Advance Tax Due Dates for 2026-27

Advance tax due dates and instalment schedule

Advance tax is paid in four cumulative instalments, so each date shows the total you should have paid for the year by then, not a separate slice. The percentages below are the long-standing schedule under the Income-tax Act 1961.

Tax year 2026-27 is the first year under the Income-tax Act 2025. Confirm on the e-filing portal that the instalment dates and percentages are unchanged before paying. Checked October 2026.

Who has to pay advance tax?

Under the 1961 Act, any taxpayer whose estimated tax for the year, after subtracting TDS and TCS, is ₹10,000 or more must pay advance tax. Resident senior citizens with no business or professional income have been exempt.

In Delhi this usually covers:

• Traders and manufacturers. Shop owners in Ashok Vihar's markets, wholesalers on Lawrence Road and factory owners in Wazirpur rarely have TDS covering their tax.
• Professionals. Doctors, lawyers, architects and consultants whose clients do not deduct enough TDS.
• Freelancers. Especially those paid from abroad, where no Indian TDS is deducted at all.
• Salaried people with extra income. Rent from a second flat, large fixed deposit interest or a capital gain can push tax beyond what the employer deducts.
• Companies and LLPs. Entities pay advance tax on estimated profits on the same dates.

Khubchandani & Co. Chartered Accountants lists advance tax among its services for business owners, and Moneymji's compliance work also covers it. Both appear in our directory of chartered accountant firms in Delhi.

What about presumptive income taxpayers?

Small businesses and professionals who declare income under a presumptive scheme have been allowed to pay their entire advance tax in one instalment by 15 March, instead of four, under the 1961 Act.

This suits a kirana shop or a small consultancy that files ITR-4. Even so, paying the full amount by 15 March is a hard deadline; missing it brings interest in the same way as for other taxpayers. If your income moves beyond the presumptive limits during the year, the normal four-instalment schedule may apply, so check midway through the year.

How do you calculate advance tax?

Estimate your total income for the year, compute tax on it under the regime you plan to use, subtract expected TDS and TCS, and pay the cumulative percentage of the balance by each date.

1. 1

   Estimate income

   Add expected business profit, salary, rent, interest and any capital gains already made in the year.

2. 2

   Compute tax

   Apply the slab rates of the regime you expect to choose, plus surcharge and cess where relevant.

3. 3

   Subtract TDS and TCS

   Deduct the tax that employers, banks, tenants and customers will cut on your behalf.

4. 4

   Apply the percentage

   Pay enough so the total paid reaches 15%, 45%, 75% and 100% of the balance by each due date.

5. 5

   Revise each quarter

   Update the estimate before every instalment as sales, gains or deductions change.

Advance tax example: how the instalments add up

Take a hypothetical consultant whose estimated tax for the year, after TDS, is ₹2,00,000: they should have paid ₹30,000 by 15 June, ₹90,000 in total by 15 September, ₹1,50,000 by 15 December and the full ₹2,00,000 by 15 March.

The figures are illustrative, not a tax computation. The point is that each date sets a running total. If this consultant paid nothing in June and then ₹90,000 in September, interest would still be charged on the June shortfall for the months it was unpaid. Once the year ends, any balance is paid as self-assessment tax before the return is filed by the ITR due date.

What interest applies if you pay advance tax late?

Two interest charges apply under the 1961 Act: section 234C for paying an instalment late or short, and section 234B for paying too little advance tax by the end of the year. Both are simple interest calculated monthly on the shortfall.

Interest under 234C is worked out for each instalment you missed or underpaid, from its due date. Interest under 234B runs from the start of the following year until you pay the shortfall, usually when you file your return. Neither is a penalty in the legal sense, but together they can add a noticeable amount to the bill. The equivalent provisions in the Income-tax Act 2025 carry new numbers, so a notice for tax year 2026-27 will cite different sections.

If a capital gain or a one-off receipt arises after an instalment date, the 1961 Act has let you pay tax on it in the remaining instalments without 234C interest for the earlier ones. Pay it at the next due date.

How do you pay advance tax online?

Advance tax is paid through the e-Pay Tax service on the income tax e-filing portal, choosing the advance tax payment type and the correct year, using net banking, a debit card, UPI or other listed methods.

Keep the challan details. You will enter them in your income tax return, and they should also show in Form 26AS within a few days. Picking the wrong year or the wrong payment type (for example, self-assessment instead of advance tax) is a common slip that takes a correction request to fix.

Common advance tax mistakes

Most advance tax problems come from treating it as optional, forgetting that the percentages are cumulative, ignoring non-salary income, and choosing the wrong year on the challan.

• Thinking salary TDS covers everything. Your employer only deducts on salary. Rent and interest need their own planning.
• Paying 15% every quarter. By 15 September the total should be 45%, not 30%.
• Ignoring gains from shares or property. A sale in the middle of the year needs tax at the next instalment.
• Not revising estimates. A strong festive season can push a trader's December figure up sharply.
• Overpaying with no review. Excess advance tax comes back only as a refund after the return is processed.

For businesses that also deduct TDS from others, those quarterly returns run on separate dates; see TDS return filing. Clients from Ashok Vihar and nearby areas can bring their figures to our Netaji Subhash Place office before 15 December.

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