Taxi bill format

Last reviewed: October 2026

What a taxi bill is and who uses it

A taxi bill (cab bill, taxi receipt) is the invoice a cab operator or driver gives for a hire: a point-to-point ride, a local package, an airport transfer or an outstation trip. The passenger uses it to pay and, usually, to claim the cost back from an employer. That second use is why it needs more than an amount: the employer wants to see the trip itself.

Under GST, a taxi ride is either passenger transport by motor cab (SAC 9964), where the operator carries you from A to B, or renting of a motor vehicle with operator (SAC 9966, "rent-a-cab"), where the car and driver are at your disposal for hours or days. Both, when the fare includes fuel, carry the same rate options, so the bill looks the same; the difference matters mainly for reverse charge, below.

How to fill in this taxi bill format

1. Add the operatorEnter the operator's or driver's name, address, phone and GSTIN if registered.
2. Add the passenger or companyEnter the passenger, and the company if it is being billed (with its GSTIN). For a company hiring a cab from a firm or individual at 5%, plan for reverse charge.
3. Describe the tripPut the date, times, route and vehicle number in the first line or the notes, with kilometres or hours as the quantity and the rate per km or package.
4. Add extras and pass-through costsAdd driver allowance, night and waiting charges at the fare's GST rate. Add tolls and parking at actuals at 0%, and note that receipts are attached.
5. Issue itCheck the CGST and SGST, then sign in to issue: the bill gets the next number in your series and is recorded in your books, ready for GSTR-1. Downloading the PDF is free, with a small LuckPanda footer; issuing, sending and clean PDFs without our branding need the Sales module.

Example: an outstation trip billed per kilometre

Rohan Mehta of Seabreeze Media hires a sedan from Sai Ram Tours & Travels for a day trip from Mumbai to Pune and back, pays by UPI and claims the cost from his employer. The operator is registered and charges 5% on the kilometres and the driver allowance. Tolls are paid on the passenger's behalf and billed at actual cost outside the taxable value, with the receipts attached.

1. Bill number from a continuous series, and the operator's GSTIN if registered.
2. Trip date and times: start and end, which also decide night charges and extra hours.
3. Vehicle registration number: employers check it against the trip.
4. Kilometres, with opening and closing odometer readings in the notes.
5. Passenger, and the company if the bill supports a claim or the company is billed.
6. Fare lines: per km (or package), driver allowance, waiting and night charges, each separately.
7. Tolls and parking at actuals, with receipts, and the payment mode.
8. GST at 5% as CGST + SGST on the fare and allowance, not on tolls billed at cost.

A local package with extra kilometres and hours

City hire is usually sold as a package, such as 8 hours or 80 km, with extra kilometres and extra hours billed on top. Airport or mall parking paid for the passenger goes at cost.

What goes on a taxi bill, field by field

GST on taxi fares after 22 September 2025

Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate) raised the with-credit option for cab and rent-a-cab services from 12% to 18% from 22 September 2025. The 5% option is unchanged.

Reverse charge when a company hires the cab

When an operator that is not a body corporate (an individual or a partnership firm, like Sai Ram Tours & Travels) rents a cab with fuel to a company and does not charge the higher with-credit rate, the company pays the 5% under reverse charge (entry 15 of Notification 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate)). The operator's bill to the company then carries no GST and says "tax payable by the recipient under reverse charge". The reverse-charge entry still refers to the old 12% rate rather than 18%, which practitioners treat as a drafting gap; take advice if you bill companies at 18%. A plain point-to-point ride is passenger transport, not renting, and is not covered by this entry.

Can a company claim the GST?

Usually not. Section 17(5) of the CGST Act blocks credit on leasing, renting or hiring of motor vehicles that seat up to 13 people, unless the buyer uses them to supply the same service or must provide transport to employees by law. A company that pays GST under reverse charge on a cab hire therefore usually bears it as a cost.

Other points

• The choice is the operator's, for its business: practitioners generally treat 5% and 18% as alternative conditions the operator meets for its supplies, not a rate to pick per customer.
• Place of supply: for a trip within one state billed to a local customer, CGST and SGST. For a registered business customer in another state, generally IGST.
• E-invoicing: suppliers of passenger transport services are exempt, so taxi bills never need an IRN.
• Tolls and parking: they stay outside the taxable value only if the operator pays them as the passenger's pure agent (rule 33): agreed in advance, shown separately at actual cost, with receipts. Otherwise they are part of the fare and taxed with it.

Billing outstation trips

• Kilometres garage to garage: the trip is usually measured from the operator's garage and back, read from the odometer, and the readings go on the bill.
• Minimum kilometres per day: outstation rates usually carry a daily minimum (often 250 or 300 km a day); a short day is billed at the minimum. State it on the bill so the passenger sees why.
• Driver allowance (bata): a fixed amount per day for the driver's food and stay, part of the fare and taxed with it.
• Night charges: an extra amount when the car runs or the driver is on duty late at night, commonly between about 10 pm and 6 am; state the hours.
• State permit and entry taxes for crossing state borders are paid at actuals and passed through with receipts.
• Multi-day trips: one line per day, or per-km plus one driver allowance line per day, so the employer can match the bill to the travel dates.

Taxi bills for reimbursement: what employers accept

Employers reimburse business travel against a bill that proves the trip. Most expense policies look for:

• the operator's name and phone number, and GSTIN if registered;
• a bill number and date;
• the passenger's name;
• the vehicle registration number;
• pick-up and drop points with times, and kilometres or hours;
• the fare breakdown, with tolls and parking supported by receipts;
• the payment mode, and a signature or stamp on a paper bill.

For app rides, the trip receipt the app emails is the bill: it already shows the route, time, fare and GST. Employers rarely accept handwritten slips without a bill number or vehicle number, and many cap claims at what an app ride would have cost.

Mistakes to avoid on a taxi bill

• Charging 12%. Since 22 September 2025 the with-credit option is 18%; the other option is 5% without credit.
• Charging 5% while claiming credit on the car. The 5% rate is conditional on not taking input tax credit beyond hired cabs.
• Charging GST on app bookings. For rides through an aggregator the app pays the GST.
• Adding GST to tolls billed at cost. If tolls are passed through as pure agent, they carry no GST; if they are part of the fare, include them in the taxable fare instead.
• Charging GST to a company where reverse charge applies. A firm or individual renting a cab with fuel to a company at 5% bills without GST.
• No vehicle number or kilometres. The bill will not support a reimbursement claim.

Taxi bill vs car rental bill vs transport bill vs app receipt

Key terms

Rent-a-cab

Renting of a motor vehicle with a driver, fuel included, for a period or distance (SAC 9966).

Driver allowance (bata)

A daily amount paid for the driver's food and stay on outstation trips; part of the taxable fare.

Pure agent

A supplier who pays costs such as tolls on the customer's behalf and recovers them at actual cost, outside its taxable value.

Section 9(5)

The rule that makes an e-commerce operator pay GST on notified services sold through it, including passenger transport.

Garage to garage

Measuring an outstation trip from the operator's base and back, by odometer.

Questions people ask