u/Jam_burger

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian resident freelancer and file my taxes under Section 44ADA (ITR-4).

My situation is:

• Freelance clients are mostly outside India.
• Payments are received through PayPal and Fiverr.
• I don't maintain balances in Wise or Payoneer, but having accounts in it. I usually withdraw the money to my Indian bank soon after receiving it.
• On Fiverr, there may be a temporary USD balance before I withdraw it or will hold for more than a year too.
• I pay all applicable taxes and any TCS wherever applicable.

I'm confused about foreign asset reporting.

My questions are:

1. Are Wise and Payoneer considered foreign financial accounts/assets if I only use them to receive payments and don't keep money there?
2. Does a USD balance on Fiverr count as a foreign asset that needs to be disclosed?
3. If filing ITR-4 under Section 44ADA, is Schedule FA even applicable in this situation?
4. Has anyone here with a similar setup (Wise + Payoneer + Fiverr + foreign clients) received guidance from their CA or faced any queries from the Income Tax Department?

I'm looking for practical experiences as well as references to the relevant Income-tax rules or CBDT guidance.

Thanks in advance!

I’m a freelancer/service exporter from India filing under ITR-4 with 44ADA.

I receive client payments in USD via PayPal invoices. PayPal deducts transaction fees and currency conversion charges before transferring the money to my bank account in INR.

My confusion is:

For 44ADA gross receipts, should I report:

1. The full invoice amount paid by the client (before PayPal deductions), or
2. The net amount credited to my bank account after PayPal fees and FX charges?

I had assumed bank credit = actual income, but now I’m not sure if that’s the correct treatment under presumptive taxation.

Would appreciate guidance from CAs or freelancers handling foreign payments through paypal

Thanks!