Is each stage payment withheld separately?

Yes. Each stage disbursement is its own payment withheld under PPh 21 for non-employees (base 50% × gross × Article 17 — effective 2.5% in the first bracket), and the client issues a bukti potong for each via e-Bupot. Collect them all for credits on your annual SPT.

How much PPh does a corporate client withhold from a Freelance Architect?

Generally 2.5% (individuals are withheld under PPh 21 for non-employees — effective 2.5%; corporate vendors under PPh 23 services at 2%). Example: a Rp40.000.000 fee is withheld Rp1.000.000, so you receive Rp39.000.000. Without an NPWP the withholding is heavier (PPh 21 ×120%, PPh 23 ×200%).

Does a Freelance Architect issue the bukti potong themselves?

No. On your sales invoice it is the client who withholds the PPh and issues the official bukti potong via e-Bupot (DJP Coretax). Your job is to make sure every withholding comes with its slip and to keep them for the annual SPT. Tagihin can only generate a draft/preview bukti potong — never an official DJP document.

Freelancer guide

Invoicing & tax for a Freelance Architect in Indonesia

Q: Why can't a Freelance Architect use the 0.5% UMKM final tax?

Because the profession is pekerjaan bebas (a professional occupation), which is excluded from the UMKM final-tax scheme (PP 55/2022). Instead you can use NPPN: net income deemed ±50% × gross omzet (the professional norm in provincial capitals), then taxed at the progressive Article 17 rates — after notifying the DJP of the norm election at the start of the tax year.

A Freelance Architect in Indonesia counts as pekerjaan bebas (a professional), so the 0.5% UMKM final tax does not apply — your annual tax runs through NPPN: net income deemed ±50% × gross omzet (the professional norm in provincial capitals), then taxed at the progressive Article 17 rates. When a corporate client pays you, they withhold PPh 21 for non-employees (base 50% × gross × Article 17 — effective 2.5% in the first bracket, PMK 168/2023) and issue a bukti potong via e-Bupot (Coretax). Example: a Rp40.000.000 fee is withheld Rp1.000.000, so you receive Rp39.000.000. That slip is your tax credit on the annual SPT — you never issue it yourself.

An architect’s design fee is usually a percentage of build value, paid in stages: concept, design development, working drawings. Each stage paid by a developer or contractor (a corporate client) is withheld for PPh 21 — and as a tenaga ahli, your annual tax runs through NPPN, not the 0.5% final scheme.

By the Tagihin team · Updated 10 Jun 2026

A worked example

Say you are a Freelance Architect billing a PT client Rp40.000.000 for your work. The withholding category is “Non-employee individual (PPh 21)” at 2.5%. The figures below come straight from the Tagihin engine.

Fee (before PPN)	Rp40.000.000
Total invoiced	Rp40.000.000
Less PPh withheld 2,5%	-Rp1.000.000
Net the client pays (QRIS amount)	Rp39.000.000

The client withholds Rp1.000.000, transfers Rp39.000.000 to your account, and issues the bukti potong via e-Bupot as proof.

Your own tax: NPPN, not the 0.5% final tax

A Freelance Architect is on the pekerjaan bebas list (professionals: lawyers, accountants, architects, consultants, doctors, notaries, actuaries, appraisers, certain artists), which is excluded from the 0.5% UMKM final tax (PP 55/2022). Instead you can use NPPN — the deemed-net-income norm: net income is deemed a set percentage of gross omzet (typically 50% for professionals in provincial capitals), then taxed at the progressive Article 17 rates, starting at 5% in the first bracket, after personal allowances.

Conditions: omzet under Rp4.8 billion a year and you notify the DJP of your use of the norm at the start of the tax year. The PPh 21 slips from your corporate clients become credits reducing the tax due on your annual SPT (by 31 March).

When your client is a company: withholding & the bukti potong

A company paying you must withhold PPh and remit it in your name — individuals are generally withheld under PPh 21 for non-employees (effective 2.5%, PMK 168/2023), while corporate vendors are withheld under PPh 23 (services 2%). The proof is the bukti potong the client issues via e-Bupot in Coretax. Without an NPWP the withholding jumps: PPh 21 becomes 120% of normal, PPh 23 doubles.

Who withholds: On your own sales invoice you are the payee. The client (the payer) withholds the PPh and issues the bukti potong to you via e-Bupot — not you. Your job: make sure every withholding has its slip, then keep them for the annual SPT.

What to watch for in this trade

Architects are tenaga ahli, so the bukti potong from each stage truly matters: your tax is computed at the general Article 17 rates, and every withheld PPh 21 amount becomes a credit reducing the tax due on your annual SPT. Let no stage slip by without its slip.

Documents you’ll need

Surat penawaran (quotation) — lock the scope and price before work starts
Invoice — the formal bill, with an exact-amount QRIS QR so the client just scans
Kwitansi (receipt) — proof of payment; above Rp5 million it requires the Rp10.000 meterai (Law 10/2020; e-meterai for PDFs)
Bukti potong — RECEIVED from corporate clients (issued via e-Bupot), not created by you; keep every one

Tools & guides for this

Tagihin issues invoices and receipts that compute the withholding for you, with an exact-amount QRIS QR embedded — the client scans and the money lands straight in your own account.

Start invoicing as a Freelance Architect — free →

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Tagihin only formats and computes documents for you. This is general information, not tax advice — please confirm with the DJP (Indonesian tax office) or your accountant.