A marks calculator with negative marking for Indian entrance and recruitment exams
This marks calculator with negative marking turns the number of questions you got right and wrong into your exact score. Pick the exam, type your correct and wrong answers for each section from the answer key, and it shows your marks, the marks you lost to negative marking, what you would have scored without it, and how many questions you left. Presets cover JEE Main, NEET UG, CUET UG, UPSC prelims, SSC CGL and CHSL, IBPS PO, CAT and GATE; a custom mode covers any other exam.
Every preset is copied from the official notice for its exam, which is linked under the menu so you can check it yourself. The tool runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere. It calculates raw marks only: percentiles, normalised scores and ranks come later and are covered by the percentile to rank calculator and the exam-specific predictors.
How to use the Exam Marks Calculator with Negative Marking
- Choose your exam in Exam and marking scheme. The note under it summarises the scheme and the source line links to the official document.
- For each section, enter the number of Correct and Wrong answers. Leave a box empty for zero; unattempted questions are worked out for you.
- Read your score in the highlighted panel, with accuracy, marks lost to negatives and the score you would have had without them.
- Check Guessing in the table: it tells you how sure you need to be before an answer is worth attempting under that scheme.
- For any other exam choose Custom marking scheme, set questions, marks for a correct answer and marks deducted for a wrong one, and use Add section for more parts.
Exam Marks Calculator with Negative Marking features
Official schemes, dated
JEE Main, NEET UG and CUET UG 2026 information bulletins, UPSC notice 05/2026-CSE, SSC CGL and CHSL 2026 notices, the IBPS PO/MT-XVI notification and the GATE 2026 pattern.
Section-wise sheet
Separate rows for each subject or section, each with its own marks, deduction and question count, and a per-row score.
Unusual schemes handled
IBPS PO’s fractional marks (Quant questions are worth 6/7 mark), CAT’s TITA questions with no penalty, GATE’s 1/3 and 2/3 deductions, and SSC’s qualifying computer section.
CSAT qualifying check
For UPSC GS Paper II it tells you whether you reached the 33 % bar of 66 marks, and by how much.
Error checks
It refuses more answers than a section has questions, which is the most common slip when copying from a response sheet.
Marking schemes used, with sources
The UPSC notice fixes 200 marks per paper and a one-third penalty but not the number of questions; 100 and 80 are the counts used in recent papers. CAT section sizes are the IIMs’ 2024–2025 pattern. If your year differs, use Custom.
| Exam | Questions / marks | Correct | Wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| JEE Main 2026 Paper 1 | 75 / 300 (25 per subject) | +4 | −1 (Section A and B) |
| NEET (UG) 2026 | 180 / 720 | +4 | −1 |
| CUET (UG) 2026, per paper | 50 / 250 | +5 | −1 |
| UPSC prelims GS Paper I | 200 marks (100 questions recently) | +2 | −1/3 of 2 |
| UPSC prelims CSAT (qualifying 33 %) | 200 marks (80 questions recently) | +2.5 | −1/3 of 2.5 |
| SSC CGL 2026 Tier-I · CHSL 2026 Tier-I | 100 / 200 | +2 | −0.50 |
| SSC CGL 2026 Tier-II Paper-I | 3 marks per question | +3 | −1 |
| IBPS PO/MT-XVI prelims | 100 / 100 (30 + 30 + 40) | section marks ÷ questions | −1/4 of the question’s marks |
| CAT (recent pattern) | 68 / 204 | +3 | −1 MCQ, 0 TITA |
| GATE 2026 | 100 marks | +1 or +2 | −1/3 or −2/3 on MCQs; 0 on MSQ and NAT |
How the score is calculated
For every section the score is correct × marks per question − wrong × deduction, and the total is the sum over sections. Example for JEE Main: 53 correct and 12 wrong give 53 × 4 − 12 × 1 = 200 out of 300. For UPSC GS Paper I, 62 correct and 26 wrong give 124 − 26 × 0.667 = 106.67. A question marked with two options counts as wrong in NEET and UPSC, and a dropped question is usually given full marks to everyone — add it to your correct count if your final answer key says so.
The break-even figure is deduction ÷ (marks + deduction). Under +4/−1 a guess only helps on average if you are more than 20 % sure; under UPSC’s one-third penalty it is 25 %. If you can eliminate even one option out of four, a guess usually clears that bar. With no negative marking — CAT’s TITA questions, GATE’s MSQ and NAT — never leave an answer blank.
Common mistakes when calculating marks
- Counting “marked for review” answers as unattempted: in NTA exams an answered question marked for review is evaluated.
- Using the provisional key: recalculate with the final key, because dropped or changed questions move your score.
- Adding the CSAT or SSC computer section to your merit total — both are qualifying only.
- Comparing raw marks across shifts: NTA and the IIMs normalise, so a raw score is only comparable within the same shift.
Exam Marks Calculator with Negative Marking FAQ
How do I calculate marks with negative marking?
Multiply your correct answers by the marks per question, multiply your wrong answers by the deduction, and subtract. The calculator does this section by section and shows the working.
How much negative marking is there in UPSC prelims?
One-third of the question’s marks for each wrong answer, according to UPSC notice 05/2026-CSE: about 0.67 on a 2-mark GS question and 0.83 on a 2.5-mark CSAT question. Blank answers cost nothing.
Is there negative marking in JEE Main numerical questions?
Yes. The JEE (Main) 2026 information bulletin applies +4 and −1 to both Section A (MCQs) and Section B (numerical value questions).
What is the marks calculator for NEET based on?
The NEET (UG) 2026 information bulletin: 180 compulsory questions, +4 for a correct answer, −1 for an incorrect one, 0 for unanswered. Use the NEET marks vs rank predictor to turn the result into an estimated rank.
What is the negative marking in SSC CGL?
Tier-I: 0.50 for each wrong answer on 2-mark questions. Tier-II Paper-I: 1 mark for each wrong answer on 3-mark questions, per the SSC CGL 2026 notice.
Does this give my percentile or rank?
No — it gives raw marks. Percentiles depend on how everyone else in your shift scored. Use the percentile and rank tools on this site for estimates, and rely on the official scorecard for the real figure.