India · Travel
See exactly how much extra a Tatkal ticket costs for your class — the percentage, the min/max caps, and the total fare.
The basic fare shown in the fare breakup — before reservation fee, superfast charge, and GST.
AC 3-Tier (3A) Tatkal rule
30% of basic fare, minimum ₹300, maximum ₹400 — per passenger.
Pick your class
Tatkal exists in 2S, SL, CC, 3A, 2A, and EC — each has its own percentage and caps.
Enter the basic fare
Use the basic fare from the fare breakup, not the all-inclusive total.
Set passengers
Tatkal tickets carry up to 4 passengers; the charge applies to each.
Read the result
The calculator shows the per-passenger charge, whether a min/max cap applied, and the total fare.
Tatkal is a last-minute quota, and the premium for it is a straightforward surcharge on the basic fare: 10% in Second Sitting and Sleeper, 30% in the AC classes — AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and Executive Chair Car. Each class then applies a floor and a ceiling per passenger, so very cheap tickets pay a bit more than the percentage and expensive ones pay less: Sleeper is capped between ₹100 and ₹200, AC 3-Tier between ₹300 and ₹400, AC 2-Tier and Executive between ₹400 and ₹500, AC Chair Car between ₹125 and ₹225, and Second Sitting between ₹10 and ₹15.
The caps mean the effective premium varies more than people expect. A ₹1,200 AC 3-Tier basic fare pays 30% — ₹360 per passenger, ₹720 for a couple. But a ₹400 Sleeper fare pays the ₹100 minimum rather than 10% (₹40), an effective 25% — while a ₹3,000 AC 2-Tier fare pays only the ₹500 cap instead of 30% (₹900), an effective 17%. Long-distance AC Tatkal is, proportionally, the best value.
Two things the charge does not buy: refundability and flexibility. Confirmed Tatkal tickets are non-refundable on voluntary cancellation — the whole fare including the surcharge is forfeited — and no changes of name or boarding are permitted beyond what IRCTC allows for all tickets. Budget for Tatkal only when the trip is certain, and check our cancellation calculator for what a general-quota ticket would return instead.
Editorial Trust Panel
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Reviewed by
Last reviewed
July 17, 2026
Content update
Auto-updated on Jun 28, 2026
Scope: Charges follow the published Indian Railways Tatkal charge table (rates and class-wise caps). Premium Tatkal dynamic fares and train-specific quota availability are decided by IRCTC at booking time.
Primary references
Tatkal fares surprise people at checkout because the surcharge is buried in the fare breakup. This calculator answers the question before you book: given your class and basic fare, it shows the exact Tatkal charge per passenger, whether the class minimum or maximum kicked in, and the total you will pay for the group.
It implements the published Tatkal charge table — percentage of basic fare with class-wise caps — which has been stable since 2015. Premium Tatkal (dynamic pricing) is flagged separately because its multiplier can only be seen live on IRCTC.
Two passengers in AC 3-Tier with a basic fare of ₹1,200 each: the Tatkal charge is 30% — ₹360 per passenger, inside the ₹300–₹400 band — so the pair pays ₹720 extra, and ₹3,120 in fare-plus-Tatkal before reservation and GST add-ons. A single ₹400 Sleeper fare instead hits the ₹100 minimum: ₹100 rather than 10%.
Tatkal charge per passenger = clamp(rate × basic fare, class minimum, class maximum), where rate is 10% for 2S/SL and 30% for CC/3A/2A/EC. Caps per passenger: 2S ₹10–₹15, SL ₹100–₹200, CC ₹125–₹225, 3A ₹300–₹400, 2A ₹400–₹500, EC ₹400–₹500. Total = (basic fare + charge) × passengers, before reservation fee, superfast charge, and GST.
The Tatkal charge is a percentage of the basic fare — 10% for Second Sitting and Sleeper, 30% for AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and Executive Chair Car — subject to a class-wise minimum and maximum per passenger (for example ₹300–₹400 for AC 3-Tier). It is added on top of the normal fare, per passenger.
No. Tatkal quota is not available in AC First Class. It exists in Second Sitting, Sleeper, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and Executive Chair Car.
Premium Tatkal is a separate quota (AC classes on selected trains) that uses dynamic pricing — the fare rises with demand, up to roughly 1.5 times the Tatkal fare. Because the multiplier depends on how many seats have already sold, the exact price can only be seen at booking time on IRCTC.
Tatkal booking opens one day before the journey date (date of departure from the train’s originating station) — at 10:00 AM IST for AC classes and 11:00 AM IST for non-AC classes. Our IRCTC advance booking calculator shows the exact date and time for your journey.
For a confirmed Tatkal ticket, no — confirmed Tatkal tickets are non-refundable on voluntary cancellation, including the Tatkal charge. Tatkal tickets still on the waitlist are refunded minus the clerkage charge if they do not confirm.
Per passenger. A family of four in AC 3-Tier pays four separate Tatkal charges, each computed from the basic fare with the class min/max applied individually.