Penalty in case of delay in payment of advance tax by 15 days

1208 views

Save Share

Ashish Singhal

Senior Engineer

45 Points Posted on 16 September 2025

Hi,

Due to software glitch on income tax website, I could not pay advance tax on Sep 15, 2025 for FY2025-2026. My question is if I pay in one or two days when the software starts working properly, for the 45 % of the total estimated advance tax (total tax liability - TDS) that I was supposed to pay till Sep 15, will I be charged interest @ 1% only for 1 month i.e. Sep (I think income tax dept charges interest minimum for 1 month) or will I be charged 1% interest for the the 3 months till Dec 15, 2025. If I will be charged anyways for 3 months, then better I pay only on Dec 15, the entire 75% so that atleast I can earn SB interest for those 3 months in my bank.

An early reply will be really appreciated.

Thx,

Aashish

Ph - 9845674767

Bangalore

Replies (3)

Quick Summary

This discussion addresses the penalties for delaying advance tax payments. The user experienced a software glitch preventing payment by the September 15th deadline. They are seeking clarification on whether interest will be charged for one month (September) or three months (until December 15th) if they pay a few days late. The response clarifies that Section 234C charges 1% interest per month for three months on the shortfall for the September instalment, resulting in a 3% charge if paid with the December instalment. It also advises keeping records of portal failures as the department may occasionally waive interest in such cases.

Dhirajlal Rambhia

SEO Sai Gr. Hosp.

121546 Points Posted on 16 September 2025

Yes, your thinking is correct, as you will be charged 3% for the entire quarter...

Aashok Kumar Sharma

Finance/Compliance Consultant

77979 Points Posted on 13 November 2026

Missed the 15 September 2025 advance tax instalment:

• Sec 234C charges 1% per month for 3 months on the shortfall in the September instalment (45% of tax), however soon you pay after 15 September. So the cost is 3% of the shortfall.

• If you pay the catch-up amount with the December instalment, no further 234C applies for December on that amount.

• 234B applies only if less than 90% of the assessed tax is paid by 31 March.

• Glitches don't waive interest automatically; the department has occasionally waived 234C on portal-failure days, so keep screenshots.

Rushabh

Automation Expert

10733 Points Posted on 14 November 2026

The September shortfall does not automatically attract interest for all three months until 15 December. Under section 234C, interest is generally 1% per month (or part of a month) on the shortfall against the 45% instalment due by 15 September, for three months. Paying one or two days late would ordinarily still count as a part-month default, so it would not reduce that September charge to one month. The later 15 December instalment is tested separately against the cumulative 75% requirement; delaying payment until then may therefore create additional interest exposure.

The 45% and 75% benchmarks are of the assessed tax, broadly tax on estimated total income less tax deducted or collected at source and eligible credits. If the portal is unavailable, retain evidence of the outage and pay through an available authorised bank/payment route as soon as possible; portal availability and payment-channel status on the relevant dates cannot be confirmed here. Recheck the challan credit and the applicable computation when filing the return.

Advance-tax tracking is part of the broader tax-compliance workflow, where due-date monitoring and payment reconciliation matter. Manual practice work is difficult, and automation reduces repetitive work while professional judgment remains in control. At Jir AI, our 2,000+ AI agents and 650+ integrations streamline GST, ITR, TDS, TCS and other compliance workflows, helping reduce manual workload by up to 70%. WhatsApp us to explore how this can support your workflow: https://wa.me/message/3HVOZ7HIY4ESC1