Looking for expert help with Income tax and GST for physiotherapists and physiotherapy clinic owners India? The team at Tax Garden, based in Kondapur, Hyderabad, helps Indian SMEs stay compliant. End-to-end filings, notices, and deadline tracking, all in one place.
Key Takeaways
- Physiotherapy given as treatment is exempt from GST under S. No. 74 of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). The service code is SAC 999314.
- Relaxation or fitness massage isn't treatment. It is a physical well-being service (SAC 999723), taxed at 5% with no input tax credit.
- A clinic doing only treatment doesn't need GST registration. Sell braces or run wellness packages, and your treatment fees count towards the Rs 20 lakh limit.
- Under Section 44ADA, 50% of receipts is taxed as profit. The limit is Rs 75 lakh only if cash is within 5% of receipts; otherwise it's Rs 50 lakh.
- Missed the 31 August 2026 ITR date for AY 2026-27? A belated return can still be filed by 31 December 2026.
Is GST applicable on physiotherapy services in India? No. Physiotherapy given to treat an illness, injury, deformity or abnormality is a health care service exempt under S. No. 74 of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), whether a clinic or an individual physiotherapist provides it. The exemption doesn't cover massage or spa sessions sold for relaxation or fitness, or braces and supports you sell over the counter.
Most physiotherapists never charge GST, and for pure treatment that's correct. The trouble starts when the clinic grows sideways: a shelf of knee braces and lumbar belts, a "sports massage" package, a fitness corner. Each of those is taxable, and the moment you add one, your exempt treatment fees start counting towards the registration limit. This guide covers where the exemption stops, what you pay on equipment, how 44ADA works for a clinic, and the AY 2026-27 dates still open. If you run a larger clinic with doctors, our doctors' income tax guide covers them too.
Why is physiotherapy exempt from GST?
Because it's health care. S. No. 74 of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) exempts "health care services by a clinical establishment, an authorised medical practitioner or para-medics". Two definitions in the same notification do the work for a physiotherapy clinic:
- Clinical establishment (clause 2(s)): a hospital, nursing home, clinic or any other institution, by whatever name called, that offers services requiring diagnosis or treatment or care for illness, injury, deformity or abnormality.
- Health care services (clause 2(zg)): any service by way of diagnosis or treatment or care for illness, injury, deformity, abnormality or pregnancy in any recognised system of medicines in India.
Post-operative rehabilitation, stroke recovery, back and neck pain, sports injuries, frozen shoulder and paediatric developmental therapy are all treatment of a condition. The CBIC's own service classification agrees: SAC 999314, Nursing and Physiotherapeutic services, covers "services in the field of physiotherapy, ergotherapy, occupational therapy etc." given by qualified practitioners other than doctors (Explanatory Notes to the Scheme of Classification of Services).
It doesn't matter who pays. A patient paying at your counter, a hospital paying you as a visiting consultant, or an insurer settling a claim: the service is still health care. CBIC Circular 32/06/2018-GST (12 February 2018) says services of consultants and technicians hired by hospitals, whether employees or not, are exempt health care services.
Home visits are treated the same way. The exemption follows the service, not the place you give it.
Where does the physiotherapy GST exemption stop?
It stops at three points: wellness work, goods you sell, and services that aren't treatment at all.
Wellness and relaxation massage. A deep-tissue massage for a client with no complaint, a spa-style session or a "stress relief" package isn't treatment of a condition. The Explanatory Notes put massage parlours, spas and fitness centres under SAC 999723, Physical well-being services. From 22 September 2025, those services are 5% GST with no input tax credit (S. No. 35, Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), as substituted by Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate)).
The line here is the reason for the session. A sports massage for a hamstring strain you've assessed is treatment. The same massage sold as a monthly relaxation membership isn't. Write the assessment and the treatment plan on the patient's file, every time.
Counter sales. Knee braces, lumbar belts, cervical collars, crutches, kinesiology tape and hot packs sold to patients are goods. They're taxable at their own rates, even when you fit them during a treatment session.
Training and fitness. Group fitness classes, gym memberships and personal training are physical well-being services too (5%, no credit). Teaching a paid workshop to other physiotherapists isn't health care either.
