Say you spent ₹3 lakh on Google and Meta ads last financial year, before tax. At 18% GST, that's about ₹54,000 of tax on top. If your business is GST-registered and the ads were for business, much of that can usually come back as input tax credit (ITC). Many small businesses never claim it, because the invoice sits in an ad account nobody downloads from.
There is a deadline attached, and it is close.
The 30 November cut-off
Under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, credit for an invoice must be claimed by 30 November following the end of the financial year the invoice belongs to, or the date you file the annual return, whichever is earlier. The Finance Act 2022 moved the limit to 30 November from the old September-return deadline, effective 1 October 2022 (CBIC Notification 18/2022, explained by TaxGuru).
So for ad invoices dated between April 2025 and March 2026, the window closes on 30 November 2026, through your GSTR-3B for October (filed in November). Miss it and the credit is generally lost.
How Google and Meta bill Indian advertisers
What you need depends on which company bills you.
- Billed by an Indian entity (for example Google India Private Limited): the invoice carries 18% GST. Add your GSTIN in the ad account's payments or tax settings so the invoice shows it, then the credit flows through your GSTR-2B like any other purchase (ClearTax on GST and TDS for Google Ads).
- Billed by a company abroad: no Indian GST is charged on the invoice. A registered business pays 18% itself under the reverse charge mechanism, reports it in GSTR-3B, and can then claim the same amount as credit if eligible.
Open your billing settings in Google Ads and Meta Business Manager today and check two things: which entity is billing you, and whether your GSTIN and legal name are on the invoices. If they aren't, fix it for future bills and ask your CA how to handle past ones.
A quick checklist
- Download every ad invoice for April 2025 to March 2026 from Google Ads, Meta and any other platform.
- Match them against GSTR-2B. Indian-entity invoices with your GSTIN should appear there.
- List the gaps: invoices without your GSTIN, missing months, or reverse charge bills that were never reported.
- Give the list to your CA before mid-November, so the claim goes into the October return.
- Set up a monthly habit. Download invoices on the 5th of every month. It takes five minutes and saves this scramble next year.
Two things people get wrong
"GST on ads is a cost." For a registered business using ads for its own business, it usually isn't, if the paperwork is right. That changes how you should budget: plan on the pre-tax amount and treat the GST as cash that comes back, after a month or two.
"Small businesses can't claim." Businesses under the composition scheme, or not registered at all, can't claim ITC, so for them the 18% is a real cost. If you're near the registration threshold and spend heavily on ads, that is worth a conversation with your CA.
TDS on ad payments and the old equalisation levy confuse things further. The 6% levy on online advertising was removed from 1 April 2025 by the Finance Act 2025 (YourStory), and TDS depends on your audit status. Ask your CA rather than relying on old blog posts.
This is a general explainer, checked on 21 October 2026, and not tax advice.
Plan next year's ad budget with GST in it
Our ad budget planner works back from the leads you need to a monthly spend, and the GST calculator splits any amount into base and tax. If you'd like help setting up ads that are tracked properly, invoices and all, ask for a callback.
