Advance Tax Calculator

Advance tax in plain words

Advance tax means paying your income tax during the year in which you earn the income, in instalments, instead of in one go when you file the return. Salaried people often never think about it because the employer's TDS covers most of their tax. It matters when a good part of your income has no TDS, or too little: rent, interest, capital gains, freelance fees or business profit. The Income Tax Department's guidance is that advance tax is payable when the tax for the year, worked out under the advance tax provisions, is ₹10,000 or more. This calculator takes your expected tax, subtracts the TDS and TCS you expect, and if ₹10,000 or more is left, splits it across the due dates.

Due dates and how much to pay

Under section 211 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as described by the Income Tax Department, the instalments are cumulative:

• by 15 June: at least 15% of the advance tax;
• by 15 September: at least 45%, less what you have already paid;
• by 15 December: at least 75%, less what you have already paid;
• by 15 March: the whole amount, less what you have already paid.

If you declare income under the presumptive schemes of section 44AD or 44ADA, the whole advance tax is due in a single instalment by 15 March. The department also states that a resident senior citizen who has no income from business or profession is not liable to pay advance tax. Tick the matching box and the calculator applies these rules.

How to use it

1. If you already know your likely tax for the year, including 4% cess, enter it. Otherwise choose to work it out from income, enter your salary and other income, and pick the regime.
2. Enter the TDS and TCS you expect for the full year, from your employer, your bank and your own records.
3. Read the schedule: "Paid by this date" is the cumulative total and "This instalment" is what to pay on that date if you paid every earlier one in full.

The income option uses the FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) rules: new regime slabs from ₹4,00,000 to 30% above ₹24,00,000, the ₹75,000 or ₹50,000 standard deduction on salary, the 87A rebate, surcharge above ₹50 lakh and 4% cess.

A worked example

You expect total tax of ₹1,20,000 for the year and TDS of ₹20,000. The balance of ₹1,00,000 is above ₹10,000, so advance tax applies. By 15 June pay ₹15,000 (15%). By 15 September the cumulative total should be ₹45,000, so pay ₹30,000. By 15 December it should be ₹75,000, so pay another ₹30,000. By 15 March pay the last ₹25,000 to reach ₹1,00,000.

Working from income instead: a ₹15,00,000 salary plus ₹3,00,000 of interest under the new regime gives taxable income of ₹17,25,000 and tax of ₹1,50,800 with cess. If TDS is ₹1,10,000, the balance of ₹40,800 splits into ₹6,120, ₹12,240, ₹12,240 and ₹10,200.

Interest if you pay late or too little

The Income Tax Department describes two interest charges. Section 234B charges 1% a month, or part of a month, when advance tax is not paid or the advance tax paid is less than 90% of the assessed tax. Section 234C charges interest for deferring instalments, that is, for paying less than the share due by a due date. From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies, and the department lists sections 424 and 425 as the matching provisions. This calculator does not compute that interest.

Limits

• The due dates and percentages shown are those under the Income-tax Act, 1961 for FY 2025-26. For later years, confirm the schedule on incometax.gov.in.
• Capital gains taxed at special rates are not handled by the income option; enter your tax directly if you have them.
• It is a planning aid for individuals, not tax advice.