Advance tax due date: 15 Jun, 15 Sep, 15 Dec, 15 Mar schedule

What advance tax is and who must pay it

Advance tax is income tax paid during the financial year in which you earn the income, rather than in one lump sum after the year ends. The idea is simple: you pay tax as you earn, in installments spread across the year. Salaried people mostly meet this through TDS, but income that TDS does not fully cover, such as freelance receipts, business profit, rent, interest, or capital gains, can leave a balance you must pay yourself.

Section 208 sets the trigger. You are liable to pay advance tax if your total tax liability for the year, after reducing the TDS and TCS already deducted, comes to Rs 10,000 or more. Below that figure, advance tax does not apply and you can settle any small balance as self-assessment tax when you file.

The four installment due dates

Section 211 sets the standard schedule for most assessees. Each date is cumulative, so by a given installment you should have paid at least the stated percentage of your total advance tax for the year, counting what you already paid in earlier installments.

One useful point on the last date: any tax paid by 31 March of the financial year is still treated as advance tax for that year, even though the final installment date is 15 March. That does not remove interest for a late installment, but it does keep the payment classified as advance tax rather than something paid in the next year.

The presumptive single-installment rule and senior citizen exemption

Two groups do not follow the standard four-date schedule, and both are easy to get wrong.

1. Presumptive taxpayers (section 44AD or 44ADA): a taxpayer who declares income under the presumptive scheme can pay the whole advance tax in a single installment on or before 15 March. There is no 15 June, 15 September, or 15 December milestone for them.
2. Resident senior citizens (60 or above): a resident individual aged 60 or more who does not have income from business or profession is exempt from advance tax. Such a person can pay the tax as self-assessment tax when filing the return.

The senior citizen exemption falls away if the person runs a business or practises a profession. In that case the ordinary rules apply again, so confirm the source of income before assuming the exemption covers you.

Interest under sections 234B and 234C in plain language

Missing an advance tax date does not stop you from paying later, but it adds interest. Two separate sections apply, and they measure different failures.

1. Section 234C (shortfall in an installment): this charges interest when you pay less than the required percentage by a given installment date. It runs at 1% per month for specified periods on the shortfall measured against each milestone. In effect, it is the penalty for deferring an installment within the year.
2. Section 234B (default in advance tax): this charges interest when the advance tax you paid during the year is less than 90% of your assessed tax. It runs at 1% per month from 1 April of the assessment year until you pay the balance or the assessment is made.

The two can apply together. Section 234C covers the timing of your installments during the year; section 234B covers the larger gap that remains after the year ends if you underpaid by more than 10%. Paying each installment close to the schedule is what keeps both charges small.

The 1% per month rate and the 90% threshold are the standard figures under these sections. Treat them as the general rule and confirm the current numbers on an official source, since rates and thresholds in the Act can be revised.

How Budget and CBDT changes affect the amounts

The installment dates under section 211 have been stable, but the amounts you owe depend on tax rates, slabs, and thresholds. The Finance Act passed with each Union Budget can change rates, rebates, and surcharge levels, and CBDT clarifies details through circulars. A rate change alters your total tax, which in turn changes what 15%, 45%, and 75% of your advance tax actually work out to.

When you plan installments for a new year, confirm three things:

1. The tax rates and slabs that apply for the relevant year.
2. Whether the Rs 10,000 threshold under section 208 has been revised.
3. Any rebate or relief that reduces your total tax before you compute the installment percentages.

Verify these on the official portal rather than a forwarded summary. The schedule is a fixed frame; the numbers inside it move with the current law.

How to compute and pay advance tax yourself

You do not need a professional to pay a straightforward installment. The steps below use official services only.

1. Estimate your total income for the year and the tax on it under the rates that apply. Reduce the TDS and TCS you expect to be deducted.
2. Check the balance against the Rs 10,000 line under section 208. If it is Rs 10,000 or more, work out the installment percentage due by the next date.
3. Open the e-Pay Tax service on the e-Filing portal and select advance tax as the type of payment for the correct assessment year.
4. Pay through the challan and save the receipt. The payment reflects in your Form 26AS and AIS, which you use later when filing the return.
5. Cross-check the due date for the month against the tax calendar if you are unsure which installment is next.

If your income estimate changes mid-year, recompute at the next installment and adjust the amount. The cumulative percentages let you catch up without a separate correction process.

Common mistakes around advance tax dates

• Assuming TDS covers everything, then finding a balance above Rs 10,000 that triggered advance tax all along.
• Treating the four dates as flat quarterly amounts instead of the cumulative 15, 45, 75, and 100 percent milestones.
• A presumptive taxpayer paying in four parts when a single 15 March installment was allowed, or the reverse.
• A senior citizen with business income assuming the exemption applies when it does not.
• Underpaying by more than 10% and facing section 234B interest on top of the section 234C charge for the missed installments.
• Using last year's rates to size the installment after a Budget changed the slabs.

Where Complied AI fits

Advance tax rates and thresholds move through Budget documents, Finance Acts, and CBDT circulars. Complied AI keeps those CBDT updates in one feed so you can open the source notification behind a change instead of trusting a forward. When you need the rule itself, read the Income Tax Act sections on installments and interest next to the update rather than only the headline date.