How to Make a Freelancer Invoice in India: GST, LUT and Format

A freelancer's invoice needs your name and contact details, the client's name and address, a unique invoice number, the invoice date, a clear description of the work, the amount, a due date and how to pay. If you are registered for GST, it must also show your GSTIN, the tax split and a few more details set by Rule 46 of the CGST Rules. You must register once your turnover from services crosses ₹20 lakh in a financial year (₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura).

You can build the invoice in the free invoice generator and save it as a PDF. Below: what goes where, GST rules, invoice numbering, exports under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT), and payment terms.

What the invoice generator does (and does not do)

You fill in your business name and an address box (for phone, email, PAN or GSTIN), the client's details, the invoice number, the date and an optional due date, then add items with a quantity and rate. Enter a discount % and a tax %, and the preview shows subtotal, discount, tax and total in ₹, $, €, £ or AED. Click Download PDF / Print and choose "Save as PDF". The draft stays in your own browser, not on a server, so next month you only change the number, date and items.

Know its limits before you rely on it for GST invoices:

• One tax rate for the whole invoice, shown as a single "Tax" line, with no automatic CGST/SGST/IGST split.
• No separate column for the SAC (the services code), no place-of-supply field, no logo and no signature box.
• It cannot place an image such as a UPI QR code on the invoice, and the Notes field is a single line.
• It does not number invoices for you; it remembers the last number you typed, so update it each time.

The workaround is to put the extra GST details in the address boxes, item descriptions and notes, as shown below.

Do you need a GSTIN?

Registration depends on your aggregate turnover: the value of all your supplies across India under the same PAN, including exempt supplies and exports, excluding GST itself.

Below the threshold, do not add GST. The law says a person who is not registered shall not collect any amount by way of tax, so your invoice simply shows your fee. You may register voluntarily, which lets you claim credit for GST on your business purchases, but then you must charge GST and file returns. Most professional, IT, design and consulting services are taxed at 18%, a rate the September 2025 move to two main GST rates (5% and 18%) left unchanged.

GST tax invoice rules and where to put each detail

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, 2017 lists what a tax invoice must contain. Here is how to fit each item into the generator:

Also: for an unregistered client and a taxable value of ₹50,000 or more, show their name, address, state and state code. Issue the invoice within 30 days of supplying the service (Rule 47). E-invoicing applies only once turnover has exceeded ₹5 crore, so most freelancers can ignore it.

A worked example: the same job, two invoices

A designer bills ₹45,000 for a website redesign and ₹15,000 for a logo set, with a 5% discount.

Not registered for GST (Tax % left at 0): subtotal ₹60,000, discount ₹3,000, total ₹57,000.

Registered, client in the same state (Tax % = 18): the generator shows subtotal ₹60,000, discount ₹3,000, tax ₹10,260 and total ₹67,260. The GST calculator, given ₹57,000 at 18%, splits the tax into ₹5,130 CGST + ₹5,130 SGST. Write that split in Notes, for example "CGST 9% ₹5,130 + SGST 9% ₹5,130. Place of supply: Karnataka." If the client is a registered business in another state, the place of supply is normally the client's state and the same ₹10,260 is charged as IGST instead. For more on the arithmetic, see how to calculate GST.

Invoice numbering rules

For GST invoices, Rule 46(b) asks for a consecutive serial number of no more than 16 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens (-) and slashes (/), unique for the financial year. You may run more than one series, for example one for domestic and one for export invoices.

• INV/2026-27/001 has 15 characters and works. Putting the year in the number keeps it unique when you restart the count every April.
• FY2026-27-INV-0001 has 18 characters: too long.
• INV_001 uses an underscore, which the rule does not allow.
• Random numbers are not consecutive, so they do not meet the rule.

Even if you are not registered, never reuse a number; keep a cancelled invoice in your records instead.

Foreign clients: export of services and the LUT

Work for a client abroad counts as an export of services when you are in India, the client is outside India, the place of supply is outside India, you are paid in convertible foreign exchange (or in rupees where the RBI allows it), and you and the client are not just branches of the same entity. Exports are zero-rated.

