The SAC code for your service, and the GST rate that comes with it
Every Services Accounting Code in Chapter 99, with the official description, the rate entries that apply to it, whether input tax credit survives, whether reverse charge is in play, and a calculator built for services.
Every GST rate a service can carry
Services run on a short list of rates. Most land at 18%, the residual rate the schedule falls back to when nothing more specific applies. Open a rate to see which services sit there and why.
Exempt services: agricultural support, healthcare, education by an institution, residential rent, interest on loans.
1.5% 9 codesAffordable residential apartments, and job work on diamonds.
5% 76 codesTransport, restaurants, budget hotels, tour operators, most job work, salons. Usually without input tax credit.
7.5%Residential apartments other than affordable ones, and commercial apartments inside a residential project.
12% 2 codesOngoing construction projects that kept the old rate, and printing on publisher-supplied content.
18% 469 codesThe standard rate, and the residual entry of almost every heading in the schedule.
40% 3 codesCasinos, race clubs, betting, online money gaming and admission to specified sporting events.
All 5 sections of the services scheme
Chapter 99 divides every service into five sections, numbered 5 to 9 because the scheme continues the numbering of the goods sections it was built from. Open a section to reach its headings, groups and codes.
Popular SAC codes
The codes service businesses reach for most often, each with the rate that normally applies to it.
How to find your SAC code
- Describe the supply, not the industry. Type what you actually deliver, like "software development" or "renting a shop", rather than what your company calls itself. The classification follows the supply.
- Read the official description. Open the code and check that the annexure text genuinely covers your service. A close name is not a match; the words in the schedule are what an officer reads.
- Check the rate entry, and the credit condition. Most concessional service rates are conditional on giving up input tax credit, so the cheaper rate is not always the better one. Both are shown on every code page.
- Check whether reverse charge applies. If it does, you do not charge GST at all and the recipient pays it. Getting this wrong shows up as a mismatch in the very first return you file.
Services where the recipient pays the GST
On these supplies the supplier issues an invoice without charging tax and the recipient pays it directly. It catches out more service businesses than any other rule, so the entries that touch a heading are shown on every heading page.
On these supplies the recipient pays the GST, not the supplier. The supplier issues an invoice without charging tax and notes that tax is payable under reverse charge; the recipient pays it in cash and claims credit separately if eligible.
Services supplied by a Goods Transport Agency in respect of transportation of goods by road, where the GTA has not opted to pay under the forward charge.
- Supplier
- A Goods Transport Agency
- Pays the tax
- A factory, society, co-operative society, registered person, body corporate, partnership firm or casual taxable person located in the taxable territory
Renting of a motor vehicle designed to carry passengers where the cost of fuel is included, supplied at 5% to a body corporate.
- Supplier
- Any person other than a body corporate, who does not charge 18% with full credit
- Pays the tax
- A body corporate located in the taxable territory
Renting of any immovable property other than residential property.
- Supplier
- Any unregistered person
- Pays the tax
- Any registered person
Renting of a residential dwelling.
- Supplier
- Any person
- Pays the tax
- A registered person
Renting of immovable property supplied by the Central Government, a State Government, a Union territory or a local authority.
- Supplier
- Central Government, State Government, Union territory or local authority
- Pays the tax
- Any registered person
Legal services, including representational services, supplied directly or indirectly by an individual advocate, a senior advocate or a firm of advocates.
- Supplier
- An individual advocate, senior advocate or firm of advocates
- Pays the tax
- Any business entity located in the taxable territory
Source: Services taxable under reverse charge, Notification 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended. Separately from the entries above, any service bought from a supplier outside India is taxable under reverse charge in the recipient's hands, whatever code it carries. Reverse charge entries are amended often, so confirm the current position before you raise or accept an invoice.
- Classification: Scheme of Classification of Services, Annexure to Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (cbic-gst.gov.in).
- Rates: GST rates on services, Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended up to Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate) (CBIC rate finder).
- Exemptions: Exempt services, Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended up to Notification 16/2025-Central Tax (Rate).
- Reverse charge: Services taxable under reverse charge, Notification 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended.
- Current position: GST Council notifications published on the CBIC tax information portal.
This directory reproduces government classifications and rate entries for reference. The official gazette and CBIC notifications remain the authoritative sources. IncorpX provides assistance for registrations and filings that use these codes and does not issue the classification or the rates itself.
Guides and resources
The rules around SAC codes sit inside the wider GST invoicing and return regime. These cover the parts a code page cannot.
SAC code questions, answered
What is a SAC code?
SAC stands for Services Accounting Code. It is the 6-digit number that classifies a service under GST, in the same way an HSN code classifies goods. Every SAC code begins with 99, the chapter that covers all services, followed by two digits for the heading, one for the group and one for the service itself. The code goes on your tax invoice and into the HSN and SAC summary of GSTR-1.
How many digits of the SAC code do I need to report?
It depends on aggregate turnover. Up to Rs. 5 crore you report 4 digits on invoices and in GSTR-1, and above Rs. 5 crore you report all 6. The e-invoice schema validates the code whenever e-invoicing applies to you, so a wrong code fails at the portal rather than at assessment.
What is the GST rate on services?
Most services are taxed at 18%, which is the residual rate the schedule falls back to when no specific entry applies. A long list of services sits at 5%, usually on the condition that no input tax credit is taken, and a short list of demerit services such as casinos, betting and online money gaming is taxed at 40%. Construction keeps its own special rates of 1.5%, 5% and 12%. Open any code in this directory to see the entries that apply to it.
What changed for service rates on 22 September 2025?
The 56th GST Council rationalised the slab structure. For services this withdrew the 12% and 28% slabs in most places, moved several concessional entries such as works contracts for government bodies to 18%, cut beauty and physical well-being services and effluent and bio-medical waste treatment to 5%, and created a 40% rate for casinos, race clubs, betting, online money gaming and admission to specified sporting events.
What is the difference between a SAC code and an HSN code?
HSN codes classify goods, SAC codes classify services. If you supply goods you quote an HSN code, and if you supply services you quote a SAC code. A business that supplies both uses each type on the respective invoice lines. Both go in the same HSN and SAC summary table of GSTR-1.
What is reverse charge and how do I know if it applies?
On some notified supplies the recipient pays the GST instead of the supplier. Legal services from an advocate to a business entity, a Goods Transport Agency that has not opted for forward charge, security services from a non-corporate supplier, and renting of commercial property by an unregistered person are the common cases. Every heading page in this directory shows the reverse charge entries that touch it.
What SAC code should a freelancer or consultant use?
It depends on the actual service. Software design and development is 998314, IT consulting and support is 998313, management consulting is 998311, and legal advice outside criminal law is 998212. Search the service in plain words above to reach the right code, and read the official description before you commit to it.
Can IncorpX help me pick the right SAC code?
Yes. IncorpX provides assistance for GST registration and GST return filing, and helps you identify the correct SAC codes, the applicable rate and the reverse charge position for your services as part of that work. Applications and returns are always filed in your name with the tax authorities.
Not sure this is the right SAC code for your services?
Tell us what you actually supply and an IncorpX advisor will help you confirm the SAC code, the rate that applies to it and whether reverse charge is in play, before you invoice or file. Free, with no obligation. IncorpX provides assistance for GST registration and return filing; applications are always filed in your name with the tax authorities.
Nebin Binoy 
