Know your tax in March, not in August.
Old vs new regime side by side, Section 44ADA (now s.58(2) Sl. 3 of the Income-tax Act 2025) decision math, and advance tax in four instalments (or one, by 15 March, if you declare presumptive income) — all computed from what you’ve actually earned, updated as the year moves.
Old vs New,
decided continuously.
Both regimes run side by side on your real income, all year. The cheaper one is highlighted with the exact rupee delta — and the moment your numbers move, the verdict updates.
Taxable income up to ₹12L under the new regime pays zero tax after the 87A rebate. This freelancer is above it — so the rebate doesn't apply, and we say so plainly.
Just cross ₹12L and your tax shouldn't jump more than the extra rupee earned. We apply marginal relief on the boundary so a ₹5,000 raise never costs you ₹20,000 in tax.
44ADA — half your
receipts, taxed.
Section 44ADA (now s.58(2) Sl. 3) lets professionals in a specified profession declare 50% of receipts as profit — no books, no audit, no expense ledger to defend. Once you mark yourself eligible, HourSlip checks if it beats your actual numbers and applies it when it wins.
- ›Eligible — Resident individuals and firms (not LLPs) in a specified profession — legal, medical, engineering, architectural, accountancy, technical consultancy, interior decoration, authorised representative, film artist, company secretary or information technology — up to ₹50L receipts, ₹75L if ≤5% is in cash. Design, writing, marketing and coaching are not on the list; check with your CA.
- ›No books — Declare 50% and you are exempt from maintaining full books of account.
- ›We compare — If your real expenses exceed 50%, we flag that actual books win instead.
Advance tax, before
the interest bites.
Once your tax for the year after TDS is ₹10,000 or more, most taxpayers pay it as advance tax in four instalments across the year. If you declare presumptive income under 44ADA (now s.58(2) Sl. 3), the whole amount is due in one instalment by 15 March instead. HourSlip schedules whichever applies from your live estimate and reminds you before each date, so you can pay on time and keep interest under 234B/234C (now ss.424/425) to a minimum.
Miss an instalment and 234B/C interest accrues at 1% per month on the shortfall. We push a reminder days before each date — so you pay tax, not penalties.
Every lever, shown
as a rupee delta.
Under the old regime, each deduction and charge is a fader on a mixing board. Flip one and the total tax moves by an exact rupee figure — so you see what a ₹1.5L 80C (now s.123) actually buys you, before you lock money away. Under the new regime, the default, these deductions don't apply — and HourSlip shows that too.
ITR-4 summary,
export-ready.
The whole year resolves into one clean ITR-4 summary: presumptive income, tax due, advance-tax paid, and TDS credits — already reconciled. Hand it to your CA or file it yourself.
Planning, not panic.
What freelancers ask before they let HourSlip run their tax through the year.
- It depends entirely on your deductions. The new regime has lower rates but almost no deductions; the old regime is only cheaper if your 80C, 80D, 80GG (rent paid, for the self-employed) and home-loan interest add up to a lot. HourSlip computes both on your real numbers and highlights the cheaper one with the exact rupee delta — and re-checks as your income changes.
- Section 44ADA (now s.58(2) Sl. 3 of the Income-tax Act 2025) — tax on 50% of gross receipts — is only for a resident individual or partnership firm (not an LLP) in a specified profession: legal, medical, engineering, architectural, accountancy, technical consultancy, interior decoration, authorised representative, film artist, company secretary or information technology, with gross receipts up to ₹50 lakh (₹75 lakh if cash receipts are no more than 5%). Design, writing, marketing, coaching and general consulting are not on the list — check with a CA before relying on it for that work. If you qualify, you declare 50% of gross receipts as taxable profit without maintaining books. Once you mark yourself eligible, HourSlip compares presumptive against your actual profit and shows which is lower.
- Advance tax is due once your tax for the year after TDS is ₹10,000 or more. Most taxpayers pay on four dates each FY: 15% by 15 Jun, 45% (cumulative) by 15 Sep, 75% by 15 Dec, and 100% by 15 Mar. If you declare presumptive income (44ADA for FY 2025-26; s.58 from tax year 2026-27), the whole amount is due in one instalment by 15 March instead. HourSlip computes whichever applies from your live estimate and reminds you days before, so you can pay on time and keep 234B/C interest (1% per month) to a minimum.
- Under the new regime, taxable income up to ₹12L pays zero tax thanks to the Section 87A rebate (s.156 of the Income-tax Act 2025 from tax year 2026-27). Marginal relief softens the cliff just above that threshold, so a small raise over ₹12L never triggers a disproportionate tax jump. We apply both automatically and show whether they affect you.
- It pulls it. The planner runs on the income you've already tracked and invoiced in HourSlip — including foreign-currency receipts converted to INR — so nothing is re-entered. TDS credits are optional: export clients who receive payment via Wise, Payoneer, or direct wire typically have no TDS deducted and rely on advance-tax instalments instead, which HourSlip schedules automatically.
- Yes. At year-end HourSlip assembles an ITR-4 (Sugam) summary — presumptive income, tax due, advance-tax paid, TDS credits, refund or balance — as JSON or PDF. ITR-4 fits many presumptive-scheme professionals, but not if your total income is above ₹50 lakh or you hold foreign assets or a foreign account (a balance left in a foreign PayPal or Payoneer account can count); ITR-4 also excludes income from any source outside India, so if most of your income comes from abroad, confirm the form with your CA — otherwise it is ITR-3. Hand the summary to your CA or use it to file yourself. It's the number your CA confirms, not corrects.
