Advance Tax Due Dates 2026-27: Instalments and Interest

Quick answer: Advance tax due dates for tax year 2026-27 are 15 June 2026 (15 percent of estimated tax), 15 September 2026 (45 percent), 15 December 2026 (75 percent) and 15 March 2027 (100 percent). It applies if tax after TDS is Rs 10,000 or more. Late or short payment triggers interest formerly under sections 234B and 234C, now sections 424 and 425.

If you are a freelancer, consultant or small business owner in India, no employer deducts tax for you each month. Advance tax is the system that makes you pay income tax as you earn it, in four instalments, rather than in one lump sum after the year ends. Miss the advance tax due dates and you pay interest. This guide covers the 2026-27 dates under the Income-tax Act, 2025, who must pay, how to calculate each instalment, the interest rules formerly known as 234B and 234C, and a worked example. To keep income records that make estimates easy, issue every invoice through our free invoice generator.

This is general information, not tax advice. Section references reflect the Income-tax Act, 2025 as reported in published commentary as of October 2026; confirm with a chartered accountant for your situation.

Advance tax due dates for tax year 2026-27

The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026, and tax year 2026-27 is the first full year under it. The instalment schedule is unchanged from the old Act. Commentary on the new Act places the instalment rules in section 408.

Due date	Cumulative amount payable	Presumptive taxpayers (sections 44AD/44ADA successors)
15 June 2026	At least 15% of estimated tax	Nil
15 September 2026	At least 45%	Nil
15 December 2026	At least 75%	Nil
15 March 2027	100%	100% in one instalment

Note that the percentages are cumulative. By 15 September you must have paid 45 percent in total, not 45 percent on top of June's 15 percent. The final instalment for the previous year, due 15 March 2026, stayed under the 1961 Act.

Who has to pay advance tax?

You must pay advance tax if your estimated tax for the year, after deducting TDS and TCS, is Rs 10,000 or more. In practice that includes:

• Freelancers and consultants paid by clients without enough TDS, especially foreign clients.
• Business owners and traders, including those using presumptive taxation.
• Salaried people with significant rental, interest or capital gains income on top of salary.
• Investors with large capital gains during the year.

A resident senior citizen (aged 60 or above) with no income from business or profession does not have to pay advance tax. Everyone else above the threshold does.

Salaried people with other income

Your employer deducts TDS on salary, but only on the salary. If you also earn rent, freelance fees, interest or capital gains, the tax on that extra income may not be covered. You can either declare the other income to your employer so it deducts more TDS, or pay advance tax yourself on the four dates. If the uncovered tax is Rs 10,000 or more, doing neither leads to interest.

Capital gains and one-off income

Capital gains and other windfalls are hard to predict in June. The rules recognise this: tax on such income is generally payable in the remaining instalments after the gain arises, and if you pay it by then, deferment interest on the earlier instalments does not apply to that part. Sell shares in November, for example, and include the tax on the gain in your December and March payments.

Advance tax section numbers: old vs new

If you read older guides, the section numbers will look unfamiliar. Published commentary maps them as follows:

Rule	Income-tax Act, 1961	Income-tax Act, 2025
Liability for advance tax	207	403
Rs 10,000 threshold	208	404
Computation (estimated tax minus TDS/TCS)	209	405
Instalments and due dates	211	408
Interest for default in payment	234B	424
Interest for deferment of instalments	234C	425
Presumptive income for small business and professionals	44AD, 44ADA	58

The Income Tax Department publishes the text of the new Act section by section, including section 425 on interest for deferment of advance tax.

How to calculate advance tax: step by step

1. Estimate total income for the year. Add expected business or professional income (using actual books or presumptive income), salary, rent, interest and capital gains.
2. Subtract deductions available under the regime you will use. The new tax regime is the default for individuals and allows fewer deductions.
3. Compute tax at the slab rates for the year, adding surcharge and health and education cess where applicable, and subtracting any rebate.
4. Subtract TDS and TCS you expect on income included in the estimate. Check Form 168 (formerly Form 26AS) for what has been reported.
5. Check the threshold. If the balance is below Rs 10,000, no advance tax is due.
6. Apply the cumulative percentages (15, 45, 75 and 100) to the balance, subtracting what you have already paid.
7. Re-estimate before each date. If income rises or falls, adjust the next instalment.

Worked example: a freelancer's advance tax instalments

Meera, a freelance UX consultant in Bengaluru, keeps regular books. In June 2026 she estimates her tax for 2026-27 at Rs 3,00,000. Indian clients will deduct TDS of about Rs 60,000. Her advance tax liability is Rs 3,00,000 minus Rs 60,000, which is Rs 2,40,000.

Due date	Cumulative %	Cumulative amount (Rs)	Instalment to pay (Rs)
15 June 2026	15%	36,000	36,000
15 September 2026	45%	1,08,000	72,000
15 December 2026	75%	1,80,000	72,000
15 March 2027	100%	2,40,000	60,000
Total			2,40,000

The four instalments add up: 36,000 + 72,000 + 72,000 + 60,000 = 2,40,000.

What if she misses the June instalment?

If Meera pays nothing in June but catches up in full by 15 September, the shortfall at 15 June is Rs 36,000. Interest for deferment (formerly 234C, now section 425) is 1 percent per month for three months: Rs 36,000 x 1% x 3 = Rs 1,080. Because she paid at least 36 percent by September, no deferment interest applies for that instalment.