If you are registered, you can export without paying IGST by filing a Letter of Undertaking in Form GST RFD-11 on the GST portal before the export. It is treated as accepted as soon as the acknowledgement number (ARN) is generated, and it is valid for the whole financial year, so file a fresh one each April. Each export invoice must then carry this endorsement:

SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT/SUPPLY TO SEZ UNIT OR SEZ DEVELOPER FOR AUTHORISED OPERATIONS UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX

The invoice should also show the client's name and address, the delivery address and the country of destination. If payment does not arrive within a year (or the longer period allowed under foreign exchange rules), the tax becomes payable. If you are not registered, none of this applies: invoice in the client's currency (the generator offers $, €, £ and AED) without GST.

Payment terms that get you paid

• A real due date. "Due 30 October 2026" is clearer than "payable on receipt". For long projects, agree advances or milestone payments first.
• Udyam registration. It is free and open to service businesses. If you are registered as a micro or small enterprise, the MSMED Act, 2006 says a buyer must pay within the agreed period, never more than 45 days from acceptance (15 days if nothing was agreed), or owe interest at three times the RBI bank rate. A business client also cannot deduct such an overdue payment in its income-tax computation until it pays (section 37(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the old 43B(h)).
• Expect TDS. A business client typically deducts 10% TDS on professional fees (2% for technical services) once its payments to you exceed ₹50,000 in a year. Invoice the full amount; the client pays the balance, and the TDS counts as tax already paid when you file your return. Put your PAN on the invoice so the client can report the deduction against it.

Bank details and a UPI QR code on the invoice

Put your account name, account number, IFSC and UPI ID in your address box, which takes several lines. For a scan-to-pay option, make a fixed-amount code in the UPI QR code generator: enter your UPI ID, your name, the invoice total and the invoice number as the note. The client's app then shows the exact amount, and the note tells you which invoice was paid. Because the invoice generator cannot hold images, send the QR image together with the PDF in the same email or WhatsApp message.

Two cautions. Person-to-person UPI payments are usually limited to ₹1 lakh a day, so give bank details for NEFT or RTGS on larger invoices. And payments to a personal UPI ID are free, while a merchant UPI account may pay a 0.4% fee on payments above ₹2,000 once NPCI's new merchant fee starts after Diwali 2026; our guide to creating a UPI QR code explains who pays it. To set your rate in the first place, see how to convert a salary to an hourly rate.

This article is general information based on rules as of October 2026, not tax or legal advice; check your own situation with a chartered accountant before registering or filing.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need GST registration as a freelancer?

Only when your aggregate turnover from services exceeds ₹20 lakh in a financial year (₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), including foreign clients. Serving clients in other states does not by itself force you to register below that limit.

Can I charge GST without a GSTIN?

No. A person who is not registered cannot collect any amount as GST. Below the threshold, invoice only your fee.

How long can an invoice number be?

Up to 16 characters for a GST invoice, using letters, numbers, hyphens and slashes, consecutive and unique for the financial year. INV/2026-27/001 fits.

Do I charge GST to clients outside India?

If the work qualifies as an export of services and you have filed an LUT for the year, you invoice without IGST and add the export endorsement. Without an LUT you would have to pay IGST on the export, so file it at the start of each financial year.

Sources: CGST Act, 2017, sections 2(6), 22, 24, 31 and 32; CGST Rules, 2017, rules 46, 47, 49 and 96A; IGST Act, 2017, sections 2(6) and 16; CBIC notifications 10/2019-Central Tax, 10/2017-Integrated Tax, 65/2017-Central Tax and 10/2023-Central Tax; CBIC circulars 8/8/2017-GST and 40/14/2018-GST (LUT); PIB release on the 56th GST Council (3 September 2025); MSMED Act, 2006, section 15; Income-tax Act, 2025, sections 37 and 393; Udyam Registration portal; NPCI FAQs on UPI MDR (15 September 2026).