Advance Tax Calculator – FY 2025-26 Instalment Planner

Know Exactly What to Pay — and When — Before the Deadline Hits

This advance tax calculator tells you your total tax liability for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), splits it into the four official quarterly instalments, and flags whether you need to pay at all — all before you get an interest notice from the Income Tax Department.

Advance tax is simply pay-as-you-earn income tax. Instead of paying everything in March, the government asks you to spread it across four dates in the year. Miss a deadline or underpay, and Section 234B / 234C interest kicks in at 1% per month on the shortfall.

Advance Tax Instalment Schedule — FY 2025-26

This is the official schedule that applies to every individual taxpayer (other than a senior citizen with no business income):

Important: Advance tax is only required when your total tax payable (after deducting TDS already cut by your employer or bank) is more than ₹10,000 in a financial year. Below that threshold, you can pay everything in one shot while filing your return.

How to Use This Calculator

1. Enter your gross income — salary, freelance earnings, rental income, capital gains, interest — whatever applies to you.
2. Add deductions you plan to claim (Section 80C up to ₹1.5 lakh, 80D health insurance premium, HRA, home loan interest, etc.) and choose your tax regime (new or old).
3. Enter TDS already deducted — check Form 26AS or your salary slip for this figure.
4. Hit Calculate. You'll see your net tax payable and the exact rupee amount due on each of the four instalment dates.

Worked Example — Freelance Designer, FY 2025-26

Say Priya is a freelance graphic designer in Bengaluru. She expects to earn ₹12 lakh this year. She has no employer so zero TDS has been deducted. She opts for the new tax regime (which has no deductions except the standard deduction of ₹75,000 for salaried; freelancers under the new regime get the ₹75,000 standard deduction too from FY 2024-25 onwards).

Step 1 – Taxable income:

Gross income          : ₹12,00,000
Less: Standard deduction: ₹   75,000
Taxable income        : ₹11,25,000

Step 2 – Tax under new regime slabs (FY 2025-26):

Step 3 – Add health and education cess at 4%:

₹68,750 × 4% = ₹2,750
Total tax (incl. cess) = ₹71,500

Step 4 – TDS deducted = ₹0, so net advance tax payable = ₹71,500 (well above the ₹10,000 threshold, so advance tax is mandatory).

Step 5 – Instalment schedule for Priya:

If Priya skips the June instalment and waits until March to pay it all, she'd owe Section 234C interest of ₹322 on the June shortfall alone (₹10,725 × 1% × 3 months). Small number, but the penalty adds up when the tax bill is larger.

How the Calculator Works

The logic follows the formula in the Income Tax Act exactly:

Net Advance Tax = Total Tax Liability
                 + Health & Education Cess (4%)
                 + Surcharge (if applicable)
                 − TDS already deducted

Instalment 1 (by 15 Jun) = 15% of Net Advance Tax
Instalment 2 (by 15 Sep) = 45% − amount already paid
Instalment 3 (by 15 Dec) = 75% − amount already paid
Instalment 4 (by 15 Mar) = 100% − amount already paid

The calculator applies the correct income tax slab rates for whichever regime you choose, adds cess, and checks whether your net liability clears the ₹10,000 trigger before generating any schedule.

FY 2025-26 Tax Slabs at a Glance

New Tax Regime (Default)

New regime rebate (Section 87A): Tax is fully waived if taxable income is ₹7 lakh or below. This means many taxpayers with income up to ₹7 lakh pay zero tax under the new regime.

Old Tax Regime

Old regime Section 87A rebate applies if income is ₹5 lakh or below. The old regime lets you claim deductions like 80C (₹1.5 lakh), 80D (up to ₹25,000 for self/family health insurance), HRA, and home loan interest — which can push your taxable income down significantly.

Surcharge note: If your total income exceeds ₹50 lakh, a surcharge applies (10% on tax for ₹50 L–₹1 Cr, 15% for ₹1 Cr–₹2 Cr, and higher for incomes above that). This calculator includes surcharge fields where relevant. Always verify your final liability with a CA for very high incomes.

Practical Tips to Avoid Interest and Penalties

• Check Form 26AS first. Before entering TDS, download your Form 26AS (or the Annual Information Statement) from the income tax portal. This shows every rupee already deducted at source so you don't over-pay.
• Estimate conservatively. If your income is variable (freelance, business, stock trading), estimate slightly higher. Overpaying advance tax just becomes a refund with interest at 6% — underpaying triggers 1% per month interest under 234B/234C.
• Reassess every quarter. If a big client pays you in October, revise your December instalment upward. The schedule is based on your revised estimate each quarter, not just the original one.
• Senior citizens get an exemption. If you are 60 or older and have no income from business or profession, you are completely exempt from advance tax. You can pay everything at the time of filing your return.
• Presumptive taxation (Section 44AD / 44ADA). If you declare income under the presumptive scheme (small businesses and professionals with turnover below the prescribed limits), you only need to pay advance tax in one instalment by 15 March.
• Pay via Challan 280 online. Use the income tax e-filing portal (Tax Payment → Challan 280) to pay each instalment. Choose "Advance Tax (100)" as the payment type.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting capital gains. Sold mutual funds or shares this year? Those gains are part of your taxable income. Add them to your estimate — many people only realise this when filing and are surprised by the 234B interest bill.
• Not accounting for interest income. FD interest, savings account interest above ₹10,000 (non-senior citizen), and P2P lending income are all taxable. Include them.
• Assuming TDS = full tax paid. If your employer deducts TDS on salary but you also earn rental income or freelance fees, the TDS may not cover everything. Run your full income through this tool to check.

Your data never leaves your device. This calculator runs entirely in your browser — no income figures, no tax numbers, nothing is sent to any server or stored anywhere. You can use it with complete confidence.

Plan your quarterly instalments now using the tool above — a few minutes today saves you real money in avoidable interest.