GST Input Tax Credit Calculator
The set-off order, and the cash you are left paying after it.
- IGST credit on IGST liability — mandatory first
- ₹60,000.00
- IGST credit on CGST liability
- ₹20,000.00
- IGST credit on SGST liability
- ₹20,000.00
- CGST credit on CGST liability
- ₹40,000.00
- SGST credit on SGST liability
- ₹40,000.00
- CGST credit on IGST liability
- ₹0.00
- SGST credit on IGST liability
- ₹0.00
- Cash: IGST ₹0.00 · CGST ₹10,000.00 · SGST ₹10,000.00
- ₹20,000.00
IGST credit must be exhausted first, and only then may CGST or SGST credit be applied to an IGST liability. The hard rule underneath everything is that CGST credit can never offset an SGST liability, or the reverse — which is why a business can hold ample credit in one head and still pay cash in the other. Rule 88A leaves the split of residual IGST credit between CGST and SGST to you, in any order and any proportion, and that discretion is worth using: here it is directed at whichever head would otherwise need cash, which minimises the outgo. Credit is only available once the invoice appears in your GSTR-2B, and it must be claimed by 30 November following the financial year or the date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier — filing GSTR-9 early closes the window early. Payment to the supplier within 180 days is also a condition; miss it and the credit reverses with interest, reclaimable when you do pay.
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Independent · No commissions · No fund-house data — how the numbers are computed
How it works
Input tax credit lets you set the GST you paid on purchases against the GST you owe on sales. The order it is applied in is set by statute and is not optional: IGST credit must be exhausted first, and only then may CGST or SGST credit touch an IGST liability.
The rule underneath everything is that CGST credit can never offset an SGST liability, or the reverse. That is why a business can hold ample credit in one head and still pay cash in the other — a situation this calculator is designed to surface.
Rule 88A leaves the split of residual IGST credit between CGST and SGST entirely to you, in any order and any proportion. That discretion is worth using: allocating it to whichever head would otherwise need cash is what minimises the outgo, and it is what the calculator does.
IGST credit to IGST liability first, then residual IGST to CGST and SGST in any proportion. Then CGST credit to CGST and SGST credit to SGST. Only then may leftover CGST or SGST credit touch a remaining IGST liability.Anything a credit cannot legally reach is paid in cash through the electronic cash ledger; anything left unused carries forward in the electronic credit ledger.
Frequently asked questions
Can CGST credit be used against SGST liability?
No, never, and this is the hardest rule in the set-off order. CGST credit may only be used against CGST liability and then, once IGST credit is exhausted, against IGST liability. It can never touch SGST. The reverse is equally true. This is why businesses frequently pay cash in one head while holding an unusable balance in the other.
When can I actually claim a credit?
Only when all the conditions in section 16(2) are satisfied together: you hold the tax invoice, you have actually received the goods or services, the invoice appears in your GSTR-2B because the supplier filed their GSTR-1, the credit is not restricted there, the supplier has paid the tax to the government, and you have filed your own return. No GSTR-2B entry, no credit — however valid your invoice looks.
What is the deadline for claiming input tax credit?
The earlier of 30 November following the financial year, or the date you file the annual return for that year. Filing GSTR-9 early therefore closes the window early, which is a real and commonly-missed trap. Miss the deadline and the credit is permanently lost — it cannot be carried forward or reclaimed later.
What credits are blocked entirely?
Section 17(5) blocks a long list regardless of business use: passenger motor vehicles seating up to thirteen and their insurance and servicing, food and beverages, outdoor catering, health services, club and gym memberships, life and health insurance unless legally obligatory, employee travel benefits, works contracts and construction of immovable property on your own account other than plant and machinery, goods lost or given as free samples, and anything used for personal consumption or for CSR. Goods-transport vehicles, by contrast, are fully eligible.