Platform TDS is not your final tax

Upwork, Swiggy, Amazon, Urban Company — platforms deduct a small TDS before paying you. Many gig workers think that settles their taxes. It doesn't: it's a credit, like a down-payment. This tool shows the real gap.

Gross earnings through platforms this year (₹)

TDS the platforms actually deducted (₹)

Your estimated tax for the year (₹)

Don't know it? Compute it with the presumptive calculator →

I'm an individual/HUF and the platform has my PAN gives the ₹5 lakh no-TDS threshold; without PAN the rate jumps to 5%

The rule, with its sections

Who deducts: e-commerce operators paying e-commerce participants — the old s.194-O, now s.393(1) Table Sl. 8(v) of the Income-tax Act 2025.
Rate: 0.1% of gross sales/services (cut from 1% on 1 October 2024). No PAN → 5% — if your deduction looks like 5%, give the platform your PAN.
₹5 lakh threshold: resident individuals/HUF with PAN see no TDS until gross crosses ₹5 lakh with that operator in the year. Readings differ on whether TDS then applies to the excess or the whole amount — your platform statement is the fact.
It's a credit: every rupee deducted lands in your Form 26AS/AIS and reduces your final tax bill — or comes back as refund when you file.

Worked example

A designer bills ₹12,00,000 through a platform. TDS at 0.1% ≈ ₹700–1,200 for the year (depending on the threshold reading) — while her actual presumptive tax could be ₹0 (business track, 6%) — meaning the entire TDS is a refund waiting in 26AS. Her friend on the 50% profession track with ₹40,000 of real tax still owes ≈ ₹39,000 as advance tax — the TDS barely dents it. Same deduction, opposite conclusions. Reconcile, don't assume.

Edge cases to know

Foreign platforms can deduct too — several (Upwork among them) are registered as e-commerce operators for Indian participants. Check your statements.
26AS is the truth: claim only what appears there. If the platform deducted but 26AS doesn't show it, chase the platform — you paid that money.
GST TCS is separate — registered sellers on marketplaces also see 0.5% GST TCS; that's a GST-ledger credit, not income-tax TDS. Don't mix the two.
AdSense-type income: Google's India withholding follows the same logic — credit in 26AS, claim it in the ITR. Full creator guide here.

Related tools

Presumptive tax calculator — the "estimated tax" number.
Advance tax scheduler — when to pay the gap.

Last verified: 4 September 2026 — rate (0.1% from 1 Oct 2024), ₹5L individual threshold and the s.393(1) Sl.8(v) mapping cross-checked across eztax.in, saral.pro and taxgarden.in · Reviewed with a practising CA's responses (2 September 2026) · Not tax advice.