Comparison
GST on What a Physiotherapy Clinic Bills and Buys (from 22 September 2025)
| Item | SAC / HSN | GST rate |
|---|---|---|
| Physiotherapy for a condition (rehab, pain, injury, post-surgery) | 999314 | Exempt |
| Relaxation, spa or fitness massage; gym and fitness classes | 999723 | 5%, no ITC |
| Orthopaedic appliances sold: braces, surgical belts, splints, crutches | 9021 | 5% |
| Dressings and bandages put up for retail sale | 3005 | 5% |
| Mechano-therapy appliances and massage apparatus you buy | 9019 | 5% |
| Electro-medical apparatus you buy | 9018 | 5% |
| Examination and treatment tables you buy | 9402 | 18% |
| General exercise equipment you buy (treadmills, weights) | 9506 | 18% |
Source: Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), S. No. 74 and clauses 2(s), 2(zg); Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), S. No. 35 as amended by Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate); Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), Schedule I S. Nos. 235, 483, 484, 486 and Schedule II S. Nos. 611, 619; CBIC Explanatory Notes to the Scheme of Classification of Services
Whether an IFT, TENS or therapeutic ultrasound unit sits in heading 9018 or 9019 doesn't change your cost: both are 5%.
Does a physiotherapy clinic need GST registration?
Not if all you supply is exempt treatment. Section 23(1)(a) of the CGST Act says a person engaged exclusively in supplying exempt goods or services isn't liable to register.
The word that matters is "exclusively". Add one taxable line, and the Rs 20 lakh test in Section 22 is run on your aggregate turnover. Section 2(6) counts exempt supplies in aggregate turnover. So your treatment fees count.
Example: your clinic bills Rs 21,00,000 of treatment in a year. It also sells Rs 90,000 of knee braces and lumbar belts and runs Rs 60,000 of relaxation massage packages. Aggregate turnover is Rs 22,50,000, above Rs 20 lakh. You must register, charge 5% on the braces and belts, and pay 5% on the massage packages without claiming credit. Treatment stays exempt.
The same clinic without the braces and the massage packages would have Rs 21,00,000 of purely exempt turnover and no registration requirement. If the side lines earn you little, dropping them or letting a neighbouring pharmacy stock the braces may be simpler than registering.
Once registered, Section 17(2) limits input tax credit to purchases used for taxable supplies. Say you buy a motorised treatment table for Rs 80,000 plus 18% GST of Rs 14,400. It's used for exempt treatment, so the Rs 14,400 can't be claimed. It goes into your books at Rs 94,400.
Our GST registration service can check your billing and register you if needed. The wider GST on healthcare services post covers hospitals and nursing homes, and our guide for medical and surgical equipment dealers covers the supply side.
How is a physiotherapist's income taxed under Section 44ADA?
Section 44ADA applies to a resident individual or a partnership firm (not an LLP) carrying on a profession listed in Section 44AA(1). That list opens with "legal, medical, engineering or architectural profession". The Act doesn't define "medical", and we found no CBDT circular that names physiotherapy. Clinical physiotherapy is treatment of patients, and the CBIC classifies it with health services, so 44ADA is the natural fit. Confirm the position for your own practice before you file, especially if much of your income is fitness or wellness work.
For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the Income-tax Act 1961 applies. From tax year 2026-27, the same scheme sits in Section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 3 of the Income-tax Act 2025, and "specified profession" (including medical) is in Section 62(4).
Step-by-Step Guide
Can Your Physiotherapy Practice Use Section 44ADA?
Check who you are
Resident individual or partnership firm (not an LLP), carrying on the profession yourself.
Work out your cash share
Add up fees received in cash. A cheque that isn't account payee counts as cash. UPI, card and account payee cheques don't.
Cash 5% or less? Limit is Rs 75 lakh
If gross receipts are within Rs 75 lakh, 50% of receipts is your deemed profit. No tax audit while you declare under 44ADA(1).
Cash above 5%? Limit is Rs 50 lakh
Receipts above Rs 50 lakh rule out 44ADA. You keep full books, and receipts over Rs 50 lakh bring a tax audit under Section 44AB(b).
Declaring less than 50%?
If income is above the basic exemption limit, keep books and get an audit (Section 44ADA(4)).
Source: Sections 44AA(1), 44ADA and 44AB, Income-tax Act 1961 (FY 2025-26); Sections 58(2) Sl. No. 3, 62 and 63, Income-tax Act 2025 (from tax year 2026-27)
Example 1 (solo practice, new regime): gross receipts for FY 2025-26 are Rs 30,00,000, with Rs 6,00,000 (20%) in cash. Receipts are under Rs 50 lakh, so 44ADA applies even though cash is above 5%.
- Deemed profit: 50% of Rs 30,00,000 is Rs 15,00,000.
