Freelancers — developers, designers, writers, consultants, marketers — are supplying services, so their GST turns on the ₹20 lakh services threshold and, for anyone with overseas clients, the rules on export of services. Get the LUT and place-of-supply right and foreign income can be zero-rated; get it wrong and you pay 18% you never needed to.
When a freelancer must register
A freelancer supplying services must register for GST once turnover crosses ₹20 lakh in a financial year. Below that, registration is voluntary — though some clients, especially companies, prefer to work with GST-registered vendors so they can claim input credit. If you supply services to clients in other states, note that the compulsory inter-state registration rule that applies to goods does not force service providers to register below ₹20 lakh, but there are nuances we’ll walk you through.
Overseas clients: export of services
If you invoice clients abroad and receive payment in foreign currency, your work usually qualifies as export of services — which is zero-rated under GST. That means you can supply without charging GST, provided you file a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for the year. Without an LUT, you would have to pay IGST and claim it back as a refund. Filing the LUT (which we handle) is the clean route, and it must be in place before you invoice.
SAC codes and invoicing
Freelancers bill under SAC (Services Accounting Code) rather than HSN — for example, IT and software services, design, or management consultancy each have their own SAC. A GST-compliant invoice needs the right SAC, your GSTIN, the client’s details and, for exports, the correct “supply meant for export under LUT” declaration. Our free billing software has these built in so your invoices are always correct.
What we handle for freelancers
- GST registration on your own PAN — ₹499
- LUT filing so your overseas income is zero-rated
- Correct SAC codes and export-compliant invoicing
- Monthly / quarterly GSTR-1 + GSTR-3B filing at ₹499/month, including Nil months
- Advice on whether voluntary registration is worth it for your client mix