What if she pays too little overall?

Suppose she pays only Rs 1,50,000 of advance tax by 31 March 2027, against the Rs 2,40,000 due. That is 62.5 percent, below the 90 percent test, so interest for default (formerly 234B, now section 424) applies on the Rs 90,000 shortfall at 1 percent per month from 1 April 2027. If she pays the balance as self-assessment tax in July 2027, that is four months (April to July): Rs 90,000 x 1% x 4 = Rs 3,600, in addition to deferment interest on the missed instalments. The rules on rounding and how the months are counted are technical, so treat these as approximations.

Revising the estimate mid-year

Estimates are allowed to change. Suppose that in December Meera lands a large project and now expects tax of Rs 3,60,000 with the same Rs 60,000 TDS, so advance tax rises to Rs 3,00,000. By 15 December she must have paid 75 percent of the new figure, Rs 2,25,000. She has paid Rs 1,08,000 so far, so her December instalment becomes Rs 1,17,000, and she pays the remaining Rs 75,000 by 15 March. Because the earlier instalments were based on a lower estimate, some deferment interest may still arise on them, but catching up promptly keeps it small.

Interest under 234B and 234C, now sections 424 and 425

Feature	Section 424 (formerly 234B)	Section 425 (formerly 234C)
Triggered by	Total advance tax paid below 90% of assessed tax	Shortfall in any instalment
Rate	1% per month or part of a month	1% per month
Period	From 1 April after the tax year to date of payment or determination	3 months for June, September and December; 1 month for March
Relief	None if 90% paid	No interest if 12% paid by June or 36% by September

Interest for late filing of the return (formerly 234A) is separate and is reported to be in section 423. Interest on refunds runs the other way and is paid to you if you overpay.

Advance tax vs self-assessment tax

Advance tax is paid during the tax year, by 15 March. Any balance you discover after 31 March, when you prepare your return, is paid as self-assessment tax before filing, using a different minor head on the challan. Paying self-assessment tax stops further interest for default from that date, but it does not undo interest already charged for missed instalments. If you have overpaid, the excess is refunded after the return is processed, which is why accurate estimates matter in both directions.

Advance tax for presumptive taxpayers

Small businesses and professionals using presumptive taxation, formerly sections 44AD and 44ADA and now consolidated in section 58, pay their entire advance tax in one instalment by 15 March. If they pay less, deferment interest is charged for one month on the shortfall. This makes presumptive taxation popular with freelancers. Our guides to section 44ADA for freelancers and section 44AD explain eligibility, and our sibling guide to ITR for freelancers covers which return form to file.

Worked example for a presumptive professional

Arjun is a freelance architect who opts for presumptive taxation. His estimated tax for 2026-27 is Rs 1,10,000, and clients will deduct Rs 40,000 of TDS, leaving advance tax of Rs 70,000. He owes nothing in June, September or December. If he pays Rs 70,000 by 15 March 2027, no interest arises. If he pays only Rs 50,000 by then, the Rs 20,000 shortfall attracts deferment interest of Rs 20,000 x 1% x 1 = Rs 200. His total payments are 50,000 divided by 70,000, about 71 percent, which is below 90 percent, so interest for default also runs on the shortfall from 1 April 2027 until he pays it.

How to pay advance tax online

1. Go to the e-Pay Tax service on the income tax e-filing portal or use your bank's net banking.
2. Enter your PAN and verify with the OTP sent to your mobile.
3. Choose income tax, select tax year 2026-27, and choose the minor head for advance tax.
4. Enter the amount and pay by net banking, debit card, UPI or another listed method.
5. Download the challan receipt and note the challan identification number. You will need it in your return.

Payments made on the due date count for that instalment, but bank and portal outages are common on the 15th, so aim to pay a day or two early. Within a few days, check that the payment appears against your PAN in the tax credit statement. If you chose the wrong tax year or minor head, contact your bank or use the challan correction facility on the portal as soon as possible, because a misallocated payment can trigger interest notices even though the money was paid.

Tips to stay on schedule

• Track income monthly. Consistent invoices make the estimate quick. Check the user guide to save client and invoice details.
• Know your TDS. Use our TDS rate chart for 2026-27 and the guide to TDS on professional fees to estimate what clients will deduct.
• Set money aside. Move a share of each payment into a tax reserve; our guide to a cash flow forecast shows how to plan around the four dates.
• Keep GST separate. GST collected is not your income. File GST returns separately; see GST return filing.
• Working with foreign clients? They do not deduct Indian TDS, so advance tax may cover most of your liability.

If you also deal with tax systems abroad, the idea is similar elsewhere: compare our guide to quarterly estimated taxes for US freelancers.

Plan your advance tax with clean invoice records

The advance tax due dates are fixed: 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March, with cumulative targets of 15, 45, 75 and 100 percent. What makes them manageable is knowing your income as the year goes on. Issue numbered invoices, record every payment and TDS deduction, and revisit your estimate before each date to avoid interest under sections 424 and 425. Create professional invoices for every client with the free invoice generator and keep your tax year organised from the first instalment. It is free, needs no account, and exports a print-ready PDF invoice.