GST for Influencers in India: A Practical Guide to Invoicing Brands

A lot of Indian creators earn real, recurring income from brand deals for a year or two before anyone tells them GST applies to that income the same way it applies to any other service business. This isn't tax advice for your specific situation — talk to a CA about your own numbers — but it is a plain-language map of the parts that actually matter, so a conversation with an accountant starts from an informed place instead of a blank one.

Do you even need to register for GST?

The commonly cited threshold for services is aggregate annual turnover of ₹20 lakh (lower in some special-category states) — below that, GST registration generally isn't mandatory. A lot of creators cross this threshold earlier than they expect, because "aggregate turnover" adds up every income stream — brand deals, platform payouts, affiliate income, product sales — not just the biggest one. This is exactly the kind of number that's easy to lose track of across six different income sources and a spreadsheet nobody fully trusts.

What rate applies to a sponsored post?

Promotional and influencer services are generally treated as a supply of service, commonly taxed at 18% GST. That's the number to expect on a typical sponsored-post invoice — always confirm against current rules with a CA, since GST rates and classifications do get revisited, but 18% is the figure that shows up on the overwhelming majority of creator-brand invoices today.

How GST actually shows up on the invoice

GST is added on top of your fee, not carved out of it. If your rate for a Reel is ₹50,000, a GST-registered invoice reads ₹50,000 + 18% GST = ₹59,000 as the total the brand pays. The brand pays the tax; you collect it and remit it. This is a meaningfully different mental model from TDS below, and mixing the two up is the single most common source of confusion in this whole topic.

TDS: the part on the other side of the transaction

Separately from GST, many brands are required to deduct TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) before paying you — commonly under Section 194J for professional/technical services, or 194C in some agency-routed arrangements, at rates that vary by section and your own tax status. The brand deducts this at their end and deposits it with the government on your behalf; it isn't something you calculate or subtract from your invoice. It shows up as the gap between what you invoiced and what actually lands in your account, and it's recoverable — TDS deducted is credited against your total tax liability when you file your return (via Form 26AS), it isn't extra tax on top of what you already owe.

A useful way to hold both ideas at once: GST is tax you collect and pass on. TDS is tax the brand withholds on your behalf. They move in opposite directions, apply to different parts of the transaction, and neither should quietly cancel the other out in your own bookkeeping.

What this means for your invoice numbers

Your invoice should show your fee, GST added to reach the total the brand owes, and — where relevant — a note that TDS will be deducted at the brand's end. What you actually receive will be the total minus that TDS deduction, and that's expected, not a shortfall to chase. Tracking the invoiced total, the TDS deducted, and what actually landed as three separate numbers (not one confused "did they underpay me?" feeling) is the difference between a clean set of books and a recurring source of low-grade financial anxiety.

A few things worth doing regardless of your exact numbers

• Set aside a fixed percentage of every payment for tax the moment it lands — see our guide to creator income and tax reserves for the reasoning.
• Keep every invoice numbered sequentially, without gaps — GST filing depends on it.
• Reconcile what you invoiced against what actually landed, quarterly at minimum, so a TDS-driven "shortfall" never gets mistaken for a brand that underpaid you.
• Get a CA involved once your income is recurring, not just once it's large — the earlier the habits form, the less there is to untangle later.

None of the above is a substitute for advice on your specific situation. knit.bio's Money Suite applies your GST and TDS rates automatically once you've set them, with gapless invoice numbering built in — free on every plan. See how invoicing works, or start free.