GST Invoice Format for Freelancers in India: the 2026 Guide
If you freelance for Indian clients and you're GST-registered, every invoice you raise is a tax invoice and must follow the format prescribed under Rule 46 of the CGST Rules. Get it wrong and clients' finance teams will bounce it back — or worse, their input tax credit gets questioned. Here's exactly what your invoice needs.
Mandatory fields on a freelancer's GST invoice
- Your details: legal/trade name, address, and 15-digit GSTIN
- Invoice number: unique, consecutive, max 16 characters, unique per financial year
- Invoice date
- Client details: name, address, and GSTIN (if they're registered)
- Place of supply with state name and code — this decides which tax applies
- SAC code for each service (see table below)
- Description, quantity/unit, and value of services
- Tax breakup: rate and amount of CGST + SGST, or IGST
- Total in words (Indian numbering — lakh/crore)
- Your signature or digital signature
CGST + SGST or IGST? The one rule
Compare your state with the place of supply (usually the client's state):
| Scenario | Tax charged |
|---|---|
| You and the client are in the same state | CGST 9% + SGST 9% (for 18% services) |
| Client is in a different state | IGST 18% |
| Client is outside India (export of services, with LUT) | 0% — zero-rated |
Common SAC codes for freelancers
| Service | SAC | GST rate |
|---|---|---|
| Software development / IT services | 998314 | 18% |
| Graphic / brand design | 998391 | 18% |
| Content writing & editorial | 998394 | 18% |
| Digital marketing / advertising | 998361 | 18% |
| Photography & videography | 998383 | 18% |
| Management / business consulting | 998311 | 18% |
Skip the formatting entirely.
Our free generator applies all of these rules automatically — CGST/SGST vs IGST, amount in words, SAC per line item.
Create a GST invoice free →
Our free generator applies all of these rules automatically — CGST/SGST vs IGST, amount in words, SAC per line item.
Create a GST invoice free →
Not GST-registered? You can still invoice
If your turnover is under ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category states), registration is optional for services. You then issue a plain invoice without tax lines — no GSTIN, no CGST/SGST, and you must not charge GST. The same generator handles this: leave GSTIN blank and set GST to 0%.
Frequent mistakes that get invoices rejected
- Charging CGST+SGST to an out-of-state client (should be IGST)
- Reusing an invoice number, or restarting numbering mid-year
- Missing place of supply on interstate invoices
- Charging GST while unregistered — this is illegal, not just sloppy
- Missing amount in words, which many enterprise AP teams require