Foreign Payment Net-Realization Calculator
Your overseas client is paying you a fixed amount. Here's what actually lands in your Indian account after spread, fees, and GST — and which route loses you the least.
This is a calculator, not tax advice. It estimates outcomes based on publicly available rules and typical provider pricing — it does not account for your specific circumstances. Rules and rates change. Verify anything you rely on with a qualified CA before you act on it.
GST charged on conversion/service fees below is generally recoverable as input tax credit (ITC) if you're registered — confirm the mechanics with your CA.
How this is calculated
Every generic currency calculator answers “what is the USD-INR rate?” That number is close to useless on its own, because nobody pays you the mid-market rate. What you actually receive is the mid-market rate, minus a spread the provider builds into their exchange rate, minus their fixed handling fee, minus a possible SWIFT intermediary-bank deduction on bank wires, minus 18% GST on the fees and on the conversion service itself. This tool computes all five deductions for each provider and ranks them by what you'd actually walk away with.
The GST piece, in detail
Under Rule 32(2) of the CGST Rules, GST on a currency-conversion service can be valued one of two ways. The slab method (Rule 32(2)(b)) computes a deemed “value” from the gross INR amount on a tiered scale — 1% of the first ₹1 lakh (minimum ₹250), 0.5% of the next ₹9 lakh, and 0.1% above that, capped at a ₹60,000 value (so GST itself is capped at ₹10,800). It needs no external data, which is why it's this tool's default.
The reference-rate method (Rule 32(2)(a)) instead taxes the gap between the provider's exchange rate and RBI's published reference rate for that currency and date. This creates a subtle trap: a provider with a wide, hidden spread costs you twice — once in the worse rate itself, and again because that same spread becomes the taxable value for GST. A tight, transparent spread is doubly cheaper under this method. This tool lets you switch to it in Advanced options if you have the RBI reference rate on hand for that date.
What isn't taxed
The remittance itself — the underlying payment for your services — is zero-rated under Section 16 of the IGST Act, because it's payment for an export of services. Freelancers new to this routinely conflate the (untaxed) payment with the (taxed) conversion service and either panic about a GST bill on the whole amount, or under-budget for the real 18% that does apply to fees.
Where the numbers come from
The mid-market exchange rate is fetched live from a public, no-signup rate API and cached in your browser for 12 hours. Provider spreads and fees are manually maintained typical figures — see the “last verified” stamp below for when they were last checked. They are not live quotes from each provider; always confirm the exact rate you'll get before transferring.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this calculator show a different amount than my bank's quoted rate?
Banks and payment providers quote you a rate that already includes their spread off the mid-market rate — the rate you'd see on Google or XE. This tool starts from the true mid-market rate and shows you exactly how much each provider's spread, fixed fees, and GST take out, so you can see the real gap between providers rather than comparing marketing numbers.
Is the foreign payment itself taxed?
No. Inward remittance received for export of services is zero-rated under Section 16 of the IGST Act — the money itself isn't taxed. What is taxable at 18% GST is the currency-conversion service and the bank's or provider's handling fees, which are separate supplies. This is the single most common point of confusion for freelancers new to receiving foreign payments.
Which GST valuation method should I use — slab or spread?
The slab method (Rule 32(2)(b)) needs no external data and is a reasonable default. The reference-rate/spread method (Rule 32(2)(a)) can produce a different — sometimes lower — GST figure, but it requires RBI's published reference rate for your currency on the transaction date, which this tool doesn't fetch automatically yet. If you have that rate on hand, switch methods in Advanced options to compare.
Do these provider fee and spread figures update automatically?
No — this is manually maintained data, refreshed periodically and stamped with a "last verified" date on this page. Provider pricing changes often; treat the numbers here as a starting comparison, and confirm the exact rate a provider will give you before you transfer.
Does this tool store or transmit anything I type?
No. Every calculation happens in your browser. The only thing saved locally is a cached exchange rate (not your input), stored in your browser's localStorage to avoid refetching it on every keystroke.
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