GST calculator for garments

This GST calculator for garments works out the tax the way the rate is set: by the piece, on the sale value. Enter a price, say whether it includes GST, and it gives the rate, the tax, the totals and the split.

How GST on garments is set

At the time of writing, readymade garments carry GST at 5% where the sale value is up to ₹ 2,500 a piece, and at 18% where it is above ₹ 2,500. The split applies from 22 Sep 2025, following the GST Council’s 56th meeting.

The Council’s press release on the 56th meeting sets out the change. Three things follow from the way the rule is written:

• The test is per piece. The rate follows the value of each piece, not the invoice total, so one invoice can carry 5% and 18% lines.
• The test is on the sale value. The ₹ 2,500 line applies to the value before GST, so a price that includes GST has to be taken back to its value first.
• The rate can change. GST rates are recommended by the GST Council and notified by the government, so check the current position before you price a range.

We confirm the rate for each line on our quotations for wholesale garments, with GST and freight each on a line of its own.

How the calculator works

The calculator reads the price one of two ways, depending on whether it includes GST.

A price before GST is the sale value itself. At ₹ 2,500 or less, the rate is 5%; above ₹ 2,500, it is 18%. The GST is the value multiplied by the rate.

A price including GST has the tax inside it, so the calculator takes it out both ways: the price divided by 1.05 gives the value at 5%, and divided by 1.18, the value at 18%.

If the value at 5% is ₹ 2,500 or less, 5% applies. If the value at 18% is above ₹ 2,500, 18% applies. Between the two lies a band where neither fits cleanly, explained below.

For every other price, the calculator multiplies by your quantity and splits the GST by where the goods go: CGST and SGST in equal halves within your state, IGST in full to a buyer in another state.

Four prices, worked through

Illustration: four garments priced in round figures, the first before GST and the other three including it.

In the same illustration, ten pieces of the first garment sold within your state carry ₹ 500 of GST, split as ₹ 250 CGST and ₹ 250 SGST. Sold to a buyer in another state, the same ₹ 500 is charged as IGST.

When neither rate fits the price

A price including GST above ₹ 2,625 and up to ₹ 2,950 sits in a band the rule cannot settle from the price alone.

Take 5% out and the value is above ₹ 2,500, where 18% applies. Take 18% out and the value is ₹ 2,500 or less, where 5% applies.

The edges come from the threshold itself: ₹ 2,500 plus 5% is ₹ 2,625, and ₹ 2,500 plus 18% is ₹ 2,950. Inside the band, the calculator shows both computations side by side and does not pick one.

There are two ways out. Price the piece outside the band, at ₹ 2,625 or less including GST or above ₹ 2,950, or settle the treatment with your tax adviser before the price is printed, and keep their advice with your records.

Sets, fabric and other cases to check

The calculator assumes one readymade garment per piece, priced on its own. Some products need a closer look:

• Sets. Whether a kurta set, a co-ord or a two-piece suit counts as one piece or several for the ₹ 2,500 test is a question for your tax adviser, particularly when the set is priced near the line.
• Unstitched fabric and dress material. These may be classed as fabric rather than readymade garments, with their own HSN code and rate, so this calculator does not apply to them.
• Discounts. A discount shown on the invoice at the time of sale generally lowers the value the rate is tested against; one agreed afterwards may not change the rate already charged.
• Accessories. Bags, belts and footwear have HSN codes of their own, so check each against its code.

HSN codes for readymade garments sit in chapters 61 and 62 of the customs tariff, which GST uses to classify goods. Each line of a quotation or invoice should show its own code and its own rate.

Figures are rounded to the paisa. An invoice that rounds line by line can differ by a paisa or two, and CGST and SGST can differ by a paisa when the GST comes to an odd number of paise.

Using the result when you price

For a seller, the useful question often runs the other way: what price keeps a piece at 5%? Any price including GST of ₹ 2,625 or less does, and so does any price before GST of ₹ 2,500 or less.

When you list garments online, the price the buyer sees includes GST, so test that figure rather than the one before tax, and test it again after any discount.

Registration, invoices and TCS for marketplace sellers are covered in our guide to GST for online sellers.

Buying garments to resell? Ask for a quotation that shows each line’s value, rate and GST separately, as ours do, with freight on a line of its own. Our guide to GST on garments covers how a wholesale quotation and invoice should read.

For a lot of your own design, private label garments are quoted the same way, and the rate card request asks for the quantity, fabric and sizes we need to price it. Sellers listing kurta sets will find more in women’s ethnic wear.