Negative Marking Calculator for NEET, UPSC, SSC & CAT

Use this negative marking calculator to estimate your raw exam score from an answer key. Pick the exam and paper, then enter just three counts: how many you attempted, how many were correct, and how many were wrong. The selected preset fills a starting marking rule, and you can edit it whenever your notice uses a different rule.

Exam or paper

Choose the year and paper that match your test. Each preset is limited to the question group named here.

How many did you attempt?

Correct answers

Wrong answers

Correct answers + wrong answers must equal the number attempted.

Edit scoring rules

The selected exam fills these values. Change them when your paper or question type uses a different rule.

Marks for each correct answer

Wrong-answer penalty

Your counts are calculated in this browser and are not sent to a server.

Answer sheet and calculator showing correct, wrong, and unanswered exam responses

How to use the calculator

Keep your answer key and the instructions for the exact paper or section beside you. Then:

Choose your exam, year and paper from the list. Read the note below the selector; it explains what that preset includes.
Enter the number attempted, the number correct and the number wrong. Correct plus wrong must equal attempted.
Select Calculate my score. If your notice has a different marks value or penalty, open Edit scoring rules and change it first.

You do not need to count every question in the paper. Leave blank responses out of all three counts: attempted means correct answers plus wrong answers. The result is based on the answers you entered; it is not a count of unanswered questions or the full paper maximum.

Negative marking formula

Net score = (correct answers × marks for each correct answer) − (wrong answers × penalty for each wrong answer)

The calculator also shows accuracy, marks deducted, and your score as a percentage of the marks that could have been earned from those attempts. Accuracy is correct answers ÷ attempted answers × 100. That percentage is useful for checking your answer-key estimate, but it is not an official percentile, normalized score, cutoff prediction or percentage of every mark available in the full paper. To convert your net score as a percentage of the whole paper, use our Marks Percentage Calculator with the paper’s total marks.

Worked example: calculate marks from an answer key

Suppose a practice paper gives 4 marks for a correct answer and deducts 1 mark for a wrong one. You attempted 35 questions: 30 were correct and 5 were wrong.

Marks earned: 30 × 4 = 120
Negative marks: 5 × 1 = 5
Net score: 120 − 5 = 115
Accuracy: 30 ÷ 35 × 100 = 85.71%
Marks possible from these attempts: 35 × 4 = 140, so the score is 82.14% of attempted marks

This is an arithmetic example, not a claim about any particular exam. A negative-marking calculator can estimate your online exam score only as accurately as the counts and marking rule you enter. If an answer is challenged, a question is dropped or the final key changes, the official result can differ.

What does 1/3 or 1/4 negative marking mean?

The fraction is applied to the marks assigned to that question. If a correct answer is worth 3 marks, one-third negative marking deducts 1 mark for a wrong answer. If it is worth 4 marks, one-third deducts 1⅓ marks, while one-fourth deducts 1 mark. So “1/3 negative marking means” one-third of a question’s marks are deducted for that wrong response; it does not mean one-third of your total score disappears.

Some notices state a ratio, such as one-third or one-fourth. Others state a fixed deduction, such as −0.5. Choose the matching rule in Edit scoring rules. A wrong-answer penalty may also differ by question type, section or stage, so calculate separate groups when the paper uses more than one scheme.

Popular exam presets and what they cover

The exam selector includes presets for common entrance, government recruitment and banking papers. Each label names its year and paper so you can avoid applying a familiar rule to the wrong stage. These are starting values, not a replacement for your admit-card instructions, information handout or final answer key.

