What Happens When Advance Tax Payment Deadline Ends Today — Penalty, Interest, Consequences & Other Details
Under advance tax, taxpayers need to pay a portion of their total tax liability before the end of the financial year.
The deadline to pay the third instalment of advance tax is Monday (Dec. 15, 2025). People who earn income from other sources, such as rent, business, and capital gains, apart from their regular salary are required to pay advance tax.
Those liable to pay advance tax need to submit the total amount in a financial year in installments, depending on the due dates decided by the Income Tax Department (ITD).
This is applicable to all people and businesses when their tax liability exceeds Rs 10,000 in a given financial year. Since Dec. 15 marks the deadline for the third instalment of advance tax for the assessment year 2026-27, today is the last day to settle any pending payments.
Even Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), who have taxable income above Rs 10,000 in India, are required to comply with this rule.
Advance Tax: Schedule
The ITD has set specific due dates to file the advance tax.
First: 15% of advance tax payable on or before June 15.
Second: 45% of advance tax payable on or before Sept. 15.
Third: 75% of advance tax payable on or before Dec. 15
Fourth: 100% of advance tax payable on or before March 15.
Penalty
Non-payment of advance tax within the deadline set by the Income Tax Department or even paying less than the specified amount results in consequences mentioned under Section 234B of the Income Tax Act 1961.
A penalty interest of 1% is charged on your default amount. Tax payers must note that this is from the due date till the date of actual payment.
For example, if your unpaid tax during the first instalment was Rs 20,000, then penalty interest gets calculated at 1% per month for a total of three months until the required amount is paid.
Also, in the case of underpayment, the penalty interest - 1% - is applied to the entire unpaid amount. This happens if at least 90% of the tax is not paid by the March 31 deadline.
In simple words, taxpayers are required to pay interest at 1% per month or part of a month over short payment or non-payment of instalment(s) of the advance tax.
How To File It
Taxpayers can follow the easy online process to pay their advance tax through the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal.
Here are steps to file it online:
1. Visit the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.
2. Search for 'e-pay Tax' option under ‘Quick Links’.
3. Provide your PAN and mobile number.
4. Share the OTP received on the phone.
5. Click on the ‘Income Tax’ tab and select ‘Continue’.
6. Select your appropriate assessment year and then click on ‘Advance Tax (100)’ as the type of payment.
7. Enter the required tax amount as per calculations.
8. Select your mode of payment (debit card, net banking, UPI and others).
9. Check all the payment details carefully and click on 'Pay Now'.
10. Download the acknowledgement receipt with BSR code and challan serial number.
