GST ITC Set-off Calculator (India): IGST, CGST and SGST Order
Which credit pays which tax, in the order of the law — and the cash left to pay.
Result
Cash to pay
Enter your tax and credit
Type the tax payable and the credit in each head, or try the example.
Table 6.1 — payment of tax
(A) Other than reverse charge and supplies made under section 9(5) · amounts in ₹
(B) Reverse charge and supplies made under section 9(5): cash only · amounts in ₹
| Head | Tax payable | Tax in cash |
|---|
The order of use, step by step
After the set-off
| Head, ₹ | Credit before | Credit used | Credit left | Cash for tax | Still to deposit |
|---|
The ways rule 88A allows the IGST credit to be shared
| IGST credit left after IGST goes to | Cash for tax, ₹ |
|---|
A calculation for information, not tax advice. The GST portal suggests a set-off when you file GSTR-3B; check it against this and keep the working with your return.
Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
About the GST ITC Set-off Calculator (India): IGST, CGST and SGST Order
Every month the input tax credit in your electronic credit ledger pays your GST in a fixed order, and getting the order wrong can leave you paying cash while credit sits unused. Enter the tax payable and the credit you have in each head — IGST, CGST, SGST or UTGST, and cess — and the calculator applies section 49 of the CGST Act with sections 49A and 49B and rule 88A: IGST credit pays IGST first; what is left of it pays CGST and SGST/UTGST in any order, before their own credit is touched; CGST credit then pays CGST and after that IGST; SGST/UTGST credit pays SGST/UTGST and IGST only once no CGST credit is left for it; CGST and SGST credit never cross; cess credit pays only cess.
The result is laid out like Table 6.1 of GSTR-3B — tax payable, the credit used from each head and the cash per head — with every step and the rule behind it, the credit left in the ledger, and the cash each legal way of sharing the IGST credit would cost. Reverse-charge tax, interest and late fee are paid in cash only, and the rule 86B 1% cash condition can be switched on. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to use it
- Choose SGST or UTGST for your State tax head (UTGST in Union territories without a legislature).
- Enter the tax payable for the period in each head — the tax on your outward supplies after credit and debit notes, without reverse-charge tax — and the credit in your ledger: the opening balance plus this period’s net ITC (Table 4(C) of GSTR-3B).
- Add reverse-charge tax (Table 3.1(d)) under Reverse charge and section 9(5); it is paid in cash. An e-commerce operator adds the tax it pays under section 9(5) there too.
- Optional: a negative liability of earlier periods, your cash ledger balance (to see what is still to deposit), and interest and late fee. Tick rule 86B if it applies to you.
- Read the cash to pay, Table 6.1, the steps with their rules and the credit left. Copy summary or Download CSV to keep the working with your return.
Examples
Tax: IGST ₹1,00,000, CGST ₹30,000, SGST ₹30,000 Credit: IGST ₹1,30,000, CGST ₹20,000, SGST ₹20,000
IGST credit ₹1,00,000 pays IGST; the ₹30,000 left goes ₹15,000 to CGST and ₹15,000 to SGST; CGST and SGST credit pay the rest Cash ₹0 · credit left CGST ₹5,000, SGST ₹5,000 Using the IGST credit for CGST first would have cost ₹10,000 of SGST in cash
Tax: IGST ₹50,000 · Credit: CGST ₹30,000, SGST ₹40,000
CGST credit ₹30,000 pays IGST first, then SGST credit ₹20,000 (proviso to s.49(5)(c)) Cash ₹0 · credit left SGST ₹20,000
Tax: CGST ₹4,500 and SGST ₹4,500 on legal services under reverse charge · Credit: IGST ₹2,00,000
Cash ₹9,000 — credit cannot pay reverse-charge tax (s.49(4) with s.2(82)); the IGST credit stays in the ledger
Tax: IGST ₹10,00,000 · Credit: IGST ₹20,00,000 · rule 86B applies
Credit pays ₹9,90,000; ₹10,000 (1% of the output tax) is paid in cash and ₹10,000 of credit stays in the ledger
Common uses
- Check the set-off the GST portal suggests in GSTR-3B before you pay.
- Plan the cash you need for the month, head by head.
- Teach or learn the order of utilisation with the rule for every step.
