See what advance tax is due on 15 June, 15 September, 15 December, and 15 March, what you are short by, and what sections 234B and 234C will cost you.
Do salaried people pay advance tax?
Usually not, because their employer deducts TDS every month and that counts. It starts to matter when you have income your employer does not know about: interest, rent, capital gains, freelance work, or dividends. Enter your TDS above and the calculator will tell you whether anything is left over.
What if my income is lumpy?
Estimate honestly at each date and pay on that. Section 234C does not charge interest where a shortfall came from capital gains, lottery winnings, or a new business you could not have foreseen, as long as you pay that tax in the next instalment or by 31 March.
What is the difference between 234B and 234C?
Section 234C is about timing within the year: you paid the right total but too late in the year. Section 234B is about the total: you reached the end of the year having paid less than 90% of what you owed. You can attract both, and they are charged separately.
Is 31 March too late?
For the instalment itself, yes - the fourth falls due on 15 March. But anything paid up to 31 March still counts as advance tax rather than self-assessment tax, which limits how far section 234B runs.
What if I run a business under section 44AD?
Then you pay once, all of it by 15 March. Tick the presumptive box above. The same rule applies to professionals under 44ADA.
Are senior citizens exempt?
A resident aged 60 or more with no business or professional income does not have to pay advance tax at all. Interest income alone does not take that away from them.