The first time a corporate guest asks for a "GST bill", most hosts improvise something in Word and hope. Here's what that bill legally needs to be — and when you genuinely need to be GST-registered to issue one.
When does a host actually need GST?
- When turnover crosses the threshold — ₹20 lakh for services in most states (₹10 lakh special-category). Details in our licence & GST guide.
- When your guests are companies that need input credit — without a GST invoice, they book elsewhere.
- Room GST rates are tied to the nightly tariff — the current slabs are here.
What a compliant tax invoice must show
- Your property name, address and GSTIN.
- Invoice number (sequential) and date.
- Guest name, and their GSTIN if they're claiming credit.
- Line items — room nights, food, laundry, extras — with taxable value.
- The CGST/SGST split at the applicable rate (or IGST where that applies).
- Grand total, and the amount in words.
- Authorised signature.
Miss the GSTIN, the split, or the sequential numbering and it's not a tax invoice — it's a receipt with extra steps, and a corporate accounts team will bounce it.
The practical problem: doing this per guest, by hand
A template works for one bill. It falls apart when the stay has three food orders and a laundry charge, the guest paid part in UPI and part in cash, and checkout is happening while another guest waits. The itemisation is the hard part — which is why it should come straight from the running guest ledger, not memory.
Billing is step 7 of the full How to Start an Airbnb in India guide.