Take-home calculator
What do you actually keep as a freelancer?
See your take-home after tax in eight countries, from Pakistan's 0.25% export rate to the Gulf's zero.
16,740,000 PKR at July 2026 rates
You keep
$59,850
Registered IT exporters pay a 0.25% final tax on gross remittances: nothing further on that income.
Effective rate
0.25%
Total tax
$150
Net per month
$4,988
- Requires active PSEB freelancer registration, income received through banking channels, and a filed return.
- Regime extended to June 30, 2029 by the Finance Bill 2026.
Compare
The same income, eight countries
Net of income tax on $60,000 a year, default freelancer regime in each country.
Default regime per country: Pakistan PSEB export tax, Bangladesh ITES exemption, Egypt simplified turnover tax, Turkey software-export deduction, Indonesia small-business final tax, UAE and Saudi Arabia no personal income tax, Jordan resident brackets after the personal exemption.
Methodology
Where these numbers come from
Each regime in this calculator is modelled on the published 2025 to 2026 rule, simplified to income tax on a single income stream. Pakistan's figures follow Section 154A of the Income Tax Ordinance: a final tax of 0.25% on gross IT-export remittances for PSEB-registered freelancers (1% unregistered), extended to June 2029, with local income falling under the non-salaried slabs published by the FBR. Bangladesh follows the ITES exemption in Schedule 6 of the Income Tax Act 2023, which zeroes freelance IT income through June 2027 for cashless, return-filing freelancers.
Egypt models both the normal brackets, up to 27.5%, and the Law 6 of 2025 simplified regime, which lets self-employed people with turnover under EGP 20m elect a 0.4–1.5% turnover tax instead. Turkey applies the Article 89/13 service-export deduction: 80% of qualifying software income removed from the base before the 2026 brackets run. The UAE and Saudi Arabia charge no personal income tax; the calculator models the UAE's corporate-tax threshold at AED 1m of turnover. Jordan applies the resident brackets after the JOD 9,000 personal exemption. Indonesia models the PP 55/2022 final tax of 0.5% on turnover.
Currency conversion uses July 2026 rates. Social security contributions, VAT and local levies sit outside income tax and are flagged in the notes where they matter.
These are educational estimates, not tax advice. Rules change, conditions apply, and your situation may differ: confirm with a local advisor before relying on any figure.
Questions
Freelancer tax, briefly
How is freelance income from foreign clients taxed in Pakistan?
IT and IT-enabled export income is taxed at a final 0.25% of gross remittances for PSEB-registered freelancers, or 1% if unregistered, under Section 154A. The tax is withheld by your bank when the remittance arrives, and nothing further is due on that income. The regime runs to June 30, 2029.
The conditions: the income arrives through banking channels, you file a return, and (for the 0.25% rate) your PSEB freelancer registration is active.
Do freelancers in Bangladesh pay income tax?
Freelance ITES income is fully exempt through June 30, 2027, provided the income comes from listed ITES activities, every business transaction runs through banking channels, and you file a return. Cash payments break the exemption.
Is freelance income taxed in the UAE?
There is no personal income tax. Corporate tax touches a freelancer only above AED 1m of annual business turnover, and then at 0% on the first AED 375,000 of profit and 9% beyond it. Small-business relief can zero that out at up to AED 3m of revenue for tax periods ending on or before December 31, 2026.
How does Turkey's exporter deduction work?
Under Article 89/13, freelancers providing software development, engineering or design services to non-residents (used abroad) deduct 80% of that income from their tax base, as long as the full proceeds are brought to Turkey. Most software freelancers land near a 2–4% effective income-tax rate. Bağ-Kur social security is a separate, income-independent line.
Which country is best for an indie hacker?
On income tax alone: the Gulf at zero, Bangladesh at zero until mid-2027, and Pakistan's 0.25% are hard to beat. But take-home is only half the picture: getting paid matters as much. Bank wires, PayPal and conversion spreads can cost more than the tax; that's the part Fasset exists to fix.
Is this tax advice?
No: educational estimates from published rates. Confirm anything that matters with a local advisor.
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