Estimate your quarterly advance tax installments on total estimated tax liability.
By 15 June: 15% of tax. By 15 September: 45% (cumulative). By 15 December: 75% (cumulative). By 15 March: 100%. This calculator shows the cumulative amount due at each milestone.
Illustrative estimate only — tax rules change frequently and vary by jurisdiction/circumstance. Verify with an accountant or official source before relying on this.
Advance tax exists because India's income tax system is designed to collect tax as income is earned, not in one lump sum months later — anyone with a tax liability above ₹10,000 in a year (after TDS) is required to pay it in four instalments across the year rather than waiting until the annual return. The schedule is cumulative, not four equal quarters: 15% of the total estimated tax liability by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, and 100% by 15 March. Senior citizens (60+) who don't run a business or profession are exempt from the advance tax requirement entirely, but everyone else with a genuine tax liability above the threshold needs to track these dates.
Two separate interest provisions penalize different kinds of shortfalls, and both charge 1% per month (or part of a month) on the shortfall amount, so understanding which applies matters. Section 234B kicks in if you haven't paid at least 90% of your total tax liability as advance tax by 31 March — a straightforward "you paid too little overall" penalty. Section 234C is more specific: it charges interest if any individual quarterly instalment falls short of its required cumulative percentage (15/45/75/100), even if you eventually pay the full amount by year-end — for the first three instalments the interest runs for 3 months, and for the final instalment it runs for 1 month. This means paying your full liability late but all at once in March doesn't avoid 234C penalties for missing the earlier June/September/December milestones — each quarter's shortfall is penalized independently.
Anyone whose total tax liability (after TDS/TCS credit) exceeds ₹10,000 in a financial year. Senior citizens aged 60 or above who don't run a business or profession are specifically exempt from this requirement, but salaried individuals, freelancers, and business owners generally are not.
15% of total estimated tax by 15 June, 45% cumulative by 15 September, 75% cumulative by 15 December, and 100% by 15 March. These are cumulative thresholds, not four equal 25% instalments — each deadline requires you to have paid that running percentage of your full-year estimated liability.
Section 234B applies if you've paid less than 90% of your total tax liability as advance tax by 31 March — an overall shortfall penalty. Section 234C applies if any individual quarterly instalment specifically missed its required cumulative percentage (15/45/75/100%), even if the full amount is eventually paid — a per-instalment timing penalty. Both charge 1% per month on the shortfall, but they're triggered by different failures.
No — paying the full amount by the March deadline can satisfy Section 234B (the 90%-by-year-end test), but it doesn't retroactively fix missed June, September or December instalments under Section 234C. Each quarterly shortfall accrues its own interest independently, calculated from that specific instalment's due date.