How to Pay Advance Tax Online as a Freelancer

You know you owe advance tax, you know the date is 15 March, and then you open the income tax portal and meet a screen asking you to pick an Act, a tax year, a major head and a minor head. Choose wrongly and the payment lands under the wrong year, which means a correction request later, or a mismatch when you file. Most guides explain what advance tax is and skip the clicks.

You pay advance tax online on the e-filing portal under e-Pay Tax: choose the Act, then Tax Year 2026-27, then minor head 100 for advance tax, enter the amount, pick a payment mode and download the receipt. A freelancer who has opted for the Section 44ADA presumptive scheme pays the whole year's advance tax in one payment by 15 March. This post walks through each screen, how to work out the amount, and how to fix a mistake.

Start at e-Pay Tax and choose the right Act first

You can pay before logging in, by entering your PAN and mobile number and verifying a 6-digit OTP, or after logging in under e-File and then e-Pay Tax. The first screen asks you to select the applicable Act. "Income Tax Act 2025" is for Tax Years 2026-27 onward, which includes advance tax for the current year. "Income Tax Act 1961" is for Assessment Years up to 2026-27, which you need only for self-assessment tax on last year's return. The Income Tax Department's user manual for creating a challan shows each screen.

Picking the wrong Act on this first screen is the most likely cause of a payment landing in the wrong year. The year field then reads "Tax Year" under the 2025 Act and "Assessment Year" under the 1961 Act.

Select the tile, then year, major head and minor head

After the Act, click Proceed on the Income Tax tile for advance tax. On the next screen choose the year and the heads, then continue to the tax breakup, where you enter the tax amount. Then choose a payment mode and continue to the preview page, where you can edit before you click Pay Now. Use a separate challan for each minor head, so advance tax and self-assessment tax are paid separately.

Under the 2025 Act the tile offers minor head 100 for advance tax and 300 for self-assessment tax. Self-assessment tax for Tax Year 2026-27 opens only after that tax year closes, so a payment made now for the current year is advance tax. The challan form is called ITNS 280N under the 2025 Act.

Work out the 44ADA amount from your receipts and TDS

A freelancer who declares income under the presumptive scheme pays the whole advance tax in one payment on or before 15 March, and a payment made by 31 March still counts as advance tax for the year, though it can attract interest. The guide on freelance tax in India covers the rule and the interest. Advance tax applies when the tax you will owe for the year is ₹10,000 or more after TDS credit.

Here is the working with the new-regime slabs for AY 2026-27, which are the latest slabs confirmed for that year. Slabs for Tax Year 2026-27 under the 2025 Act may differ, so check the portal's tax slab page before you pay. Gross receipts of ₹30 lakh give 44ADA profit of ₹15 lakh. Slab tax on ₹15 lakh is ₹1,05,000, and 4 percent cess makes ₹1,09,200. If your clients deducted ₹30,000 of TDS, the advance tax is ₹79,200. Slabs for the current year could change, so confirm them on the portal, and use the freelance tax estimator or the tax-free income calculator for your own numbers.

Pay by net banking, card, UPI or at a bank

The portal lists five payment modes: net banking, debit card from specified banks, a bank counter with cash, cheque or draft, RTGS or NEFT using a generated mandate, and the payment gateway, which accepts credit cards, debit cards, UPI and net banking. UPI is available only inside the payment gateway, and bank or gateway charges, if any, are on top of the tax. Cash over ₹10,000 is not allowed at the counter. The payment modes page has the detail.

You get an email and SMS after a successful payment. Pay a few days before 15 March, not on the last evening, so a bank outage does not push the payment into the wrong period.

Download the receipt and match it to your records

The challan receipt can be downloaded from the Payment History tab on the e-Pay Tax page after you log in. The receipt carries your BSR code, the payment date and the challan serial number, which together make the CIN. Download it from the Payment History tab and keep it. The guide to filing ITR-4 as a freelancer shows where they go in the return, in the schedule for advance tax and self-assessment tax. Check that the payment appears in your Form 26AS or AIS before you file, and give your bank time to report it, since the portal gives no fixed timing.

If you chose the wrong year or head, correct it online within the window

The portal has a challan correction request under Services. It works for minor heads 100, 300 and 400, on paid challans that have not yet been used. The portal's FAQ gives 7 days from the deposit date to change the year and 30 days to change the major or minor head, one request per challan. After that, you approach your Assessing Officer. Windows can change, so check the current portal text before relying on them.

Keep your income in one place before the date

An accurate payment depends on knowing your receipts so far. Rinto's income-by-client view shows which clients bring in the most, and you can mark invoices paid and always know who owes you what, which gives you a running picture of receipts. Rinto does not compute or pay your tax, so confirm the figure with a CA. The guide on how much to set aside from every payment covers the saving habit. This post is general information, not tax advice.

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