Advance Tax Paid Under the Wrong Assessment Year

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Direct answer: You can correct the assessment year on a paid challan yourself. Log in to incometax.gov.in, open Dashboard, then Services, then Challan Correction, pick the wrong challan and change the assessment year. The portal accepts corrections for challans of AY 2020-21 onwards, and each field can normally be corrected only once. If the online route does not accept your challan, write to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer, who can correct challan data under the OLTAS challan correction mechanism. Your money is not lost. It is sitting against the wrong year and must be moved.

Advance tax is paid for the financial year that is running, but the challan asks for the assessment year, which is the next year. Tax for FY 2025-26 goes under AY 2026-27. Many people select the year they are living in, not the year ahead. The payment then shows in Form 26AS and AIS of the wrong year, and the correct year shows a shortfall. The portal may compute interest under Sections 234B and 234C for the correct year until the challan is moved.

The usual process is:

1. Log in to incometax.gov.in with your PAN.
2. Go to Dashboard, Services, Challan Correction and choose Create Challan Correction Request.
3. Select what you want to change. The service covers the assessment year, the major head (for example 0021, income tax other than companies) and the minor head (for example 100 advance tax or 300 self-assessment tax).
4. Pick the challan using its CIN details: BSR code, date of deposit and challan serial number.
5. Enter the correct assessment year and submit.
6. E-verify with Aadhaar OTP, DSC or net banking. Track the request under the same Challan Correction tab.

Two conditions matter. The challan should not already be claimed in an ITR that the CPC has processed. And each attribute is normally correctable once, so enter the new year carefully.

If the portal rejects the request, or the challan is older than AY 2020-21, write to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer. You can find the officer under My Profile, Jurisdiction Details after logging in. The OLTAS challan correction rules let banks fix an assessment year only within seven days of deposit for over-the-counter challans, so for most online payments the AO is the practical fallback. Attach the challan copy, your computation showing why the payment belongs to the other year, and your bank debit proof.

Meera, a freelance designer in Jaipur, paid Rs 90,000 advance tax on 15 December 2025 for FY 2025-26. The correct assessment year was 2026-27, but she selected 2025-26. In March 2026 her AIS for AY 2026-27 showed no credit. She logged in, raised a Challan Correction request quoting BSR code 0510308, deposit date 15-12-2025 and serial number 04719, changed the year to 2026-27, and verified with Aadhaar OTP. The request showed as corrected in nine days, and her Form 26AS for AY 2026-27 picked up the Rs 90,000 before she filed her return in July.

Use this only if the online route fails. Submit it at the ASK counter of your income tax office or upload it with a grievance on the portal, and keep the stamped copy.

To,
The Assessing Officer, Ward [number], [City]

Subject: Request for correction of assessment year in advance tax challan, PAN [your PAN]

Respected Sir/Madam,

I paid advance tax of Rs [amount] on [date] through [bank]. By mistake the challan
was deposited under AY [wrong year] instead of AY [correct year].

Challan details: BSR code [.....], date of deposit [.....], challan serial number [.....],
CIN [.....].

The online Challan Correction request on the e-filing portal could not be processed
because [reason]. I request you to correct the assessment year to AY [correct year]
under the OLTAS challan correction mechanism so that the credit reflects in my
Form 26AS for the correct year.

Enclosed: challan copy, bank statement extract, computation of advance tax.

Yours faithfully,
[Name, PAN, address, mobile, email, date]

• Paying again under the correct year “to be safe”. You then have to chase a refund of the first payment. Correct the challan instead.
• Filing the ITR claiming the credit without correcting the challan. The CPC matches challans by assessment year. You may receive a Section 143(1) demand and have to file a rectification.
• Waiting until the filing deadline. Corrections take days to weeks to reflect. Start as soon as you notice the error in your e-Pay Tax history or AIS.
• Confusing minor heads. Advance tax is minor head 100. Self-assessment tax is 300. A wrong minor head is corrected by the same online service.

The Income Tax Department is a public authority. If your written correction request to the AO gets no reply for over a month, you can file an RTI application on rtionline.gov.in asking for the status of your application, the officer holding it and the reasons recorded for the delay. See how to file RTI online and, if the reply is evasive, first and second appeals. RTI gets you the file status. The correction itself still happens through the portal or the AO.

The portal service covers challans of AY 2020-21 onwards. There is no short day-count window like the old bank route, but the challan must not already be consumed in a processed return, so act before you file.

Only for physical counter challans, and only within seven days of deposit under the OLTAS rules. Online e-Pay Tax challans are corrected on the portal or by the AO.

Until the challan moves, the system treats the correct year as short-paid and may compute interest under Sections 234B and 234C. Once the correction is processed with the original payment date, the credit applies from that date. Check the computation in any intimation you receive.

The online service will refuse the request. Write to the AO explaining that the credit was not actually due in that year, and seek rectification for both years. Professional help is worth it here.

Check the Challan Correction status tab, then your e-Pay Tax payment history, then Form 26AS and AIS for the correct year. Allow a week or two for downstream statements to refresh.

