Credit cards for the self-employed in India: the published income bars
Every Indian credit card whose bank publishes an income bar for the self-employed: the yearly ITR figure, the fee, and the cards that need no income proof.
In this guide 4 sections
1 words below are dotted: tap one for its meaning in the glossary.
With ₹6 lakh a year on your income-tax return, you clear the self-employed bar of 24 Indian credit cards, most of HDFC’s entry range among them. The first card to get is ICICI Platinum Chip: lifetime free, at ₹2.4 lakh a year, the lowest bar any bank prints. With no tax return, 26 cards need no income proof.
A self-employed applicant is judged on the income in the latest income-tax return (ITR), not on a payslip. Below is every card whose bank prints a bar for that applicant, lowest first. The bar is the bank’s own figure, from its product page, eligibility block or MITC — never an aggregator’s guess. Where a bank states the bar a month, we show it a year.
Every card with a published bar for the self-employed
| Card | Income bar, a year | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Adani One ICICI Bank Platinum | ₹2.4 lakh | ₹750 a year, waived at ₹3 lakh of spend |
| ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card | ₹2.4 lakh (printed as ₹20,000 a month) | lifetime free |
| PNB Kiwi | ₹2.5 lakh | lifetime free |
| IDFC FIRST Millennia | ₹3 lakh | lifetime free |
| IDFC FIRST Classic | ₹3 lakh | lifetime free |
| IOB VISA Signature Credit Card | ₹3 lakh | ₹750 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| IOB VISA Platinum Credit Card | ₹3 lakh | ₹250 a year, waived at ₹60,000 of spend |
| Indian Overseas Bank RuPay Select | ₹3 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| Indian Overseas Bank RuPay Platinum | ₹3 lakh | ₹250 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| Indian Overseas Bank RuPay Classic | ₹3 lakh | lifetime free |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Bank | ₹3.6 lakh (printed as ₹30,000 a month) | lifetime free |
| HPCL ENERGIE BOBCARD | ₹4.8 lakh net (₹3.6 lakh for Bank of Baroda customers) | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend |
| Union Bank UNICORN | ₹5 lakh (existing Union Bank customers only) | ₹2,400 a year, waived at ₹3 lakh of spend |
| BOBCARD Etihad Guest | ₹6 lakh | ₹2,500 a year, waived at ₹3 lakh of spend |
| Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank | ₹6 lakh | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹1.5 lakh of spend |
| HDFC PIXEL Go | ₹6 lakh | ₹250 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend |
| HDFC Bank Millennia | ₹6 lakh | ₹1,000 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| HDFC Bank PIXEL Play | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| HDFC Bank Freedom | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend |
| Paytm HDFC Bank | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend |
| HDFC Bank MoneyBack+ | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend |
| Swiggy Ornge HDFC Bank Credit Card | ₹6 lakh | ₹500 a year, waived at ₹1.5 lakh of spend |