- Tax: Rs 20,000 (Rs 4-8 lakh at 5%) + Rs 40,000 (Rs 8-12 lakh at 10%) + Rs 45,000 (Rs 12-15 lakh at 15%) = Rs 1,05,000.
- Health and education cess at 4% is Rs 4,200. Total Rs 1,09,200. The Section 87A rebate doesn't help above Rs 12 lakh.
Example 2 (busy clinic, Rs 58,00,000 of receipts, two cash patterns):
- Cash Rs 2,30,000 (about 4%): the limit is Rs 75 lakh. Deemed profit is Rs 29,00,000. Tax is Rs 3,00,000 on the first Rs 24 lakh plus 30% of Rs 5,00,000 (Rs 1,50,000), so Rs 4,50,000, plus cess of Rs 18,000. Total Rs 4,68,000. No tax audit, because of the first proviso to Section 44AB.
- Cash Rs 8,70,000 (15%): the limit drops to Rs 50 lakh, and Rs 58 lakh is above it. 44ADA is gone. You keep full books, pay tax on actual profit, get a tax audit under Section 44AB(b), and file ITR-3.
Same patients, same fees. The only difference is how they paid. Asking for UPI on 10-session and 20-session packages is the easiest fix a busy clinic has.
One more cash rule: you can't receive Rs 2 lakh or more in cash from one person in a day, for a single transaction, or for transactions relating to one event or occasion (Section 269ST; Section 186 of the 2025 Act). A long post-surgery rehab programme paid in cash can cross that. The penalty under Section 271DA equals the amount received. Our Section 44ADA guide covers the scheme in more depth.
Do you deduct or suffer TDS as a physiotherapist?
Both can happen.
As a visiting consultant. A hospital, sports academy or corporate client run as a firm, LLP or company that treats your fee as professional fees deducts 10% TDS once payments cross Rs 50,000 in the year. That's Section 194J for FY 2025-26, and Section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 6(iii) of the Income-tax Act 2025 for payments from 1 April 2026. Check Form 26AS or AIS for the credit and the section used before you file.
As a payer. If your clinic is a proprietorship and your professional receipts exceeded Rs 50 lakh in the previous year, you deduct 10% on fees above Rs 50,000 a year paid to consultant physiotherapists who aren't your employees (second proviso to Section 194J; the "specified person" definition in Section 402(37) of the 2025 Act). A firm or company clinic deducts regardless of receipts. Our Section 194J guide has the details, and our TDS filing service can run the quarterly returns.
Which dates matter now?
Deadline Timeline
Physiotherapist Tax Dates: AY 2026-27 and Tax Year 2026-27
ITR due date, non-audit professionals, AY 2026-27
Extended from 31 July for non-audit business and profession cases by the Finance Act 2026.
Last date for a belated AY 2026-27 return
Section 139(4). Late fee Rs 5,000, or up to Rs 1,000 if total income is within Rs 5 lakh (Section 234F).
Single advance tax instalment under 44ADA, tax year 2026-27
Section 408(2), Income-tax Act 2025. Paying by 31 March still counts as advance tax.
Last date to revise an AY 2026-27 return
Twelve months from the end of the year; a fee under Section 234I applies after nine months (Section 139(5) as amended by the Finance Act 2026).
Source: Sections 139(4), 139(5), 211 and 234F, Income-tax Act 1961; Section 408(2), Income-tax Act 2025; Budget 2026 Memorandum (indiabudget.gov.in)
If you missed 31 August, our guide to filing after the deadline walks through the belated return.
Common mistakes physiotherapy clinics make
- Adding a brace shelf without checking registration. A lakh of braces and belts can pull your whole treatment turnover into the Rs 20 lakh test.
- Billing wellness massage as "physiotherapy". If there's no assessment and no condition on file, the session is hard to defend as treatment. Keep wellness packages on separate bills.
- Ignoring the cash share. At Rs 50-75 lakh of receipts, cash above 5% removes 44ADA and adds a tax audit.
- Expecting credit on equipment. GST on a treatment table or therapy unit used for exempt treatment can't be claimed, so budget for it as cost.
- Not reconciling TDS from hospitals. Credit missing from Form 26AS or AIS usually means a wrong PAN or an unfiled TDS return at the hospital's end. Chase it before you file.
How Tax Garden helps physiotherapy clinics
We keep your clinic books, test each year whether brace sales or wellness packages need GST registration, file TDS returns for consultant physiotherapists you pay, and prepare your ITR under 44ADA or with an audit. Start with our ITR filing service or accounting and bookkeeping for the clinic. Dentists will find the same issues covered in our guide for dental clinics.
