Freelancer income tax calculator for India (44ADA)

How presumptive taxation works for freelancers

Presumptive taxation lets a resident professional skip detailed books of accounts. Instead of proving actual expenses, you declare a fixed share of your receipts as profit. It was section 44ADA of the Income-tax Act 1961; from 1 April 2026 the same scheme is in section 58 (Table, serial 3) of the Income-tax Act 2025.

• Deemed profit: 50% of gross receipts (you may declare more, never less).
• Limit: receipts up to ₹50 lakh, or up to ₹75 lakh if cash receipts are no more than 5% of the total. Bank transfers, UPI, cards and payment-platform settlements are not cash, so most freelancers paid online get the ₹75 lakh limit.
• No audit: no tax audit is needed when you declare under the scheme within these limits.
• One advance-tax date: pay all of it by 15 March, instead of four quarterly instalments.

Who can use it

The scheme is for "specified professions". The new Act names information technology and technical consultancy explicitly, along with legal, medical, engineering, architecture, accountancy, interior decoration and film professions. Software developers, IT consultants and engineers clearly qualify. For designers, writers, marketers and virtual assistants, whether the work counts as a specified profession is less certain; ask a chartered accountant before relying on it. Non-qualifying businesses have a similar scheme at a different deemed-profit rate.

New-regime tax slabs (FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27)

• Rebate: if taxable income is ₹12 lakh or less, a rebate of up to ₹60,000 cancels the tax (section 87A, now section 156). Just above ₹12 lakh, marginal relief limits the tax to the income above ₹12 lakh.
• Surcharge: 10% of tax above ₹50 lakh income, 15% above ₹1 crore and 25% above ₹2 crore (the new regime caps it at 25%), with marginal relief.
• Cess: 4% health and education cess on tax plus surcharge.
• The ₹75,000 standard deduction is for salary and pension only; it doesn't apply to professional income.

Worked examples

That's why presumptive taxation is popular: a freelancer billing ₹24 lakh a year can owe no income tax at all, provided they have no other income.

Freelancers paid from abroad

Foreign receipts are converted to rupees. Rule 206 of the new Rules refers to the SBI telegraphic-transfer buying rate, but many professionals use the rupees actually credited to their bank. Keep records of both. Two more points for anyone with foreign clients:

• ITR form: ITR-4 can't be used if you hold assets outside India, such as a balance kept in a foreign Wise, Payoneer or Deel wallet, or if you claim foreign tax credit. In that case file ITR-3.
• GST and the RBI: exports of services are zero-rated for GST under an LUT. From 1 October 2026, banks also need a monthly Export Declaration Form (EDF) for export receipts. Here's what freelancers need to do.

Due dates

• 15 March: advance tax, 100%, if the total tax is ₹10,000 or more. Paying late means interest.
• 31 August: return due date for professionals who don't need an audit (moved from 31 July by Budget 2026).

This calculator gives an estimate for resident individuals under the new regime, the default. It doesn't cover the old regime, capital gains or losses, or deductions. Tax law has many conditions; confirm your figures with a chartered accountant before filing.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated 11 October 2026. How we check our tools. Sources: Income-tax Act 2025 (s.58, s.156, s.408); Finance Act 2025 and 2026; incometax.gov.in. Research shared with easylancing, reviewed 3 Oct 2026.