Charge Category
Column definition from FOCUS v1.4. Read its requirements and implementation guidance before mapping provider data.
- Source
- FOCUS MCP snapshot
- Edition
- v1.4
- Column ID
ChargeCategory- Mode
- Read-only
- Library snapshot (UTC)
- 2026-10-08
Constraints
Description
Charge Category represents the highest-level classification of a charge based on the nature of how it is billed. Charge Category is commonly used to identify and distinguish between types of charges that may require different handling.
Requirements
ChargeCategory MUST adhere to the following requirements:
- ChargeCategory MUST be of type String.
- ChargeCategory MUST NOT be null.
- ChargeCategory MUST be one of the allowed values.
- When the charge does not aggregate multiple classifications, ChargeCategory MUST adhere to the following requirements:
- ChargeCategory MUST be "Usage" when the charge represents consumption of a service or resource.
- ChargeCategory MUST be "Purchase" when the charge represents acquisition of a service, resource, or commitment.
- ChargeCategory MUST be "Tax" when the charge represents taxes levied by the relevant authorities.
- ChargeCategory MUST be "Credit" when the charge represents a financial incentive or allowance unrelated to other charges.
- ChargeCategory MUST be "Adjustment" when the charge represents a billing modification that does not fall into other ChargeCategories.
- When the charge aggregates multiple classifications, ChargeCategory MUST adhere to the following requirements:
- ChargeCategory MAY be "Usage" when the record aggregates charges across multiple allowed values other than "Tax" (e.g., aggregation of "Usage" and "Credit" is allowed, but not "Usage" and "Tax").
Implementation guidance
Unlike the CostAndUsage dataset, which requires strict categorization per row, InvoiceDetail records are designed to align with physical or electronic invoice line items. When the invoice does not provide an explicit charge category for a line item, a single line item may inherently represent a mix of charge categories (e.g., combining base usage and promotional credits). To accurately reflect the issued invoice without breaking schema validation, the InvoiceDetail dataset permits the "Usage" category to represent an aggregate of multiple charge categories, provided that "Tax" charges are kept distinctly separate.