The InvoiceRocket Blog
Practical guides on GST notices, tax scrutiny, GST filing, invoicing and getting paid on time as a freelancer in India.
- EDFFEMAexport of servicescompliancefreelancingindia
EDF for Freelancers: The New Monthly RBI Filing for Foreign Invoices from 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, every Indian freelancer who invoices a foreign client has to declare those invoices to their bank each month on an Export Declaration Form (EDF). What the rule says, the deadline, what changes on payment timelines, and the questions your bank still has to answer.
Krishna Kammaje5 min read - GSTRCMreverse chargeimport of servicesself-invoicefreelancingindia
You Owe 18% GST on Your Claude, Cursor and AWS Bills: Reverse Charge for Indian Freelancers
If you have a GSTIN and buy software from a foreign vendor, the missing GST on that invoice isn't a discount — the liability moved to you. What reverse charge means, a real self-invoice PDF you can download, what three years of ignoring it costs, and how to fix old periods without losing the credit.
Krishna Kammaje13 min read - getting startedinvoicingfreelancingindia
How to Get Started with InvoiceRocket: Your First Customer, Contract and Invoice
The shortest path from an empty account to a sent, GST-compliant invoice — add the customer, file the contract, raise the invoice, then log expenses and timesheets. In the order the app actually expects.
Krishna Kammaje10 min read - invoicinggetting paidrecord keepingGSTfreelancingindia
Freelance Invoicing Best Practices for Indian Freelancers
Invoice numbering that survives an audit, payment terms that actually get paid, what to keep and for how long, and when timesheets earn their keep. The habits that make the difference three years later.
Krishna Kammaje10 min read - GST noticeDRC-01ALUTexport of servicesFIRASection 73freelancer complianceIndia
I Got a ₹15.77 Lakh GST Notice for Exporting Services Without an LUT: What It Says and How I Replied
A real DRC-01A for FY 2022-23: why the GST department taxed ₹49 lakh of freelance export income at 18%, the documents it asked for, how I built the invoice-to-FIRA reconciliation, and why a missing LUT is a curable lapse.
Krishna Kammaje12 min read - taxessection 44ADApartnership firmLLPprivate limitedOPCfreelancingindia
Crossed the ₹75 Lakh Section 44ADA Limit? Partnership Firm vs LLP vs Private Limited vs OPC for Indian Freelancers
Above ₹75 lakh in receipts, Section 44ADA switches off and a freelancer's tax bill can jump by ₹10 lakh overnight. Here are the realistic options — stay individual, partnership firm, LLP, private limited, OPC, a split, or Dubai — with worked numbers on ₹1.2 crore and the compliance each one drags in.
Krishna Kammaje29 min read - taxesschedule FAforeign assetscomplianceexport of servicesfreelancingindia
Schedule FA for Indian Freelancers: Your Payoneer and PayPal Accounts Are Foreign Assets
If you hold a PayPal, Payoneer, or Wise account and file ITR-4, you may be quietly exposed to a flat ₹10 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act. Here's what Schedule FA actually requires, and why 44ADA filers can't use Sugam.
Krishna Kammaje10 min read - taxesTDSsection 194JGSTfreelancingindia
TDS for Indian Freelancers: Section 194J, Form 26AS, and Getting Your Money Back
Your Indian clients withhold 10% of every invoice. Under Section 44ADA you're taxed on half your receipts. That gap is a refund you have to claim — and the reconciliation that gets it wrong turns it into a demand instead.
Krishna Kammaje12 min read - freelancer complianceGSTLUTFIRAadvance taxexport of servicesIndia
Minimum Documentation for Indian Freelancers Working with Overseas Clients (2026 Guide)
The complete compliance checklist for Indian freelancers earning under ₹75 lakh from foreign clients: GST registration, LUT, FIRA/FIRC, advance tax, professional tax, and ITR — in the order you'll actually need them.
Krishna Kammaje10 min read - GSTUpworkRCMLUTfreelancingindia
How to File GST as an Upwork Freelancer in India: Invoicing, RCM, and LUT
Upwork is three transactions stacked into one platform — your invoice to the end client, the Upwork commission you pay under RCM, and the bank credit. Get those three threads right and GST filing is a 30-minute job. Get them wrong and you're paying ₹5,000–10,000/month to a CA to clean up the mess.
Krishna Kammaje18 min read - GSTGSTR-1GSTR-3BQRMPfreelancingindia
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B: The Indian Freelancer's Monthly GST Filing Checklist
Two returns, two due dates, one annual headache — unless you understand what each form actually does. A freelancer-focused walkthrough of GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, the QRMP scheme, and the mismatches that trigger notices.
Krishna Kammaje12 min read - taxessection 44ADAfreelancingindia
FTE vs Freelancer in India: The ₹7.5 Lakh 'Freelance Premium' on a ₹50L Income
On the same ₹50 lakh gross income, an Indian freelancer keeps roughly ₹7.5 lakh more than a full-time employee. Here's the math behind the freelance premium — and what it costs you in documentation discipline.
Krishna Kammaje7 min read - GSTLUTexportsfreelancingindia
How to File LUT for Export of Services as a Freelance Developer in India
If you invoice foreign clients in foreign currency, LUT is the difference between keeping 100% of every invoice and locking up 18% in a GST refund queue for six months. Here's how to file it correctly — and the mistakes that quietly cost freelancers the most.
Krishna Kammaje13 min read - taxessection 44ADAfreelancingindia
How an Indian Freelancer Can Save More Than 50% on Taxes Using Section 44ADA
Section 44ADA lets eligible Indian freelancers pay tax on only 50% of their gross receipts — no books, no audit, no expense tracking. Here's how to actually use it.
Krishna Kammaje10 min read - freelancinggetting paidinvoicing
How to Get Paid On Time as a Freelance Developer in India
A practical playbook for Indian freelancers: the clauses, invoice details, and follow-up cadence that actually get clients to pay — without awkward conversations.
Krishna Kammaje8 min read