e-Pay Tax on the Income Tax Portal: How to Generate a Challan (CRN), Its 15-Day Validity, and Which Payment Modes Work

The Income Tax Department's e-Pay Tax service, available on the redesigned portal at incometax.gov.in, lets any taxpayer generate a Challan Reference Number (CRN) and pay direct taxes without setting foot in a bank branch. According to the official e-Pay Tax FAQ, a CRN generated through this service is valid for 15 days from the date of generation; if you do not initiate payment within that window, the challan lapses and you must generate a fresh one.

That 15-day clock is the single fact most taxpayers overlook. For Assessment Year 2026-27, the non-audit return filing due date under Section 139(1) is 31 July 2026, and Section 140A requires any self-assessment tax to be cleared before the return is uploaded. Generate your CRN too early, sit on it, and you can find an expired challan blocking your filing on the last evening. This guide covers the statutory mechanics, a worked Rs 26,400 example built on the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs, and the errors that surface during return processing.

What the Section Says

The e-Pay Tax service is accessible in two ways on incometax.gov.in: pre-login, by entering your PAN or TAN and a one-time password sent to your registered mobile, and post-login, from inside your e-Filing account. Both routes generate the same instrument, a CRN, which is a unique reference for the challan you have built but not yet paid. The CRN is distinct from the Challan Identification Number (CIN), which the system issues only after the payment succeeds.

Per the official e-Pay Tax FAQ published on incometax.gov.in, the CRN carries a "Valid Till" date set 15 days after generation. Within that window you may pay through any of the supported modes. There is one important relaxation: if you choose Pay at Bank Counter (Over the Counter) and present your cheque, demand draft, or cash at the authorised bank on or before the Valid Till date, the validity is extended by a further 90 days to allow for clearing. For every other mode, 15 days is the hard limit.

A generated CRN cannot be edited. If you keyed in the wrong assessment year, minor head, or amount, you cannot amend that challan; you simply create a new one. The portal offers a convenient shortcut here, letting you copy an earlier CRN to pre-fill a fresh challan with the same details, which you then correct before regenerating. The expired or abandoned CRN needs no cancellation; it falls away on its own after 15 days.

The choice of minor head drives where your money lands. Use code 100 (Advance Tax) for instalments paid during the financial year, code 300 (Self-Assessment Tax) for the balance paid under Section 140A at filing, and code 400 (Tax on Regular Assessment) when responding to a demand. For individuals the major head is 0021 (income tax other than companies). The table below summarises the five payment routes and their validity behaviour.

A point worth flagging from the e-Pay Tax FAQ on the current portal build: the Payment Gateway route is the only one that accepts a credit card and UPI, while the older direct routes (net banking, debit card, OTC, RTGS/NEFT) do not. If you intend to pay a self-assessment liability on a credit card, the gateway is your only path, and you should budget for the gateway's own convenience fee, which is separate from the tax. You can model the underlying liability first with Oquilia's income tax calculator before you ever open the portal.

Worked Example

Consider Meera, a salaried professional in Bengaluru, filing for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) under the new tax regime. After the standard deduction, her taxable income works out to Rs 18,00,000. Applying the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs gives the computation below; the slabs are confirmed against the Finance Act 2025 rates.

Meera's employer has already deducted Rs 1,40,000 as TDS, reflected in her Form 16 and Form 26AS. Her advance-tax position was otherwise covered, so the balance she owes under Section 140A is Rs 1,66,400 minus Rs 1,40,000, equal to Rs 26,400. This is the self-assessment tax she must pay before uploading her ITR by 31 July 2026. You can reproduce this whole exercise, including comparing the two regimes, with the old vs new regime calculator and the new regime calculator.

On 10 July 2026, Meera logs in to incometax.gov.in, opens e-Pay Tax, selects assessment year 2026-27 and minor head 300 (Self-Assessment Tax), and enters Rs 26,400. The portal generates a CRN with a Valid Till date of 24 July 2026, exactly 15 days out. She pays the same evening by net banking, the system issues a CIN instantly, and that CIN flows into her pre-filled ITR within a day or two. Had she generated the CRN on 10 July but waited until, say, 26 July, the challan would already have expired and she would have had to start again, with the 31 July deadline bearing down.

