Unlike salaried employees who have TDS deducted automatically, freelancers are generally responsible for paying advance tax themselves in quarterly instalments if their annual liability exceeds ₹10,000, which for most freelancers earning a reasonable income, it will.
Many freelancers with gross receipts up to ₹75 lakh a year (for most professions) can opt for presumptive taxation under Section 44ADA, where 50% of gross receipts is deemed taxable profit, regardless of actual expenses — this drastically simplifies bookkeeping since you don't need to track every expense, though it may not always be the most tax-efficient choice if your actual expenses are genuinely high.
Freelancers can still claim standard deductions like 80C and 80D under the old regime, and should keep basic records of invoices raised and payments received regardless of which taxation method they choose, since clients often deduct TDS under Section 194J, which needs to be reconciled against Form 26AS when filing.