अग्रिम कर क्या है?

अग्रिम कर वह आयकर है जो उसी वर्ष किश्तों में चुकाया जाता है जिसमें आय अर्जित हुई — ₹10,000 से अधिक देनदारी पर अनिवार्य।

It falls due in four instalments: 15% by 15 June, 45% cumulative by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and the whole amount by 15 March. Senior citizens without business income are exempt.

Shortfalls attract interest under sections 234B and 234C at 1% a month. Because the interest is calculated per instalment, paying the full amount late in March does not undo a June shortfall.

क्यों मायने रखता है

Freelancers and business owners are caught by this most often — their income has no TDS against it, so the entire liability is theirs to pay in advance.

एक उदाहरण, आँकड़ों के साथ

A freelancer expects a total tax liability of ₹1,20,000 for the year, with ₹20,000 already deducted at source, and pays nothing in advance.

आँकड़े उदाहरण के लिए हैं; आपकी स्थिति के अनुसार बदलेंगे।
Estimated liability	₹1,20,000
Less TDS already deducted	₹20,000
Advance tax payable	₹1,00,000
Due by 15 June — 15%	₹15,000
Due by 15 September — 45% cumulative	₹45,000
Due by 15 December — 75% cumulative	₹75,000
Due by 15 March — 100%	₹1,00,000

Paying nothing until filing attracts interest under section 234B at 1% a month on the shortfall from April, plus 234C interest for each instalment missed. On ₹1,00,000 that is several thousand rupees of pure avoidable cost.

कानूनी स्थिति

प्रत्येक आँकड़े के साथ उसका स्रोत।
मद	मान	स्रोत
Threshold	Liability of ₹10,000 or more after TDS	Section 208, Income-tax Act 1961
Instalments	15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, 100% by 15 March	Section 211, Income-tax Act 1961
Presumptive taxpayers	Single instalment of 100% by 15 March	Section 211(1), proviso
Senior citizen exemption	Residents aged 60 or above with no business income are exempt	Section 207(2), Income-tax Act 1961
Interest for deferment	1% per month on each shortfall	Section 234C, Income-tax Act 1961

इसे इनसे न मिलाएँ

ये शब्द अक्सर एक-दूसरे के लिए इस्तेमाल कर लिए जाते हैं। ये अलग हैं।

Self-assessment tax

Self-assessment tax is what remains payable when you file, after TDS and advance tax. Advance tax is paid during the year, before the liability is final.

TDS

Someone else deducts TDS from a payment to you. Advance tax you compute and pay yourself on income nobody has deducted from — capital gains, rent, business profit.

आम सवाल

What if my income is unpredictable?

Estimate, pay, and revise at the next instalment. Section 234C specifically forgives a shortfall arising from capital gains or lottery income that could not have been foreseen, provided the tax is paid in the instalment following the receipt.

Are senior citizens really exempt?

Residents aged 60 or above are exempt under section 207(2), but only if they have no income from business or profession. A retired consultant still invoicing clients does not qualify.

जो अक्सर ग़लत होता है

Assuming salary TDS covers everything, when rental income or capital gains sit outside it
Paying the whole amount in March and still being charged 234C interest for the earlier instalments
Selecting the wrong assessment year on the challan, which strands the payment where the return cannot use it
Forgetting that a large capital gain in March moves the whole liability into that quarter's instalment