Common Mistakes

The most frequent error seen in return processing is a mismatch between the minor head and the actual stage of payment. Taxpayers paying their Section 140A balance sometimes select code 100 (Advance Tax) instead of code 300 (Self-Assessment Tax). The money reaches the government, but it sits under the wrong head, and the self-assessment liability still shows as unpaid, occasionally triggering a notice. Because a CRN cannot be edited after generation, the only fix is a fresh challan under the correct head.

A second recurring slip is letting the 15-day window lapse. A CRN generated on, say, 1 July 2026 expires on 16 July 2026 if untouched. People who build the challan early to "get it out of the way" and then pay closer to the 31 July 2026 deadline find an expired CRN. Generate the challan only when you are ready to pay, or pay immediately after generating.

Third, taxpayers confuse the CRN with the CIN. The CRN identifies an unpaid challan; the CIN is the proof of payment and is the number you quote in Schedule IT of your return. Entering a CRN where a CIN is expected leaves the tax-paid schedule incomplete. Always wait for the CIN that appears after a successful transaction, and cross-check it against Form 26AS before filing. If TDS itself looks wrong upstream, our guide on correcting a wrong AIS entry explains the feedback route.

Fourth, selecting the wrong assessment year is surprisingly common. For income earned in FY 2025-26 the correct assessment year is 2026-27, not 2025-26. A challan tagged to the previous AY credits the wrong year and can produce a demand for the year you actually meant to pay. Verify the AY on the confirmation screen before you authorise payment, and remember that an inoperative PAN can also disrupt how a payment is credited.

FAQ

How long is a CRN valid on the e-Pay Tax portal?

A Challan Reference Number is valid for 15 days from the date of generation, per the official e-Pay Tax FAQ on incometax.gov.in. If you do not initiate payment within those 15 days, the CRN expires and you must generate a new one. There is no charge for generating a fresh challan.

Does the Pay at Bank Counter mode get longer validity?

Yes. For the Over the Counter (OTC) mode, if you present the cheque, demand draft, or cash at the authorised bank on or before the Valid Till date, the validity is extended by an additional 90 days to allow the instrument to clear. This 90-day extension applies only to OTC, not to net banking, debit card, RTGS/NEFT, or the payment gateway.

Can I pay my self-assessment tax using a credit card or UPI?

Yes, but only through the Payment Gateway mode. Among the five routes, the gateway is the one that accepts net banking, debit card, credit card, and UPI. The other modes (net banking, debit card, OTC, RTGS/NEFT) do not take a credit card directly. Note that the payment gateway may levy its own convenience fee separate from the tax amount.

I made an error in my challan. Can I edit the CRN?

No. Once a CRN is generated it cannot be modified. You create a new challan instead. The portal lets you copy an earlier CRN to pre-fill the details, after which you correct the wrong field, such as the assessment year or minor head, and regenerate. The faulty CRN needs no cancellation; it lapses after 15 days.

What is the difference between a CRN and a CIN?

The CRN (Challan Reference Number) identifies a challan you have generated but not yet paid. The CIN (Challan Identification Number) is issued only after a successful payment and is your proof of tax paid. You quote the CIN, not the CRN, in the tax-paid schedule of your ITR. Learn more in our glossary on self-assessment tax and advance tax.

Which minor head do I select for self-assessment tax?

Use minor head 300 (Self-Assessment Tax) for the balance paid under Section 140A at the time of filing. Use 100 (Advance Tax) for instalments paid during FY 2025-26, and 400 (Tax on Regular Assessment) when paying against a demand. For individuals the major head is 0021. See our glossary entries on TDS and assessment year for related terms.

Do I need to log in to generate a challan?

No. The e-Pay Tax service works pre-login as well: enter your PAN or TAN and authenticate with a one-time password sent to your registered mobile number. You can also use it post-login from your e-Filing account on incometax.gov.in, which has the advantage of pre-filling some of your details.