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Section 44ADA Calculator — eligibility, the 5% cash gate, and what to declare
For doctors, architects, CAs, lawyers and engineers: check whether presumptive taxation is available this year, watch the ₹75-lakh route's 5% cash meter live, and see why declaring exactly 50% can still be the wrong answer. Computation runs entirely in your browser.
Architecture is a specified profession u/s 44AA(1) — s.44ADA available.
What counts as receipts here: Design and consultancy fees (194J @ 10% TDS), supervision fees, licensing of drawings. A flat received instead of fees is ALSO a receipt — s.28(iv) at stamp value, and it counts toward the ₹50L/₹75L limit.
The 5% cash gate (proviso to s.44ADA(1))
Cash 3.33% of receipts · gate 5.00% · headroom ₹1,00,000 more cash this year
44ADA available — enhanced ₹75L limit
Receipts are between ₹50L and ₹75L, and cash is 3.3% — within the 5% gate of the FA 2023 proviso. Keep the ratio: your remaining cash headroom this year is ₹1,00,000.
Presumptive floor (50%)
₹30,00,000
Income you should declare
₹30,00,000
Indicative tax (new regime)
₹4,99,200
Includes 4% cess.
Advance tax: as a 44ADA assessee you pay 100% of the year's advance tax in ONE instalment by 15 March (the proviso to s.211(1)(b)). Miss it and s.234B interest runs from 1 April — even if you pay in the first week of April.
Builders often deduct 1% u/s 194C on your fees instead of 10% u/s 194J. Your 26AS will under-report TDS — the advance-tax shortfall interest (s.234B/C) lands on you.
Client-paid statutory fees you route through your account inflate gross receipts unless Rule 33 (pure agent) conditions are met — and can push you over the presumptive ceiling.
The rules behind every number
- Eligibility — s.44ADA(1): resident individuals and partnership firms (not LLPs) in a s.44AA(1) specified profession; gross receipts up to ₹50 lakh.
- Enhanced limit — proviso to s.44ADA(1) (Finance Act 2023): ₹75 lakh, only when cash receipts are 5% or less of total gross receipts.
- Floor, not ceiling — s.44ADA(1) deems 50% "or a higher amount claimed as earned". The 50% is the minimum the law presumes, not a cap on what you must declare.
- Below-floor consequence — s.44ADA(4): declaring less than 50% with income above the basic exemption triggers books (s.44AA) and audit (s.44AB).
- Advance tax — the proviso to s.211(1)(b): one instalment, 100% by 15 March; s.234B interest from 1 April on any shortfall.
- Tax estimate — new-regime slabs of s.115BAC for AY 2026-27 with the ₹60,000 s.87A rebate (FA 2025), 10% surcharge above ₹50L with marginal relief, and 4% cess. Indicative only; other income, deductions and regime choice change the number.
FAQ
Is the 44ADA 50% a maximum deduction or a minimum profit?
Minimum profit. s.44ADA(1) deems profit at 50% of gross receipts "or a higher amount claimed". If your actual margin is higher and visible on your bank statement, declaring exactly 50% invites an addition on the difference.
My receipts are ₹68 lakh, all digital. Am I still in 44ADA?
Yes. The FA 2023 proviso to s.44ADA(1) raises the limit to ₹75 lakh when cash receipts are 5% or less of total receipts. Watch the ratio monthly — one large cash receipt can breach it.
Can my LLP use 44ADA?
No. s.44ADA covers resident individuals and partnership firms other than LLPs. An LLP maintains books and faces a s.44AB audit once receipts cross ₹50 lakh — converting to an LLP destroys the presumptive option.
What happens if I declare less than 50%?
Under s.44ADA(4), declaring below the 50% presumption while your income exceeds the basic exemption obliges you to maintain books u/s 44AA and get them audited u/s 44AB. The convenience of presumptive and a sub-50% margin cannot coexist.
When is my advance tax due under 44ADA?
One instalment — 100% by 15 March (the proviso to s.211(1)(b)). A shortfall attracts s.234B interest from 1 April even if you pay in early April. Outside 44ADA, the normal four-instalment calendar applies.
Do pass-through amounts I collect for clients count in my ₹50L/₹75L limit?
Only if they fail the pure-agent test. Amounts collected and paid onward under Rule 33 CGST discipline (authorisation, separate invoice line, exact amount, no markup) stay out of your receipts; anything else inflates gross receipts and can push you over the presumptive ceiling.
On the edge of a threshold?
Harun Raaj & Associates · Chartered Accountants, Visakhapatnam. The ₹50L/₹75L crossing year is a planning opportunity, not just a compliance event — books, audit calendar and entity choice, mapped before March.
Book a conversation →Educational tool, not professional advice. Computations use AY 2026-27 rates as amended by the Finance Act 2025 and assume no other income or deductions. Consult a chartered accountant before acting on any output.