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Four dates. No surprise interest.

If your tax for the year tops ₹10,000, the government wants it in instalments — not one lump at filing. Enter your estimate and we'll lay out each quarter's due date and amount, so you can pay on time and keep 234B/C interest to a minimum.

Your estimate

50% of gross receipts taxed as profit (s.58(2) Table Sl. No. 3 (formerly 44ADA)), up to ₹50L — ₹75L if cash receipts are ≤5% — only for specified professions (IT, engineering, architecture, legal, medical, accountancy, technical consultancy, interior decoration, and a few notified others). Writers, marketers and coaches may not qualify; check with your CA.

receipts for the year
₹
₹
expected for the year
₹

Clients deducting 194J/194C reduce what you owe directly.

What if I miss an instalment? Section 234B/C interest
Section 425 (formerly 234C) (missed instalments)₹8,985
Section 424 (formerly 234B) (after the year ends)₹0

Approximation per the 1% per month formula. Your CA computes the exact figure at ITR filing.

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Take the schedule with you

Every instalment with its statutory due date, the cumulative percentage each one has to reach, and how the liability was arrived at — plus the same dates as calendar events with a reminder a week before each.

No email, no signup. The calendar file carries a 7-day reminder for Apple, Google and Outlook.

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Worked example

Software developer earning ₹15L gross — FY 2026-27, 44ADA, new regime

Step 1 — Taxable income: Software development is information technology, a notified profession, so presumptive taxation is open (s.58(2) Sl. 3, formerly 44ADA, for FY 2026-27). Under it, 50% of gross receipts is treated as profit. ₹15,00,000 × 50% = ₹7,50,000 taxable income.

Step 2 — Slab tax (new regime FY 2026-27): ₹0–₹4L @ 0% = ₹0. ₹4L–₹7.5L @ 5% = ₹17,500 slab tax.

Step 3 — Section 87A rebate: Taxable income ₹7.5L is below the ₹12L threshold, so the full ₹17,500 slab tax is rebated. Total tax = ₹0.

Step 4 — Advance tax: With ₹0 tax liability, no advance tax instalments are required (the ₹10,000 threshold in s.404, formerly 208). If TDS was deducted by clients, claim it back as a refund at ITR filing.

What if TDS was deducted? On ₹15L gross with professional-fee TDS @ 10% (s.393, formerly 194J), TDS = ₹1,50,000. Since total tax = ₹0, the full ₹1,50,000 is refundable when you file ITR-4.

How this works

Pay as you earn, not all at once.

