September 2026 · Independent professionals
Advance tax for consultants
& freelancers
Big invoices. Uneven income. TDS that covers only part of the bill.
Work out your next instalment and keep the numbers behind it.
Keep the proof with the calculation
Your consultant tax file
Keep this working alongside the records behind your fees, costs and tax payments.
Save to KarSafeDownload the working, then select it in the app. File selection stays in your hands.
- Client contracts, invoices and fee ledger
- Bank statements and overseas remittance records
- Expense receipts and depreciation working
- Indian TDS certificates and tax-credit reconciliation
- Advance-tax challans, with payment dates
- Presumptive eligibility and cash-receipt calculation, if applicable
Before you pay
Why TDS on my invoices may not cover my tax
TDS is a credit against your final bill. Your income-tax rate depends on annual taxable profit, other income, surcharge and cess. Estimate the whole year, then subtract eligible Indian TDS/TCS and the advance tax you have already paid. Gross invoice value and money received after TDS are different inputs.
Regular accounts or presumptive professional income?
Regular accounts use taxable profit after allowable expenses. Eligible specified professionals may use section 58(2), Table 3, subject to the receipts and cash limits. The deemed profit is 50% of receipts or the higher profit claimed to have been earned. The March-only advance-tax schedule is tied to eligible presumptive taxation; being a consultant does not automatically qualify you.
What is included in the income estimate?
New-regime slabs for resident individuals, the ordinary-income rebate and marginal relief around 12 lakh, surcharge at the 50 lakh / 1 crore / 2 crore boundaries, surcharge marginal relief, and 4% cess. Income and annual tax are rounded to the nearest 10 rupees; instalment targets are rounded up to whole rupees. Professional fees do not receive the salaried standard deduction.
What if I paid late or my income estimate changed?
The schedule uses your current annual estimate throughout. Historical gaps are indicative, not an interest assessment: actual income timing, earlier estimates and statutory exceptions can change the result. A late payment reduces the remaining balance but does not erase a gap at an earlier deadline. Interest under sections 424/425, penalties and filing fees are not calculated. Have your CA review these separately.
Surcharge, marginal relief and cess: CBDT 2026 tax-rate memorandum, Tax Year 2026-27.