No. AIS feedback flags wrong third-party data. A wrong challan year is fixed by challan correction, not feedback. For genuine AIS data errors, see fixing AIS and Form 26AS mismatches.

• AIS or Form 26AS mismatch: property sale, FD interest, salary TDS
• AIS shows rent received but you are not a landlord
• All practical guides

Download the advance tax challan correction checklist (PDF).

When advance tax is paid in the wrong assessment year, here is the complete guide to correction and refund:

1. Step 1: What is advance tax? (a) advance tax is tax payable in installments during the financial year (as income is earned — not at the end of the year), (b) it is mandatory if the tax liability exceeds Rs 10,000 in a financial year (for salaried: TDS covers most — but for business/profession/capital gains/rental income: advance tax is required), © due dates: 15% by June 15, 45% by September 15, 75% by December 15, 100% by March 15 (for non-corporate — corporate has different dates), (d) the assessment year (AY) is the year after the financial year (FY) — e.g., FY 2024-25 = AY 2025-26.
2. Step 2: The problem. (a) the taxpayer pays advance tax in the wrong AY (e.g., pays advance tax for AY 2025-26 instead of AY 2024-25 — or vice versa), (b) the tax is credited to the wrong AY (the Income Tax Department's system records the payment under the wrong AY — and the correct AY shows unpaid advance tax), © the taxpayer gets a notice for non-payment of advance tax (under Section 234B and 234C — interest for non-payment of advance tax), (d) the wrong AY shows excess payment (the taxpayer has a refund in the wrong AY — but the correct AY has a demand).
3. Step 3: How to correct. (a) file a request with the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) — requesting transfer of the advance tax payment from the wrong AY to the correct AY, (b) the request should include: (i) the challan details (challan number, BSR code, date of payment, amount — and the wrong AY and the correct AY), (ii) the PAN (of the taxpayer), (iii) the reason for the error (clerical mistake — or system error), (iv) the computation (showing the advance tax paid, the correct AY, and the tax liability), © submit the request online (through the Income Tax portal — ePortal — under “Rectification” or “Challan Correction”) or offline (at the JAO's office), (d) the JAO can: (i) transfer the payment to the correct AY, (ii) adjust the interest under Section 234B/234C (waive or reduce — if the error was genuine), (iii) issue the refund for the wrong AY (if the payment is transferred — the wrong AY will show a nil liability, and any excess can be refunded).
4. Step 4: File RTI. File RTI with the Income Tax Department asking for: (a) the status of challan correction request for challan number [number] (BSR code: [number] — dated [date] — amount: Rs [amount] — PAN: [number]), (b) whether the advance tax payment has been transferred from AY [wrong] to AY [correct] (if yes: provide the transfer date and the order — if no: the reason for delay), © whether the interest under Section 234B/234C has been recalculated (after the transfer — if the interest has been waived or reduced), (d) whether any demand notice is pending for AY [year] (after the correction — if yes: the amount and the reason), (e) the status of the refund for AY [wrong] (if the payment has been transferred — and the wrong AY shows excess).
5. Step 5: Rectification. (a) file a rectification application under Section 154 (if the assessing officer has passed an order based on the wrong AY — e.g., an intimation under Section 143(1) showing demand), (b) the rectification should: (i) point out the error (the advance tax was paid in the wrong AY — and the correction request is pending), (ii) request correction of the intimation (transfer the payment — and recalculate the tax and interest), © the rectification must be filed within 4 years of the end of the AY in which the order was passed, (d) the JAO must dispose of the rectification within 6 months (though it often takes longer).
6. Step 6: CPC and grievance. (a) if the JAO does not act: contact the CPC (Centralized Processing Center — Bangalore, which processes ITRs), (b) file a grievance on the Income Tax portal (under “Grievance” — select “Challan Correction” or “Rectification”), © escalate to the CIT (Commissioner of Income Tax) — the CIT can direct the JAO to act, (d) approach the Income Tax Ombudsman (if the issue is not resolved — the Ombudsman can mediate and direct correction), (e) file a writ petition (Article 226 — if the department refuses to correct despite clear evidence).
7. Step 7: Interest waiver. (a) Section 234B: interest at 1% per month (for non-payment or short-payment of advance tax — from the due date to the date of filing ITR), (b) Section 234C: interest at 1% per month (for deferment of advance tax — i.e., not paying in the correct installments), © the taxpayer can request waiver (if the error was genuine — e.g., the challan was filled correctly but the system recorded the wrong AY), (d) the waiver is at the discretion of the assessing officer (the officer examines: (i) whether the tax was actually paid, (ii) whether the error was bona fide, (iii) whether the taxpayer acted promptly to correct), (e) Example: Advance tax Rs 5,00,000 paid in wrong AY — interest Rs 50,000 (for 10 months) — if waived: Rs 5,00,000 transferred to correct AY, interest Rs 0.

See Advance Tax Wrong AY and Find PIO.