Salary · IT export · Tax Year 2026-2027
Freelancer vs Salaried Tax Calculator
Compare the IT/ITeS export final-tax rate against the salaried income tax slabs on the same income — see which route keeps you more.
Step by step
How the comparison works
Enter your income
Type your monthly or annual income and choose the period.
Pick your export rate
PSEB-registered exporters get 0.25%; others typically use 1% — or set your own.
We compute both routes
Freelance final tax on the export rate, and salaried tax on the Tax Year 2026-2027 slabs.
See which is cheaper
The verdict and the rupee difference between the two routes.
Reading the result
The tax gap is real, but it is not the whole comparison
On the numbers alone the export route usually wins, and often by a wide margin. That is what this shows. Before treating it as a decision, the things it cannot price are worth naming, because they are not small.
- A salary arrives whether or not you found work that month. Export income does not.
- Employment carries EOBI, often provident fund, sometimes gratuity and medical cover. A freelancer funds all of it or goes without.
- Paid leave, notice periods and severance have no freelance equivalent.
- Salary is far easier to evidence for a mortgage, a car lease or a visa application.
A rupee of export income and a rupee of salary are genuinely not the same rupee.
The concessionary rate has conditions
The export treatment is not automatic because the work happens to be for an overseas client. It depends on the nature of the services, on receipts arriving through proper banking channels, and in some cases on registration. Income that would have qualified but arrived through an informal channel usually does not.
Where this stops
This compares two tax treatments on one income figure. It does not model the costs of freelancing — platform fees, currency conversion, equipment, your own retirement provision — which come out of the freelance side before any comparison is fair.
FAQs
Freelancer vs salaried FAQs
What is the IT export final-tax rate?
Registered IT/ITeS exporters (via PSEB) can opt for a reduced, final tax rate on export receipts — commonly 0.25% — instead of the normal salaried or business slabs. A standard 1% rate can apply without PSEB registration; both are editable here.
Is the export rate really final?
Yes, for qualifying IT/ITeS export income under the relevant notification, the rate is a final tax — it is not added to your other income at slab rates.
Should I register with PSEB?
If most of your income is genuine IT/ITeS export receipts, PSEB registration to access the lower 0.25% rate is usually well worth the paperwork — this calculator lets you compare both rates directly.
Does this account for other salaried benefits?
No — this purely compares tax rates on the same income figure. Salaried roles can include provident fund, health insurance, EOBI and job security that freelancing doesn't offer, and vice versa for flexibility. Weigh both before deciding.
Related tools
See your full freelancer tax
Break down freelance income tax on its own, beyond just the export comparison.
Open Freelancer Tax Calculator