calc / tax / 234C

Advance Tax Tracker

Enter the year's estimated tax and what you actually paid on which day. The four instalment dates light up as met, short (with the §234C interest that costs), or upcoming — with the exact amount to pay next.

Your instalment calendar 15 Jun · 15 Sep · 15 Dec · 15 Mar

The detailed working, date by date

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§1How advance tax is counted

If your tax for the year (after TDS) is ₹10,000 or more, it's payable during the year in cumulative instalments:

by 15 Jun 15% by 15 Dec 75% by 15 Sep 45% by 15 Mar 100% presumptive 44AD/44ADA: one instalment — 100% by 15 Mar "paid by" = every challan with date ≤ the instalment date (TDS counts too)

Worked example — ₹5,00,000 tax for FY 2026-27

15 Jun 2026: need 75,000 cum paid 75,000 ✓ met 15 Sep 2026: need 2,25,000 cum paid 75,000 short 1,50,000 §234C = 1,50,000 × 1% × 3 months = ₹4,500 catch-up: paying the 1.5L on 16 Sep stops nothing for THIS instalment — the 3 months' interest is already fixed — but it protects 15 Dec.

That's the trap the tracker makes visible: §234C interest crystallises the moment an instalment date passes short. The only move that saves money is paying before the date — which is why the next tile shows the exact top-up amount.

§2The §234C meter

shortfall at 15 Jun / Sep / Dec → 1% × 3 months = a flat 3% of the shortfall for that window (15 Jun–15 Sep, 15 Sep–15 Dec, 15 Dec–15 Mar) — fixed even if you catch up mid-window shortfall at 15 Mar → 1% × 1 month = a flat 1% safe harbours: no Jun interest if ≥12% paid · no Sep interest if ≥36% minimum by a harbour date = (tax × harbour%) − already paid e.g. tax ₹10,00,000, paid ₹1,50,000 in June: by 15 Sep pay ≥ 3,60,000 − 1,50,000 = ₹2,10,000 to avoid the 3% — though the statutory 45% line is ₹4,50,000, and 15 Dec still demands 75% cumulative either way §234B (separate): if paid < 90% by 31 Mar → 1%/month on the balance from 1 April until you pay

§3Edge cases nobody budgets for

Salaried with side income — the silent defaulter

Your employer's TDS covers salary only. FD interest, consulting income, capital gains, rent — if the extra tax on those crosses ₹10,000, you owe advance tax on it, and §234C runs while you assume "TDS is handled". This is the single most common way salaried people meet §234B/C for the first time.

Paid on the 15th ≠ credited on the 15th

The law counts the credit date. e-Pay Tax on the portal credits same day even at 11 pm; cheques and some bank cut-offs post the next working day — and one day late costs the whole window's 3%. If the 15th is a bank holiday, a CBDT circular allows the next working day — but don't litigate your cash flow around a circular; pay by the 14th.

The 16–31 March window is half-forgiven

Money paid after 15 March but by 31 March is still advance tax: the missed fourth-instalment 1% stands, but you avoid §234B's open-ended 1%/month from April. If March gets away from you, the 31st is the real cliff, not the 15th.

Overpaying is its own mistake

Excess advance tax comes back as a refund earning 0.5%/month (§244A) — less than a savings account, locked till processing. Estimate honestly; parking money with the department to "be safe" has a real cost.

The instalment penalty is capped — and small

Each miss costs a fixed 3 months (1 for March) of interest on that instalment's shortfall — it doesn't keep growing. What keeps growing is §234B after 31 March if you're under 90%. Prioritise crossing 90% by 15 March above perfecting each instalment.

Windfalls get relief

Capital gains, dividend income, lottery/casual income and first-time business income arising after an instalment date don't attract §234C for the earlier dates — pay tax on them in the remaining instalments (or by 31 Mar if they arise after 15 Mar) and you're clean.

Who's exempt entirely

Resident senior citizens (60+) with no business/professional income owe no advance tax at all — self-assessment at filing is enough. And below ₹10,000 net liability, nobody owes it.

Estimates are allowed to be wrong — sensibly

§234C is computed on the tax on your returned income. Lowballing the estimate all year and truing up in March still triggers Jun/Sep/Dec interest retroactively. Re-run this tracker each quarter with your updated estimate; pay through Challan ITNS 280, code 100.

§4Related

The income-tax calculator estimates the year's tax (the first field here) and the §234F/234A cost of late filing. Deadline reminders for these four dates — email or calendar — at finance-compliance.bitgeek.in.