| Dhanlaxmi Bank Namaste Credit Card | ₹6 lakh | not published |
| BOBCARD Tiara | ₹7.2 lakh | ₹2,499 a year, waived at ₹2.5 lakh of spend |
| BOBCARD Premier | ₹7.2 lakh | ₹1,000 a year, waived at ₹1.2 lakh of spend |
| YES Bank Zagg Credit Card | ₹7.5 lakh | lifetime free |
| YES Bank BYOC (Rewards) | ₹7.5 lakh | ₹588 a year |
| YES Bank Wellness Plus | ₹7.5 lakh | ₹1,499 a year |
| YES Bank SELECT | ₹7.5 lakh | ₹599 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| Shoppers Stop Black HDFC Bank | ₹8.4 lakh | ₹4,500 a year |
| YES Bank ELITE+ | ₹9 lakh | ₹999 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend |
| ICICI Sapphiro | ₹9 lakh | ₹3,500 a year, waived at ₹6 lakh of spend |
| ICICI Bank Rubyx | ₹9 lakh | ₹2,000 a year, waived at ₹3 lakh of spend |
| HSBC TravelOne | ₹12 lakh | ₹4,999 a year, waived at ₹8 lakh of spend |
| Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank | ₹12 lakh | ₹1,499 a year, waived at ₹3 lakh of spend |
| HSBC Live+ | ₹12 lakh | ₹999 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend |
| HSBC RuPay Cashback | ₹12 lakh | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend |
| BOBCARD Eterna | ₹12 lakh | ₹2,499 a year, waived at ₹2.5 lakh of spend |
| HSBC Platinum | ₹12 lakh | lifetime free |
| HSBC RuPay Platinum | ₹12 lakh | lifetime free |
| IDFC FIRST Select | ₹12 lakh | lifetime free |
| Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank | ₹15 lakh | ₹3,000 a year |
| HDFC Regalia Gold | ₹18 lakh | ₹2,500 a year, waived at ₹4 lakh of spend |
| Axis Magnus | ₹24 lakh | ₹12,500 a year, waived at ₹25 lakh of spend |
| ICICI Times Black | ₹24 lakh | ₹20,000 a year, waived at ₹25 lakh of spend |
| Kotak White | ₹25 lakh | ₹3,000 a year, waived at ₹5 lakh of spend |
| PhonePe HDFC Bank Ultimo | ₹26 lakh | ₹999 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend |
| PhonePe HDFC Bank Uno | ₹26 lakh | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend |
| HDFC Diners Club Black Metal | ₹30 lakh | ₹10,000 a year, waived at ₹8 lakh of spend |
| IDFC FIRST Wealth | ₹36 lakh | lifetime free |
| IndusInd Indulge | ₹42 lakh | ₹10,000 a year, waived at ₹10 lakh of spend |
| HDFC Infinia Metal | ₹60 lakh | ₹12,500 a year, waived at ₹10 lakh of spend |
| HSBC Taj | ₹60 lakh | ₹1,10,000 a year |
The bars cluster at a few points. ₹3 lakh opens IDFC FIRST’s free cards and Indian Overseas Bank’s range. ₹6 lakh opens most of HDFC’s entry cards, from PIXEL Go to Millennia. ₹7.5 lakh opens YES Bank’s entry cards, ₹9 lakh ICICI’s Rubyx and Sapphiro, and ₹12 lakh most of HSBC’s cards and IDFC FIRST Select. The top of the market asks ₹24–₹60 lakh: Axis Magnus, HDFC Diners Club Black, HDFC Infinia.
A few of these bars carry a condition the number does not show. Union Bank’s UNICORN is for existing Union Bank customers only. BOBCARD quotes net income, and its HPCL ENERGIE card takes ₹3.6 lakh from an existing Bank of Baroda customer. ICICI prints its Platinum Chip and Amazon Pay bars a month (₹20,000 and ₹30,000), and Amazon Pay ICICI is issued only on a pre-approved offer, whatever your income. Kotak prints one bar for White, salaried or not.
