Restaurant GST calculator
The 5%-or-18% question, answered with the exact CGST/SGST split on any bill.
Standalone restaurants, dine-in, takeaway and delivery, charge 5% GST without input tax credit (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST). The 18% rate (with ITC) applies to restaurants in "specified premises": hotels where any room exceeded ₹7,500/night in the previous financial year. Alcohol stays outside GST under state VAT.
Most restaurants charge 5% GST without input tax credit. 18% (with ITC) applies to restaurants in 'specified premises', hotels where any room exceeded ₹7,500/night in the prior year. Alcohol is outside GST (state VAT applies). This is general information, not tax advice, confirm your slab with your CA. CountStand's billing engine applies the right split automatically and files GSTR-1 in one click.
Is restaurant GST 5% or 18%?
Nearly every standalone restaurant in India, dine-in, takeaway, home delivery, cloud kitchen, charges 5% GST and cannot claim input tax credit. That trade was deliberate: a low customer-facing rate in exchange for the restaurant absorbing GST on its own rent, equipment and supplies.
The 18% rate belongs to restaurants inside "specified premises", hotels where any room sold above ₹7,500/night in the previous financial year. Those restaurants charge more GST but recover ITC, which for a hotel F&B operation with heavy input costs can be the better side of the trade.
Alcohol never enters GST, it stays under state VAT, which is why a bar bill shows two tax regimes on one piece of paper, and why liquor-serving restaurants keep separate billing series for food and beverage.
What does GST look like on a ₹1,000 restaurant bill?
Subtotal ₹1,000. GST at 5% = ₹50, shown as CGST ₹25 + SGST ₹25, two separate lines, never a single "GST 5%" line, because an intra-state supply legally splits the levy between centre and state. Grand total ₹1,050.
If the restaurant adds a 10% service charge (₹100), GST applies to the service charge too, the taxable value becomes ₹1,100 and the tax ₹55. Service charge must be displayed as optional; GST must be computed on the actual amount collected.
On the 18% hotel slab the same food bill carries ₹180 tax (₹90 + ₹90), and the restaurant then offsets the GST it paid on inputs against that collection. Same food, two different tax economics.
Which GST returns must a restaurant file?
Charging the right rate is step one; filing it is the recurring work. GSTR-1 (outward supplies) is due monthly for most restaurants, GSTR-3B settles the cash, and annual turnover past ₹5 crore brings e-invoicing obligations with IRN generation on every B2B invoice.
The failure mode is rarely the rate, it is the reconciliation: bills raised vs GSTR-1 rows, aggregator orders where Zomato/Swiggy remit the tax on your behalf since 2022 but the turnover still appears in your books, and the month-end hunt for missing invoice serials. A billing system with sequential numbering and one-click GSTR-1 export exists to delete exactly that afternoon.
Asked by owners like you
Is restaurant GST 5% or 18%?
For almost all standalone restaurants it is 5% without input tax credit. 18% with ITC applies only when the restaurant operates inside a hotel classed as "specified premises" (a room above ₹7,500/night in the prior year). When in doubt, confirm your premises status with your CA.
Can a restaurant claim input tax credit at 5%?
No, the 5% concessional rate specifically excludes ITC on inputs. That trade-off is why some hotel restaurants on 18% prefer the ITC route: they recover GST on rent, equipment and supplies.
How is GST split between CGST and SGST?
An intra-state restaurant sale splits the rate equally: 5% = 2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST, and 18% = 9% + 9%. Your bill must show the two components separately to be a valid GST invoice.
Do delivery orders through Zomato/Swiggy change my GST?
The rate stays 5%, but since 2022 the e-commerce operator (Zomato/Swiggy) collects and remits the GST on restaurant services ordered through them. Your reconciliation still has to tie those orders out, which is exactly the kind of thing your billing system should do for you.
Bills that file themselves
CountStand applies the right slab, prints the split, and exports GSTR-1 in one click, integer-paise accurate.
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