Freelancers get one advance-tax date, not four. Use it.

Salaried people never think about advance tax — TDS handles it. Freelancers must — nobody deducts tax on your invoices. But the law gives presumptive filers a privilege most don’t know they have: one instalment instead of four.

The normal schedule vs yours

Under s.408(1), taxpayers pay advance tax cumulatively: 15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, 100% by 15 March. Four dates, four estimates, four chances to get it wrong.

Under s.408(2), anyone declaring presumptive profits under s.58 (the old 44AD/44ADA tracks) may instead pay the whole amount in one instalment by 15 March. That’s the year almost over — you know your actual receipts, so the estimate is barely an estimate.

Three numbers to remember

• ₹10,000 — below this much total tax (after TDS), advance tax doesn’t apply at all (s.404). Many freelancers whose clients deduct TDS owe nothing in advance.
• 1% per month — the simple-interest cost of missing the 15 March date (s.425 charges one month on that instalment; s.424 runs from 1 April if you stay below 90% paid).
• 15 March 2027 — the date for tax year 2026-27. One payment, done.

The workflow that takes 15 minutes a year

1. In early March, total your receipts for the year.
2. Compute your presumptive tax — both regimes, rebate applied.
3. Subtract TDS already in your 26AS.
4. If the balance is ₹10,000+, pay it by 15 March on the income-tax portal.

That’s the entire advance-tax life of a presumptive freelancer. Compare that with the quarterly-estimate treadmill everyone else runs — and remember this privilege is one more reason the presumptive scheme is underrated.

One caveat: the single-date rule belongs to the presumptive tracks (s.58(2) Sl.1 and 3). Opt out of presumptive into books of account, and you’re back on the four-date schedule like everyone else.