Introduction<\/p>\n
Freelancing has become a common way of providing professional services in India, whether it is digital marketing, graphic designing, consulting, software development, content writing or other professional work. However, when a freelancer provides services to a client located in another State, an important GST question arises: Should the freelancer charge CGST + SGST or IGST?<\/p>\n
The answer mainly depends on the location of the supplier and the place of supply. For a normal interstate supply of services, IGST is generally applicable. The GST portal also determines an interstate transaction where the place of supply is different from the State of the supplier.<\/p>\n
When is IGST applicable?<\/p>\n
Suppose a freelancer is registered in Maharashtra and provides digital marketing services to a client located in Karnataka.<\/p>\n
Supplier location: Maharashtra
\n
Client location: Karnataka
\n
Nature of supply: Interstate
\n
Tax applicable: IGST<\/p>\n
In an interstate transaction, CGST and SGST are not charged separately; the applicable tax is charged as IGST.<\/p>\n
The same principle applies where the freelancer and the client are in different States and the applicable place-of-supply rules result in the place of supply being outside the supplier’s State.<\/p>\n
What GST rate should freelancers charge?<\/p>\n
There is no single GST rate applicable to every freelance service. The rate depends upon the exact nature and classification of the service under GST.<\/p>\n
For many commonly provided professional and business services, the applicable rate is 18%, but freelancers should verify the relevant SAC and notification before issuing the invoice.<\/p>\n
For example, if a taxable service attracts GST at 18% and the taxable invoice value is \u20b91,00,000:<\/p>\n
Taxable value: \u20b91,00,000
\n
IGST @ 18%: \u20b918,000
\n
Invoice value: \u20b91,18,000<\/p>\n
The invoice should clearly mention the applicable tax rate, tax amount and place of supply where required.<\/p>\n
What if the client is unregistered?<\/p>\n
A freelancer can also provide services to an unregistered Indian customer. The treatment depends upon the customer’s location and the applicable place-of-supply rules.<\/p>\n
For interstate B2C supplies, the GST portal requires reporting based on the place of supply. From August 2024 onwards, interstate B2C invoices above \u20b91 lakh are reported separately as B2C Large, while interstate B2C supplies up to \u20b91 lakh are reported under B2C Others.<\/p>\n
GST Registration \u2014 an important point for freelancers<\/p>\n
A freelancer should not assume that every interstate service automatically means GST registration is required regardless of turnover.<\/p>\n
The GST registration provisions and applicable exemption notifications need to be considered together. Small service providers may benefit from the applicable registration-threshold exemption, subject to the conditions of the relevant notification.<\/p>\n
Therefore, before taking GST registration, a freelancer should check:<\/p>\n
Aggregate turnover
\n
Nature of services
\n
Location of supplier and customers
\n
Whether the customer is registered
\n
Whether any specific exemption applies
\n
Invoice and compliance<\/p>\n
Once registered, a freelancer providing interstate services should ensure that the invoice correctly contains the relevant GST details, including:<\/p>\n
GSTIN of the supplier
\n
Customer details and GSTIN, wherever applicable
\n
Invoice number and date
\n
Description and SAC of services
\n
Taxable value
\n
Applicable GST rate
\n
IGST amount
\n
Place of supply
\n
Total invoice value<\/p>\n
The GST portal itself uses the supplier’s State and place of supply to determine whether a transaction is interstate or intrastate.<\/p>\n
Common mistake freelancers should avoid<\/p>\n
One of the most common mistakes is deciding the tax merely by looking at where the payment was received or where the client’s bank account is maintained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Learn GST rules for freelancers providing interstate services to Indian clients in 2026, including IGST applicability, place of supply, GST rates, registration and invoicing requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[896,895,901,900,899,898,897,902],"class_list":["post-1702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compliances","tag-gst-for-freelancers-in-india","tag-gst-on-freelance-services","tag-gst-rate-on-professional-services","tag-gst-registration-for-freelancers","tag-gst-rules-for-freelancers-2026","tag-igst-on-freelance-services","tag-interstate-supply-of-services","tag-place-of-supply-of-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}