Freelancing agency

About the business

A freelancing agency is a few people taking work from foreign clients - design, websites, video, writing - and bringing the money home through legal channels. The thing the training-centre advertisements leave out is that the beginning pays almost nothing. Tania Khalil of Khagrachhari got her first job in December 2021, designed a logo, and earned USD 13 that month. It took her about four years to reach roughly Tk 100,000 a month. The policy side, meanwhile, is now unusually good. The 2026-27 budget exempts all freelance and content-creation income from income tax and waives the 15 per cent VAT that used to apply, both until 30 June 2035. Money brought in through legal channels carries the 2.5 per cent cash incentive, which the government confirmed on 11 June 2026 will continue. From 22 July 2026 Bangladesh Bank allows service-export earnings up to USD 20,000 to be repatriated without a formal declaration, up to USD 10,000 per transaction through online payment gateway providers, and lets IT freelancers keep up to 50 per cent of earnings in foreign currency under the Exporters' Retention Quota for software subscriptions, cloud and advertising, with platform statements and emails accepted as evidence. What none of that supplies is the work itself.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A computer or laptop that can do the work, fast internet and a way to keep running through a power cut. Video and design work need a stronger machine.Equipment
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. It is needed to open a business bank account and sign contracts as an agency.Licence
• Freelancer ID card from the ICT Division's National Freelancer Registration and ID Card Management Platform. It is digital and free, open to anyone earning at least USD 50-100. It is meant to give access to bank accounts, loans, credit cards and incentives.Licence
• e-TIN and an income tax return from the National Board of Revenue. The 2026-27 budget fully exempts freelance and content-creation income from income tax and removes the 15 per cent VAT that applied, both until 30 June 2035.Licence
• One definite skill - graphic design, web development, video editing, writing - plus enough English to talk to the client and the discipline to deliver on time.Skill
• A legal inward payment route - an online payment gateway service provider (maximum USD 10,000 per transaction), a mobile financial service, a payment service provider, or a bank's dual-currency Freelancer Card.Supplier
• A place to work at home or in a small office. A bigger team needs a separate room, and then rent and electricity become fixed costs.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Get good at one thing first, then build a team. An agency is not more people, it is doing the same job well repeatedly.
2. 2Open a profile on Fiverr or Upwork and build a portfolio. The first months bring almost nothing - make sure you can pay your costs through them.
3. 3Get the freelancer ID card from the ICT Division's national freelancer registration platform. It is digital and free; private outfits used to charge Tk 1,500-2,500 for one.
4. 4Open a bank account and ask about the Freelancer Card - banks now issue dual-currency cards for this.
5. 5Settle the payment route first. Up to USD 10,000 per transaction can come through an online payment gateway service provider, and mobile financial service and payment service provider routes are open too.
6. 6Keep platform statements, emails and contract copies in order. Since 22 July 2026 Bangladesh Bank accepts this digital evidence in place of export paperwork.
7. 7Service-export earnings up to USD 20,000 can be repatriated without a formal declaration - above that, talk to your bank first.
8. 8Bring the money through the legal channel, or you lose the 2.5 per cent cash incentive and have no records to show.
9. 9If the work is IT, keep up to 50 per cent of earnings in dollars under the Exporters' Retention Quota - software, cloud and advertising bills come out of that.
10. 10File the income tax return even though the tax is zero. The 2026-27 budget waives both income tax and VAT on freelance income until 30 June 2035, but claiming an exemption still needs paperwork.
11. 11Do the sums before adding people. If a salary falls due sooner than the client's money arrives, the agency does not survive.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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