TDS deduction in seconds.
194J, 194C, every section.

TDS = Tax Deducted at Source. The Income Tax Act requires the payer (your client) to deduct a small percentage of certain payments and deposit it with the government on your behalf. You then claim that amount back when you file your annual return — your final tax liability is reduced by what was already paid as TDS.

Most freelancers fall under section 194J (Professional / technical services) at 10%. This covers design, consulting, IT, content, legal, accounting, architecture, medical and other professional services. If your work is pure contract work (printing, manufacturing, transport, advertising contracts), 194C applies at 1% (individuals/HUF) or 2% (companies/firms).

For section 194J, TDS is only deducted if a single payment exceeds ₹30,000 OR your total annual receipts from that client exceed ₹30,000. Below those limits, no TDS is deducted. For 194C, the threshold is ₹30,000 per payment OR ₹1,00,000 aggregate per year.

Under section 206AA, if you do not provide a valid PAN to your client, TDS is deducted at a flat 20% — regardless of which section applies. Always provide your PAN. There is no benefit to withholding it.

Three steps: (1) Your client files a TDS return (Form 26Q) and issues you Form 16A as proof. (2) The TDS amount appears in your Form 26AS / AIS on the income tax portal. (3) When you file your ITR, you claim the TDS as already-paid tax — your tax liability gets reduced by that amount, and any excess is refunded.

Ask your client for their TAN, the date of TDS deduction, and Form 16A. If the deduction is not showing in 26AS, the client likely has not filed their TDS return yet — TDS returns are quarterly (due 31 Jul / 31 Oct / 31 Jan / 31 May). If the deadline has passed and it is still missing, escalate to the client. Worst case, you can flag this in your ITR and the IT department will reconcile.

No, completely separate. GST is an indirect tax on the value of your services (typically 18%) — you charge it to the client and remit it to the government. TDS is a direct tax on your income that the client pre-pays on your behalf. A typical freelance invoice has both: gross + GST = invoice total, then minus TDS = what the client actually pays you.