NEET, JEE, CUET, GATE, CAT and CLAT

NEET UG 2026: +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong answer. Check the official NEET UG 2026 bulletin and final key for any question-specific changes.
JEE Main 2026: the preset is +4/−1 for an objective question group. The paper has question-type and paper-specific details, so do not include JEE Main Paper 2A Drawing Test responses in this group. See the official JEE Main 2026 bulletin.
JEE Advanced 2026: there is no single marks-and-penalty setting that fits every question. Use the option marked paper-specific, enter one question group at a time, and follow the official JEE Advanced 2026 brochure and on-screen instructions.
CUET UG 2026: the preset starts at +5/−1. Check the subject paper and the official CUET UG 2026 bulletin.
GATE 2026: use separate presets for 1-mark and 2-mark MCQs. The deduction is one-third of the question marks; MSQ and NAT questions do not have negative marking, so do not mix them into the MCQ counts. See the official GATE 2026 information brochure.
CAT: the selector clearly labels its +3/−1 MCQ setting as a 2025 official reference. It excludes typed-answer (TITA) questions, which have no negative marking under that reference. Check the current CAT official website before using it for another year.
CLAT UG 2026: the preset is +1/−0.25. Confirm the current paper instructions on the official CLAT 2026 site.

UPSC, NDA and UGC NET

UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2026: choose GS Paper I or CSAT (Paper II). The preset uses a one-third penalty based on each question’s assigned marks. Review the latest UPSC examination notice before calculating.
NDA 2026: Mathematics and General Ability Test have separate presets. The displayed marks per question are estimates based on the paper’s standard totals; the one-third penalty is applied as a ratio. Edit the values if your paper instructions differ. See the official NDA II 2026 notification.
UGC NET: the selector labels the June 2025 scheme as the verified reference: +2 for a correct response and no negative marking. Check the official UGC NET June 2025 bulletin or the current NTA bulletin for a later cycle.

SSC, railway and banking exams

SSC CGL 2026: choose Tier I, Tier II Paper I objective Sections I–III, or Tier II Paper II/III. Their preset values differ, and the Paper I option excludes the Data Entry Speed Test. Check the official SSC CGL 2026 notice.
SSC CHSL 2025 and SSC MTS 2025: the selector separates tiers and sessions because their marking rules differ. CHSL’s last verified reference is +2/−0.50 in Tier I and +3/−1 in Tier II Session I; MTS Session I has no penalty and Session II uses +3/−1. Review the CHSL notice and MTS notice.
RRB NTPC CEN 07/2025: the CBT preset uses +1/−1⁄3. Check the stage and instructions in the official RRB NTPC notification.
IBPS PO/MT XVI, CSA XVI and RRB XV (2026): each preset demonstrates the one-fourth penalty with a 1-mark question. The deduction is one-fourth of the marks assigned to each question, so edit the positive marks when your question group carries a different value. See the current IBPS PO/MT XVI, IBPS CSA XVI and IBPS RRB XV pages.
SBI PO: the selector labels the 2025 official reference separately. It uses one-fourth of the assigned marks (−0.25 for a 1-mark question); confirm the latest cycle on the official SBI PO page.

When should I edit a preset?

Edit the values when your exam year, paper, section or question type does not match the preset label. This matters especially for exams with different marks per question, MCQ versus numerical questions, or separate stages. If one part of a paper uses +4/−1 and another uses +2/−0.5, calculate each part separately and add the net scores. Do not combine their answer counts under one rule.

If your exam is not listed, choose Other exam or custom scoring rule. Enter the positive marks and the exact deduction from the current instructions. For a fraction-based penalty, choose the stated ratio; for a fixed deduction, choose fixed marks. This also works as a UPSC marks calculator, NEET marks calculator or general answer-key marks calculator when you select the correct paper and scoring rule.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate negative marks?

Multiply your correct answers by the marks awarded for each correct response. Multiply your wrong answers by the penalty per wrong response, then subtract the penalty total from the marks earned. The calculator does these steps after you enter the counts and rule.

Do I enter unanswered questions?

No. Enter only attempted, correct and wrong counts. Correct plus wrong must equal attempted. Blank answers are outside the calculation; check your exam notice if it has an unusual rule for an unanswered item.

Why is this not my official exam score or percentile?

This is a raw marks estimate from the values you provide. It cannot account for normalization across shifts, sectional cutoffs, dropped questions, answer-key challenges, or a score-conversion method used by an exam authority. Use your official scorecard for the final result.

Are my answer counts saved?

No. The calculator performs the arithmetic in your browser. Your counts are not submitted to a server.