Do I need to pay advance tax?

Short answerYou must pay advance tax if your total tax liability for the year, after TDS, is ₹10,000 or more. It is paid in instalments during the year rather than in one lump at filing. Resident senior citizens with no business income are exempt from advance tax.

The ₹10,000 trigger

Advance tax applies when your net tax for the year — after subtracting the TDS already deducted — is ₹10,000 or more. It commonly catches people with significant interest, capital gains, rent, dividends or business income on which enough TDS isn’t deducted.

Who is exempt

A resident senior citizen (60+) with no business or professional income does not have to pay advance tax — they can pay at filing instead. Everyone else over the threshold must pay in instalments, or face interest under Sections 234B and 234C. Confirm the current rules per the Finance Act.

A worked example

Example: you have a salary (with TDS) plus ₹5 lakh of capital gains on which no TDS was deducted. If the tax on those gains is, say, ₹60,000, that exceeds ₹10,000, so you owe advance tax on it during the year. Missing it triggers interest. A salaried person whose employer deducts all the TDS usually has nothing extra to pay. Our team can compute your instalments.

Talk to CA Vijay R Singh

Unsure whether you owe advance tax? You can message him directly, or book a short call to talk through your situation.

This answer is general information for taxpayers, not tax advice. Tax rates, thresholds and forms change with each Finance Act — please confirm the current position for your own facts, or speak to us, before acting.

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