Self-Assessment Tax
Self-assessment tax is the balance income tax you pay via e-Pay Tax before filing your ITR, after adjusting TDS and advance tax already paid.
Definition
Self-assessment tax is the final balance of income tax you pay just before filing your return, after subtracting TDS/TCS already deducted and any advance tax you paid during the year. It differs from advance tax (paid in four instalments during the financial year on estimated income) and TDS (deducted at source by your employer, bank or other payer): self-assessment tax settles whatever is still left when you compute your actual liability at filing time.
Anyone whose computed tax for AY 2026-27 exceeds the credits already available — for example, from bank interest, capital gains, freelance income or an employer that under-deducted TDS — must pay it before submitting the ITR. An ITR filed with unpaid self-assessment tax is treated as defective, so pay first, then file.
Pay it on incometax.gov.in via e-Pay Tax (available pre-login with PAN and OTP, or after login): choose Income Tax, select AY 2026-27 and the minor head 'Self-Assessment Tax (300)', then pay by net banking, debit card, payment gateway (UPI/credit card), NEFT/RTGS or over the bank counter. The paid challan (with BSR code and challan serial number) normally auto-populates in your ITR's tax-paid schedule; verify it appears before submitting.
Interest applies if you delay: Section 234A charges 1% per month on unpaid tax if you file after the due date; Section 234B charges 1% per month from 1 April if you paid less than 90% of your total liability as advance tax/TDS; Section 234C charges interest for shortfalls in individual advance-tax instalments. Paying self-assessment tax early in the assessment year keeps the 234A/234B meter from running further.
Example
After entering her fixed-deposit interest, Priya's ITR showed ₹12,300 still payable, so she paid it as self-assessment tax through e-Pay Tax and then e-verified her return.
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Sources
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