Lesson 3 of 3 · 7 min
Advance tax, and invoicing like an adult
With no payroll spreading your tax across the year, the instalment deadlines are yours to manage — and clean invoices are what make filing a short job.
An employer deducts tax every month without you thinking about it. Freelancers get the opposite deal: if your total tax for the year, after TDS credits, comes to ₹10,000 or more, you are expected to pay it during the year in instalments. This is advance tax, and missing instalments quietly adds interest to the bill.
Advance tax through the year
By 15 June
15% of the year's estimated tax
Yes, an estimate — you true it up at each later instalment as the year's income becomes clearer.
By 15 September
45% cumulatively
Counting what was already paid in June.
By 15 December
75% cumulatively
By now the year's shape is usually known.
By 15 March
100% of the year's tax
Presumptive filers under 44AD or 44ADA get a simpler deal: the whole amount in one go by this date.
Quick check
After counting the TDS your clients deducted, your remaining tax for the year works out to ₹8,000. Are advance tax instalments mandatory for you?
Put these in order
Your first paid gig just closed. Put the money-hygiene setup in the order that protects you most.
- Each quarter, match Form 26AS and AIS against your invoices
- Keep receipts for work expenses, even if you plan to use presumptive
- Set aside a fixed share of every payment for tax the day it arrives
- Open a separate bank account that only work income touches
- Send a numbered invoice with your PAN, the date and a clear description
Match them up
Five terms a freelancer needs cold
Pick a term, then pick what it actually means.
Pick a term on the left.
Check yourself
1 / 3
Kabir asks
After counting client TDS, your remaining tax for the year is ₹8,000. Are advance tax instalments mandatory?
Done reading?
Saved in this browser — and finishes the course.