What is challan 280?
Challan 280 is the challan for income tax other than tax deducted or collected at source. It is used for advance tax, self-assessment tax, and tax paid on a regular assessment. The payment is made on the income-tax e-filing portal. The challan number is the proof that the tax was paid.
No. Tax deducted or collected at source is paid on challan 281. Challan 280 is for advance tax, self-assessment tax, and tax on a regular assessment.
Which tax does it pay?
The minor head on the challan says which of those three it is.
- 100: advance tax
- 300: self-assessment tax, paid before the return is filed
- 400: tax on regular assessment, paid after a demand
A company selects corporation tax, major head 0020. Anyone else selects income tax, major head 0021. Tax deducted at source is not paid here. That payment uses challan 281. The return that this tax belongs to is on the income-tax return page.
How is it paid now?
Sign in on the income-tax e-filing portal and open e-Pay Tax. Choose the major head, the minor head, the assessment year, and the amount. The portal offers the payment modes it currently lists, including net banking. Save the challan after the bank confirms the payment. The older route of filling a paper challan only at a designated branch is not the method the portal now uses.
When is advance tax due?
Advance tax is due when tax payable for the year, after tax already deducted at source, is more than ₹10,000. The instalments are 15 percent by 15 June, 45 percent by 15 September, 75 percent by 15 December, and the whole by 15 March. A person who opts for the presumptive scheme under section 44AD or section 44ADA pays the whole of that advance tax by 15 March in one instalment. A salaried person whose employer has already deducted the tax usually has nothing left to pay as advance tax.
Deductions such as section 80C are available only in the old regime. They are on the 80C page. The new-regime slabs for FY 2025-26 are on the Budget 2025 page.
What does the challan not do?
It does not file the return, and it does not open an assessment. A company still files its return by 31 October, or by 30 November where a transfer-pricing report under section 92E applies. The challan is quoted in that return so the tax already paid is credited.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover TDS, assessment, the major head, and paying at a bank branch.
Is challan 280 the challan for TDS?
No. Tax deducted or collected at source is paid on challan 281. Challan 280 is for advance tax, self-assessment tax, and tax on a regular assessment.
Does paying challan 280 open an assessment?
No. The challan is the proof of payment. An assessment starts only when the Act provides for one.
Which major head does a company use?
A company uses corporation tax, major head 0020. A person other than a company uses income tax, major head 0021.
Is a visit to a designated bank branch still required?
No. The payment is made from the e-Pay Tax option on the income-tax e-filing portal. The portal lists the modes it accepts.
Sources
Payment is made through e-Pay Tax on the income-tax e-filing portal. Advance-tax instalments are section 211.