No income proof at all
| Card | Fee | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| IDFC FIRST WOW! | lifetime free | None — FD-backed, no income proof required |
| Niyo Global SBM Credit Card | lifetime free | None — secured against a fixed deposit, no income proof |
| Axis Bank My Zone Easy | ₹500 a year | Not applicable — approval is guaranteed against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| PM SVANidhi BOBCARD | lifetime free | No income proof — eligibility is a PM SVANidhi registration and repayment of the first and second loan tranches |
| IndiGo IDFC FIRST Secured | ₹4,999 a year | Not applicable — approval is assured against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| IDFC FIRST Hello Cashback | ₹1,000 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend | Not applicable — approval is assured against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| IDFC FIRST Quantum+ | lifetime free | Not applicable — approval is assured against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| IDFC FIRST EA₹N | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹1 lakh of spend | Not applicable — approval is assured against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| Axis Bank Privilege Easy | ₹1,500 a year, waived at ₹5 lakh of spend | Not applicable — approval is guaranteed against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| IndianOil Easy Axis Bank | lifetime free | Not applicable — approval is instant against the fixed deposit rather than assessed on income |
| DCB Niyo Global Credit Card | lifetime free | None — no income proof and no credit-score check |
| DCB PayLess Select Credit Card | ₹1,000 a year, waived at ₹2 lakh of spend | None — no income proof is required |
| DCB novio Credit Card (RuPay Select) | lifetime free | None — no income proof is required |
| DCB PayLess Platinum Credit Card | ₹350 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend | None — no income proof is required |
| DCB ZET Credit Card | lifetime free | None — no income proof and no credit history required |
| DCB novio Credit Card (RuPay Platinum) | lifetime free | None — no income proof is required |
| SBM MobiKwik First Credit Card | lifetime free | None — no income proof is required |
| Paisabazaar Paisa Plus Credit Card | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend | None — no income proof is required |
| Paisabazaar Step-Up SBM Credit Card | ₹500 once | None — no income proof is required |
| SBM novio Credit Card | ₹499 a year, waived at ₹50,000 of spend | None — no income proof is required |
| SBM Magnet Credit Card | lifetime free | None — no income proof is required |
| SBM Kredit.Pe Credit Card | lifetime free | None — no income proof is required |
| IOB novio Select Credit Card | lifetime free | None — secured on a fixed deposit opened in the novio app |
| IOB novio Platinum Credit Card | lifetime free | None — secured on a fixed deposit opened in the novio app |
| Indian Bank PM SVANidhi | lifetime free | No income test — eligibility is the scheme’s: a PM SVANidhi street vendor moving off the term-loan model |
| SBM ZET Credit Card | lifetime free | None published — the card is secured on a fixed deposit, not on income |
A secured card ties your limit to a deposit you keep with the bank, so it needs no ITR and no credit history. It is the honest first card for someone in their first year of business: use it for twelve months, pay in full, and the bureau record it builds is what an unsecured card looks at next. The PM SVANidhi cards are not general-purpose — they are for street vendors in the government’s loan scheme.
A card that is not in this table
Only 54 of the 481 personal cards banks issue today carry a published self-employed bar in our data, and 102 carry any self-employed line at all. The difference is cards whose bank prints nothing (“none published”), cards that use one income band for everyone, and figures that only a community forum, an aggregator or a partner site reports — we leave all of those out. One line is out for a different reason: HDFC prints the Paytm Select bar as an annual ITR “above ₹60,000”, which reads as a missing zero, so we do not rank on it. Many banks decide self-employed applications case by case; a card missing here may well approve you.
Which one to pick first
- No fee, lowest bar. ICICI Platinum Chip at ₹2.4 lakh, PNB Kiwi at ₹2.5 lakh, or IDFC FIRST Millennia and IDFC FIRST Classic at ₹3 lakh. All four are lifetime free.
- You file ₹6 lakh or more. HDFC’s entry cards open up. Pick by where you spend: Swiggy HDFC for food delivery, Tata Neu Plus HDFC for Tata’s apps, Millennia for online shopping. The Amazon and Flipkart board ranks the shopping cards.
- You file ₹12 lakh or more and travel. IDFC FIRST Select is lifetime free; HSBC TravelOne earns points you can move to airlines. The first travel card board is where to look next.
- You run the business through a company or a current account. Look at business cards instead — they are ranked against each other on the business board.
On a salary instead? See credit cards by salary.
Method: the bar is the incomeSelfEmployed line of our MITC table for each card, the bank’s own figure from its product page, eligibility block or MITC, shown a year (a monthly figure is multiplied by 12). Rows marked as community-reported, or quoting an aggregator’s or a partner site’s figure, were left out, as were income bands and a figure the row itself flags as a likely misprint. “No income proof” means the bank’s own line says no income test applies — a fixed deposit, or no income proof required; a bank that published nothing is not counted there. Cards counted are personal (not business) cards still issued on the day this page was built. Fees come from each card’s own record and match its card page.
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Sources
Every figure in the boxes and tables above is read from our own data on each build . The writing was last checked against it on ; where the two disagree, the data wins. Report an error