- Explain to a client why cash was paid while credit stayed in the ledger.
The order of utilisation, step by step
- IGST credit pays IGST (s.49(5)(a), rule 88A).
- The IGST credit left pays CGST and SGST/UTGST, in any order and proportion (rule 88A), and it must be used up before any CGST or SGST/UTGST credit is used (s.49A and the proviso to rule 88A).
- CGST credit pays CGST (s.49(5)(b)) and SGST/UTGST credit pays SGST/UTGST (s.49(5)(c), (d)).
- IGST still due is paid with the CGST credit left (s.49(5)(b)), and only then with SGST/UTGST credit (provisos to s.49(5)(c) and (d)).
- CGST credit never pays SGST/UTGST, and SGST/UTGST credit never pays CGST (s.49(5)(e), (f)).
- Cess credit pays only cess.
The tax under reverse charge is not “output tax” (s.2(82)), and the credit ledger pays output tax only (s.49(4)), so it is paid in cash; so are interest, the late fee and, for an e-commerce operator, the tax on supplies under section 9(5).
Why the split of the IGST credit matters
Rule 88A lets the IGST credit left after IGST pay CGST and SGST/UTGST in any order. The total credit used is the same either way, but CGST and SGST credit cannot pay each other, so putting the IGST credit into the head where your own credit falls short can turn cash into credit. With the least cash split the calculator first covers each head’s shortfall and shares what is left in proportion to the tax still due; the table at the end shows what the other orders would cost, so you can see what the choice is worth before you edit the portal’s suggestion.
Rule 86B: 1% in cash
Where the value of taxable supplies (other than exempt and zero-rated supplies) in a month is more than ₹50 lakh, credit may pay at most 99% of the output tax. The rule does not apply where the person (or the proprietor, karta, managing director or two partners, whole-time directors or trustees) paid more than ₹1 lakh of income tax in each of the last two years, where more than ₹1 lakh of unutilised credit was refunded in the last financial year, where more than 1% of the year’s output tax has already been paid in cash, or to Government departments, public sector undertakings, local authorities and statutory bodies; the Commissioner can also lift it. When you tick it, the calculator holds back the last credit used until the cash reaches 1%.
Sources
- CGST Act section 49, section 49A, section 49B, section 2(82) and section 170, on CBIC’s tax information portal
- CGST Rules rule 88A and rule 86B
- GSTN’s GSTR-3B manual: Table 6.1, negative liability and cash-only payments
Limitations
- It works with the amounts you enter; it does not check that the credit is eligible or that the tax is right.
- Interest and late fee are entered, not worked out: use the GST late fee and interest calculator for them.
- The GST portal also offers the remaining CGST and SGST/UTGST credit for IGST in any order; the total cash is the same, only the credit left in each head differs. The calculator follows the order of the provisos to section 49(5).
- Tax amounts are rounded to the nearest rupee when they are paid (s.170); the calculator works to the paisa so that the steps add up.
- A calculation for information, not tax advice.
Privacy
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Frequently asked questions
Can IGST credit be used for CGST and SGST?
Yes. After paying IGST, the IGST credit left must be used for CGST and SGST/UTGST, in any order and proportion, before any CGST or SGST/UTGST credit is used (rule 88A with section 49A).
Can CGST credit be used to pay SGST?
No. Section 49(5)(e) bars CGST credit from paying State or Union territory tax, and section 49(5)(f) bars SGST/UTGST credit from paying central tax. Each can pay IGST once its own head is paid.
Can I pay reverse-charge tax with input tax credit?
No. The credit ledger pays “output tax” only (s.49(4)), and output tax excludes tax payable on reverse charge (s.2(82)), so it is paid in cash. After you pay it, the same tax is claimed as credit in Table 4(A)(2) or 4(A)(3) of the same return.
What is the best order to use IGST credit?
Put the IGST credit left after IGST where your own CGST or SGST/UTGST credit is short. The least cash choice does that; the last table shows the cash under every legal order, so you can compare.
Does the GST portal do this for me?
GSTR-3B suggests a set-off in Table 6.1 and lets you edit it within the rules. This calculator gives the same order with each step explained, so you can check the suggestion, see what a different split would cost and keep the working.