Do freelancers need to pay advance tax in India?
Yes, if the tax on your income for the year, after TDS, comes to ₹10,000 or more (Section 208; s.404 of the Income-tax Act 2025 from FY 2026-27), you must pay advance tax — in four cumulative instalments by 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March, or in a single instalment by 15 March if you file under Section 44ADA (Section 211(1)(b); s.408(2) from FY 2026-27).
How is advance tax calculated under Section 44ADA?
Under 44ADA presumptive taxation, 50% of your gross professional receipts is treated as taxable income. Apply the slab rates of your chosen regime (old or new) to that 50% to get your annual tax. Presumptive taxation is only for specified professions (IT, engineering, architecture, legal, medical, accountancy, technical consultancy, interior decoration and a few notified others), so check that yours is one. The instalment schedule is then different from everyone else’s: Section 211(1)(b) gives presumptive filers a single instalment — 100% of the advance tax by 15 March — instead of the four-instalment ladder. The schedule above already reflects this once you mark yourself as a 44ADA filer.
What happens if I miss an advance tax instalment?
You'll owe Section 234B interest (1% per month on the underpaid balance from 1 April after the FY ends until you pay) plus Section 234C interest (a fixed 1% a month for three months on each missed instalment's shortfall, one month for March). Missing even one instalment can add ₹5,000+ to your final bill on a ₹15L income. Use the '234B/C interest if delayed' calculator below the schedule above to see exactly what your delay would cost.
Can I pay all my advance tax in March instead of quarterly?
It depends which schedule you are on. If you file under 44ADA, paying the whole amount by 15 March is not a workaround — it is exactly what Section 211(1)(b) provides (s.408(2) from FY 2026-27), and no 234C arises for the earlier quarters. If you are not presumptive, the four-instalment ladder applies and paying only in March leaves 234C interest running on each missed quarter.
What are the advance tax due dates for FY 2026-27?
For a non-presumptive taxpayer there are four: 15% cumulative by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March. Each is cumulative, not a separate quarter — if you paid nothing by 15 June, the 15 September instalment has to carry the full 45%. A 44ADA presumptive filer instead pays 100% in one instalment by 15 March — Section 211(1)(b), which is s.408(2) of the Income-tax Act 2025 for FY 2026-27.
How do I estimate advance tax when my income is unpredictable?
Estimate the full year as best you can at each instalment date and pay the cumulative percentage of that estimate — the law expects a good-faith estimate revised as the year develops, not clairvoyance. If a large invoice lands in Q4 and pushes the year up, the earlier instalments are judged against what was reasonable then, but the shortfall still carries 234C. Revising upward at 15 December is usually cheaper than discovering it in March.
Does TDS my clients deduct count towards advance tax?
Yes. Advance tax is due on your liability net of TDS, so tax already deducted under 194J and credited against your PAN reduces what you owe. This is why the TDS your clients deduct matters twice — once as cash you did not receive, and once as a credit that lowers the instalment. TDS that was deducted but never appears in your 26AS gives you neither, which is the case worth checking before every instalment date (Form 26AS for FY 2025-26; Form 168 from tax year 2026-27).
What is the difference between 234B and 234C interest?
They charge different failures. 234C is the instalment charge — 1% per month on the shortfall at each due date you missed, for a fixed three months (one for March). 234B (s.424 from FY 2026-27) is the year-end charge — 1% a month from 1 April after the year ends, when the advance tax you paid was less than 90% of your assessed tax (your tax for the year after TDS). Both can apply to the same year.
Is there a threshold below which I can ignore advance tax?
Yes — Section 208 (s.404 from FY 2026-27) sets it at ₹10,000 of tax liability for the year, computed after TDS. Below that, no advance tax is due and neither 234B nor 234C arises. It is a tax threshold, not an income one, so a freelancer whose clients deduct TDS at 10% across the board can sit under it at a receipt level that sounds high.
How do I actually pay it?
Through the e-Pay Tax facility on the income tax portal, choosing the advance tax challan and the correct year — assessment year 2026-27 for FY 2025-26 income, but tax year 2026-27 for income earned from April 2026 to March 2027, since the Income-tax Act 2025 has no assessment year. The slip worth guarding against is selecting self-assessment tax instead of advance tax: both are legitimate payment types, they sit next to each other in the same menu, and a payment booked under the wrong one is harder to match against the instalment it was meant for. Read the payment type back before you confirm.
What if I overpay advance tax?
It comes back as a refund when the return is processed, with interest under Section 244A where applicable. Overpaying is not penalised; it is simply your money sitting with the department until the refund is issued. Given that the interest for underpaying runs at 1% per month, a modest overestimate is usually the cheaper direction to err in.
Do I still pay advance tax if my income is only from foreign clients?
Yes. Advance tax is charged on your total income, and export of services is income like any other — the absence of an Indian deductor simply means no TDS is credited against it. In practice that makes advance tax more important, not less: with nothing withheld at source, the entire liability has to be met through instalments, and the 90% test under 234B is easy to fail.

For FY 2025-26: Sections 44ADA, 208–211 and 234B/234C of the Income-tax Act 1961. For FY 2026-27: ss.58(2) Sl. 3, 404–408 and 424/425 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (rates per Finance Act 2026, unchanged). Results are indicative; consult a CA for filing.

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Plain-English definitions of the terms behind this calculator.