Advance Tax Due Dates FY 2026-27

What advance tax is and who pays it

Advance tax is exactly what it sounds like: paying your income tax during the year it is earned, rather than in a lump sum after. The principle is 'pay as you earn'. If your total tax liability for the year, after TDS, is ₹10,000 or more, you are required to pay it in instalments across the year.

This catches far more people than they expect: freelancers and professionals, anyone with significant capital gains, landlords with rental income, and salaried individuals with large interest, dividend, or other side income where TDS did not fully cover the tax. Senior citizens (60+) without business income are the main exception, they are exempt from advance tax.

The four due dates for FY 2026-27

For most taxpayers, advance tax is paid in four instalments, each a cumulative percentage of your estimated annual liability:

Each date is a running total, so by 15 September you should have paid 45% in all, not an additional 45%. Taxpayers under the presumptive scheme (44ADA/44AD) get a simpler deal: the entire advance tax in a single instalment by 15 March 2027.

How 234B and 234C interest works

Miss or underpay advance tax and two interest charges apply, both at 1% per month:

• Section 234C, deferment interest. Charged when you pay less than the required cumulative percentage by each instalment date. It is computed instalment by instalment, so falling short in June costs you even if you catch up later.
• Section 234B, default interest. Charged when your total advance tax paid during the year is less than 90% of your final liability. It runs from 1 April of the assessment year until you pay the balance.

A worked example

Kavita, a consultant, estimates her tax for the year at ₹2,00,000 with no TDS. She forgets advance tax entirely and pays the whole ₹2,00,000 when filing in July 2027. Her 234C interest accrues for missing all four instalments, and 234B runs from 1 April 2027 to July at 1% per month on the shortfall, together several thousand rupees of avoidable interest.

Had she paid ₹30,000 by 15 June, ₹60,000 more by 15 September, and so on to hit the cumulative targets, both charges would have been zero. Advance tax is not extra tax, it is the same tax paid on time, so the interest is pure avoidable cost.

How to pay advance tax online

1. Estimate your total annual income and tax, netting off expected TDS. Our Income Tax Calculator helps you get the number.
2. Go to the income tax e-filing portal → e-Pay Tax, or use the authorised bank net-banking route.
3. Select the correct assessment year (AY 2027-28 for FY 2026-27) and the 'Advance Tax (100)' challan type.
4. Pay and save the challan; the credit reflects in your Form 26AS and AIS.

The hardest part is estimating income mid-year, especially with variable freelance income or capital gains you have not booked yet. Under-estimate and you face interest; over-estimate and you lock up cash until refund. Our income tax & ITR filing service computes each instalment so you pay the right amount at the right time. book a free consultation to set up an advance-tax plan.

A year-round advance-tax routine

Turn advance tax from a scramble into a routine with this rhythm across FY 2026-27:

• April: estimate your annual income and tax, netting off expected TDS.
• Each instalment date (15 Jun / 15 Sep / 15 Dec / 15 Mar): re-estimate and top up to the cumulative target, 15%, 45%, 75%, 100%.
• Pay via e-Pay Tax on the income tax e-filing portal, selecting AY 2027-28 and the Advance Tax (100) challan.
• Book capital gains and pay the tax on them in the very next instalment, gains often arrive unpredictably and blow up the year-end number.
• Reconcile paid challans against Form 26AS.

The biggest practical trap is a large capital gain late in the year, which can trigger 234C for the earlier instalments. The law gives some relief for gains that could not be foreseen, but the safest habit is simply to pay the tax on a gain in the instalment right after you book it.