Freelance service — GST threshold

It is 11:15 pm. The design file is uploaded. The client in Pune has mailed back: “Please share GSTIN, we cannot process this invoice.” You sit in a one-room studio above a tailor shop. You have never stood in a GST queue. Your yearly fees are around eighteen lakh, or maybe twenty-two if the big brand project lands. The kettle clicks off. You still do not know whether you must register.

Freelance work is a service in GST language. Shops that sell rice and soap talk about forty lakh. You should not borrow that number. For services, the figure people use in most states is twenty lakh rupees of aggregate turnover in a financial year. In a small set of states the service limit is ten lakh. If you are unsure which list your state is on this month, check the official GST site rather than a coaching-centre poster.

Twenty lakh is the working number — still check official

Aggregate turnover for a freelancer is not only the amount that hit your bank this week. It is the yearly value of your taxable supplies, plus exempt supplies if any, across all your work linked to the same PAN. Two trade names, one PAN: still one total.

If you are under the applicable limit, and you are not in a compulsory-registration category, you may stay unregistered. That is legal. You then issue a bill without GST. You do not print a fake GSTIN. You do not “borrow” a friend’s number. You do not show GST on a bill if you are not registered.

If you have crossed the limit, you apply. The usual window is within thirty days of becoming liable. The portal path is:

gst.gov.in → Services → Registration → New Registration

Mobile and email OTP first, then Temporary Reference Number (TRN), then the full form, then ARN. Track ARN from Services → Registration → Track Application Status.

Interstate clients confuse everyone at night

A lot of freelance work is interstate by nature. You sit in Jaipur. The client is in Bengaluru. The file travels on the internet. Many people panic and think “interstate means compulsory GSTIN tomorrow, even at four lakh.”

For goods, interstate taxable supply often does force registration even below the normal threshold. For services, exemption notifications often still let small providers use the threshold in interstate cases, with conditions. OIDAR (online services from outside India) is a different bucket; a typical Indian freelancer billing Indian clients does not need that lecture. If your work is genuinely OIDAR, get local help and read the current official note.

If you only provide ordinary professional services from India to Indian clients, start with the twenty lakh (or ten lakh) threshold and the current interstate-service exemption text. Confirm official this month. Selling through an e-commerce operator that must collect tax can trigger extra compulsory rules even when fees look small.

Voluntary registration when a client refuses to pay without GSTIN

Some companies will not onboard a vendor without a GSTIN, even if you are at twelve lakh. You can choose voluntary registration. That is a real option. It is not “showing off”.

Once you have a GSTIN, you are a registered person. You charge GST at the applicable rate for your SAC code. If you do not know the rate for your service, check the current official rate schedule. Do not copy a 18% stamp because “everyone charges 18”. Some services are exempt. Some have a different rate. Wrong rate on a tax invoice creates notices later.

You also file returns. For a normal taxpayer that usually means GSTR-1 (or IFF if you are in QRMP and eligible) and GSTR-3B from the Returns Dashboard:

gst.gov.in → Services → Returns → Returns Dashboard

Nil work in a month still often means a nil return. Skipping the dashboard because “I took a break from clients” is how late fee starts.

What a proper invoice looks like after you register

A registered freelancer issues a tax invoice, not a casual PDF with only a payment QR. The invoice needs your GSTIN, the client’s GSTIN if they are registered, invoice number in a unique series, date, description of service, SAC, taxable value, tax rate, tax amount, and place of supply. Place of supply decides CGST-plus-SGST versus IGST. Interstate supply of services generally takes IGST. Intra-state takes CGST and SGST.

Do not issue a tax invoice for a taxable service without charging GST. Do not issue two PDFs — one with tax for the client’s accounts team and one without tax for your “personal” file. That is evasion.

If you are not yet registered and not yet liable, your bill should not show GST. The client may still ask you to register. You can say you are below threshold, or you can register voluntarily. You cannot print a random fifteen-digit number to unlock their payment.

Keep a clean yearly total so the threshold is not a surprise

Open a simple sheet: date, client, state, amount, whether GST was charged. Update it when money is billed, not only when it is paid, because GST on services often follows the invoice or payment rule in the law. If the time-of-supply rule feels tangled for a large unpaid invoice, get local help. Do not hide an invoice because the client has not paid.

Bank credits help you sanity-check the sheet. They are not a licence to ignore cash or wallet receipts. If a client paid your spouse’s account, it is still your supply if the work was yours. Record it.

Save the TRN and ARN on paper. When a notice arrives, check it on the portal:

gst.gov.in → Services → User Services → View Notices and Orders

Never share the login OTP with a caller claiming to be a GST officer. After approval, download the GSTIN certificate from Services → User Services and put the GSTIN on every tax invoice from the effective date.

If you are at nineteen lakh and a three-lakh project is about to be billed, that invoice can push you over. Plan registration before you issue the big bill. Applying takes time: Aadhaar, address proof, possible queries. Do not send a non-GST bill and try to add GST later. Either stay unregistered and bill without GST while still below the limit, or get the GSTIN and bill with tax. If you already issued invoices after becoming liable but before GSTIN, get local help. Do not backdate fake invoices.

FAQ

Is the freelance GST threshold forty lakh like a kirana shop?

Usually no. Forty lakh is the goods-only figure in many states. Freelance services typically follow twenty lakh in most states, and ten lakh in specified states. Check the official limit for your state this month.

My client is in another state. Do I need GSTIN even at eight lakh?

Not automatically. Interstate goods and interstate services are treated differently, and small service providers often still have a threshold exemption. Read the current official notification. If you sell through a tax-collecting e-commerce operator or fall in another compulsory category, you may need registration anyway.

Once I register, do I need a tax invoice for every project?

Yes, for taxable supplies you issue a tax invoice with GST as applicable. Do not bill taxable work without GST after registration. If a supply is exempt, follow the exempt document rules. When the rate is unclear, check the official schedule.

Can I use my friend’s GSTIN on my freelance invoice until I apply?

No. That is misuse of someone else’s registration. Apply on gst.gov.in if you are liable or if you choose voluntary registration. File your own returns after you get a GSTIN.

GST Atka is not a GSTN office. File on gst.gov.in. Rules change. Do not evade tax. Personal case: get local help.