---
title: "Contractor vs Employee in India — Geo-Parity"
description: "At $100/hr in India, contracting nets more than employment. Break-even around $78/hr. Compare net take-home, effective tax and the rate you need to charge."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/india/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/contract.json?country=IN&contractorRate=100&employeeRate=70&hours=40"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Contracting · India

# Contractor or employee in 🇮🇳 India?

At **$100/hour**, contracting nets more than employment — the break-even rate is about **$78/hour**.

## Side by side at $100/hour

|  | Contractor | Employee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gross | $192,000 | $145,600 |
| Tax | $42,240 | $29,120 |
| Health insurance | $600 | — |
| Net | $149,160 | $116,480 |
| Effective rate | 22% | 20% |

Presumptive taxation (44ADA) can lower effective rate. Run your own rate in the [interactive calculator](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/?country=IN).

## To take home $100,000 a year

You need to charge about **$90/hour** (day rate **$717**), billing **1440** hours across the year for **$128,974** of gross revenue.

Change the target in the [required-rate calculator](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/?tab=rate&country=IN).

## Countries with a similar contracting premium

- [🇵🇭 Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/philippines/) — +12% for contracting
- [🇬🇧 United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/united-kingdom/) — +13% for contracting
- [🇳🇬 Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/nigeria/) — +13% for contracting
- [🇸🇬 Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/singapore/) — +13% for contracting

## Questions

- **Is it better to contract or be employed in India?**: At $100/hour against a salaried equivalent of $70/hour, 40 hours a week, contracting nets more than employment in India: a contractor keeps about $149,160 against an employee's $116,480, a difference of $32,680. The break-even rate — where the two are equal — is about $78/hour. Presumptive taxation (44ADA) can lower effective rate.
- **What hourly rate do I need to charge in India?**: To take home $100,000 a year after tax, health cover and unpaid time, you need roughly $90/hour, or a day rate around $717. That assumes $128,974 of gross revenue across 1440 billable hours.
- **Why is the contractor tax rate in India different from the employee rate?**: A contractor usually pays both halves of social contributions where an employer would otherwise pay one, and often buys health cover privately. Here that works out at about 22% effective for a contractor against 20% for an employee. Presumptive taxation (44ADA) can lower effective rate.
- **How accurate are these India figures?**: These are single blended effective rates, not a bracket-by-bracket calculation, and India is outside the OECD series this site cross-checks against. Real liability depends on your regime, deductions and region. Estimates for comparison, not tax advice.

Estimates for comparison, not tax advice. Effective rates are blended, not bracket-by-bracket except where noted, and every country has regimes and deductions a single rate cannot express.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/india/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/contract.json?country=IN&contractorRate=100&employeeRate=70&hours=40