Negative marking in NEET 2026 - How To Calculate Negative marking

NEET marking scheme 2026

All applicants must be aware of the NEET exam pattern. Candidates must not lose the presence of mind during the exam duration. Losing marks to negative marking can cost candidates. For questions where confusion arises, aspirants must utilise their time on them after answering those questions they are fully confident of. Check the NEET UG marking scheme below.

• A single correct answer carries 4 marks.

• One mark is deducted for every wrong answer.

• Unattempted or unanswered questions does not carry any mark.

• If a candidate attempts more than one answer to the same question, it will be considered an incorrect response and will be negatively marked.

Negative marking in NEET

Negative marking in NEET is a scoring system that deducts marks for incorrect answers. Negative marking comes into play when a candidate provides an incorrect answer. For each incorrect response, one mark is deducted from the total score. This deduction is meant to discourage random guessing.

How to calculate negative marking in NEET 2026?

As per the NEET exam pattern, the question paper contains 180 questions. The total marks for the NEET UG is 720. The NEET Biology (Botany + Zoology) carries 360 marks. Other subjects are NEET Physics and Chemistry which have 180 marks each. Before appearing for the exam, aspirants must be familiar with the negative marking in NEET 2026. One can calculate negative marking in NEET with the help of these points:

• Count the number of correct responses and multiply by 4

• Count the number of incorrect responses

• The difference from the above-mentioned points fetches your NEET score

Formulae to calculate NEET score:

NEET Score 2026 = (Correct answers X 4) – (Incorrect answers X 1)

How to avoid NEET exam negative marking?

NEET negative marking is the biggest enemy of the NEET scores 2026, avoiding it will improve the NEET score. Candidates must avoid blind guessing in the NEET 2026. Not knowing the answer costs the candidates one mark and it eventually increases the incorrect responses which results in negative marking.

Tips to avoid negative marking in NEET

• Try to solve those questions first which a candidate is confident of. Allocate your time to each question accordingly. Do not waste your time on questions which you are unsure of.

• Preparation is a key to success. Practice as much as possible. This will help in improving speed and increase in getting NEET correct responses.

• Candidates must read the NEET questions carefully before marking them. A silly mistake can cost marks. Aspirants must not be in a hurry while filling responses.

• Candidates unsure of answer to any question must eliminate the incorrect options and select the correct one while making guesses.

• Practice as much as NEET previous years' questions, mock tests. This will help in knowing the exam pattern and also helps them to point out mistakes during the mock tests which will not be repeated during the exams.

• Candidates should remain calm and relaxed state of mind during the exam. Anxiety and stress will increase chances of marking the incorrect responses. Aspirants should have a clear mind set while attempting the NEET question paper 2026.

• Aspirants must review their answers after completing the NEET question paper. The factual errors and other mistakes can lead to negative marking. Aspirants must analyse the paper correctly before handing it over to the invigilator.

• Aspirants must read the question paper thoroughly. Before marking a response, read the question twice to understand it correctly. Sometimes, a single read can contribute or miss the important details which would lead to negative marking.