UPI and over-the-counter payment at an authorised bank.
7. Pay and save the challan. After payment you get a challan with a CIN (challan identification number). Download and keep it.
8. Check Form 26AS or AIS. The payment should show in your tax credit statement after the bank reports it. Check that the amount is right.

04How to calculate your advance tax

The calculation has four steps. First, estimate your total income for the year from all sources. Second, work out the tax on that income under the regime you will choose (old or new), including surcharge and cess. Third, subtract TDS and TCS. Fourth, apply the percentages from the table above.

For example, if the tax left after TDS is Rs 1,00,000, you should have paid Rs 15,000 by 15 June, Rs 45,000 in total by 15 September, Rs 75,000 in total by 15 December and Rs 1,00,000 by 15 March.

Income is not always steady. If your income changes during the year, recalculate and adjust the next instalment. You can pay extra in any instalment. Capital gains and dividend income that arise late in the year are treated more softly for interest under section 234C, so they only need to be covered in the instalments after they arise.

Once the year ends, you file your return and settle any balance. For that step, see our guide to how to file an income tax return, and to track money you are owed back, see how to check your income tax refund status.

05Interest under sections 234B and 234C

Two sections charge interest when advance tax is paid late or falls short.

Section 234B: shortfall over the year

If you paid less than 90% of your assessed tax as advance tax by 31 March, interest is charged at 1% per month or part of a month on the shortfall. It runs from 1 April of the assessment year until the tax is paid.

Section 234C: missed or short instalments

If an instalment is less than the required percentage on its due date, interest is charged at 1% per month on the shortfall. It is charged for three months on the first three instalments and for one month on the last one.

Advance tax is not a penalty. It is a schedule. Pay on time and in the right share, and no interest is charged.

Interest under these sections is automatic. It is added when your return is processed, so check the computation before you pay the balance.

06Who is exempt from advance tax

A resident individual aged 60 years or more at any time during the year does not have to pay advance tax, as long as they have no income from business or profession (section 207). Pension, interest, rent and salary income alone do not create the duty.

This exemption does not cover a senior citizen who runs a business or practises a profession. They pay advance tax like everyone else. Non-residents and people under 60 are not covered by this exemption. Also, if your tax after TDS is below Rs 10,000, you have no duty to begin with.

An exempt senior citizen still pays any balance tax as self-assessment tax before filing the return.

07Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing the wrong assessment year. Tax paid under the wrong year can be hard to match. Check the year before you pay.
• Choosing the wrong payment type. Advance tax (100) and self-assessment tax (300) are different. Use the right one.
• Forgetting income other than salary. Interest, rent and capital gains add to your tax and can push you over Rs 10,000.
• Waiting for the last day. Bank servers get busy on 15 March and 15 June.
• Not checking the credit. Always confirm the payment appears in Form 26AS or AIS.

08If you dispute a demand or interest

Sometimes the department raises a demand for tax, or charges interest under 234B or 234C, and you disagree. The usual path is an appeal to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), known as CIT(A). If you are still not satisfied, you can go to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).

Appeals come with dates, notices and hearings, and missing one can cost you. This is a different job from paying tax. For teams that handle many such matters, see our guide to tax litigation management software in India.

09Where Claw fits

Paying advance tax needs only the government portal, and Claw is not part of that. Claw becomes useful later, if a demand or interest turns into a dispute.

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

For tax matters, Claw can track income tax notices and ITAT appeals alongside your other cases, with auto case updates, a calendar of hearing dates, and WhatsApp and email alerts. Claw also has a free plan for individual advocates, and does not use customer case documents to train AI models.

10Sources and further reading

• Income Tax e-filing portal (e-Pay Tax): incometax.gov.in
• Income Tax Department, Income-tax Act text: incometaxindia.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Dates and rules can change with each Finance Act. Confirm with the portal or a chartered accountant before paying. Last verified: October 2026.

11Frequently asked questions