Canadian GST/HST Invoice Requirements: What to Include (+ Free Template)

The invoice detail that decides whether your client gets their tax back

A Toronto design studio hires you, pays your $2,000 invoice plus tax, and then their bookkeeper tries to claim the HST back as an input tax credit. If your invoice is missing your nine-digit GST/HST number, the Canada Revenue Agency can disallow that credit on audit. Your client eats the cost, and they remember it the next time they pick a contractor.

That is the practical stakes of a compliant Canadian invoice. It is not just about you charging the right tax. It is about giving the buyer the documentation the CRA requires so the money flows correctly on both sides.

Here is what actually has to be on the invoice, when you have to register, and how the province of your customer changes the number you charge.

Do you even have to charge GST/HST?

You only charge GST/HST once you are registered, and you generally only have to register once you cross the small supplier threshold: roughly $30,000 in gross taxable revenue over four consecutive calendar quarters (or in a single quarter). That figure is long-standing, but confirm the current number with the CRA, because thresholds do change.

A few points that trip people up:

• The $30,000 is worldwide taxable revenue from your business, not just Canadian sales, and it is gross, not profit.
• The moment you exceed it in a single quarter, you are considered registered on the day of that sale, not at the end of the year.
• You can register voluntarily below the threshold. Freelancers with mostly business clients often do, because it lets them claim input tax credits on their own expenses (software, laptop, home-office share) that would otherwise be sunk cost.
• Zero-rated supplies (exports, basic groceries, certain medical goods) still count toward the threshold even though the rate is 0%.

If you are not registered, you must not charge GST/HST, and you must not show a registration number you do not have. Invoice the client for your fee alone. Once you register, you get a GST/HST account number in the format 123456789 RT0001.

New to invoicing generally? Start with how to invoice as a freelancer, then layer the tax rules below on top.

The rate depends on your customer's province, not yours

This is the part that makes Canada messier than a flat national VAT. Three systems coexist:

• GST only (5%) in Alberta, and the three territories.
• HST (a single blended federal-plus-provincial tax) in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
• GST plus a separate provincial tax (PST, RST, or QST) in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.

Approximate combined rates, which can change, so verify before you invoice:

Which province applies is decided by the place-of-supply rules, not by where your desk is. For most services supplied to a business, the place of supply is generally the province of the customer's address that you obtain in the ordinary course of business. Sell a service to an Ontario client and you charge 13% HST even if you live in Calgary.

PST, RST, and QST are separate provincial regimes with their own registration rules. GST/HST does not automatically cover them. QST in particular runs almost in parallel with GST, administered by Revenu Québec, and if you have a real presence or enough sales in those provinces you may need to register and charge their tax on top. That is a whole second layer worth confirming with an accountant if you sell across borders.

Selling to clients outside Canada is different again. Exports of services are often zero-rated, meaning you charge 0% but can still recover your input tax credits. See how to invoice international clients for the mechanics.

What the CRA requires on the invoice

The CRA scales its documentation requirements by the total amount of the sale. These tiers are what a registered buyer relies on to claim input tax credits, so treat the top tier as your default and you will always be safe.

Sales under $30 — minimum:

• Your business or trading name
• The date of the invoice
• The total amount paid or payable

Sales of $30 to $149.99 — add:

• Your GST/HST registration number
• The amount of GST/HST charged, or a clear statement that the total includes GST/HST, plus an indication of which items are taxable if the invoice mixes taxable and exempt items

Sales of $150 or more — add:

• The buyer's name (or trading name, or the name of their authorized agent)
• A description of the goods or services
• The terms of the sale (for example, your payment terms)

Because the top tier is a superset, a good habit is to include everything on every invoice regardless of amount. A complete, defensible Canadian invoice therefore carries:

1. The word Invoice and a unique invoice number (see invoice numbering best practices)
2. Your legal or trading name, address, and contact details
3. Your GST/HST registration number (RT0001 format)
4. The invoice date, and the supply date if different
5. The client's name and address
6. A line-by-line description of what you supplied
7. The subtotal before tax
8. The GST/HST shown separately, with the rate and dollar amount
9. Any separate PST/QST if you are registered for it
10. The total payable
11. Payment terms and accepted methods

A worked example

You are a registered marketing consultant in Vancouver billing a client in Ottawa, Ontario. Place of supply is Ontario, so the rate is 13% HST.

INVOICE #2026-041
Date: 25 July 2026
From: Harbour Marketing (GST/HST #123456789 RT0001)
To:   Rideau Software Inc., Ottawa, ON

Strategy workshop (2 days)          $2,400.00
Campaign copywriting                  $  900.00
                              Subtotal $3,300.00
                     HST (Ontario) 13% $  429.00
                            Total due  $3,729.00

Terms: Net 15. E-transfer or bank transfer.

The math: $3,300 × 0.13 = $429. Your client pays $3,729, records $3,300 as an expense and $429 as an input tax credit they will recover. You collected $429 on the CRA's behalf and will remit it (minus your own ITCs) on your next return.

Now change the client to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Same $3,300 of work, but HST is 14%, so tax is $462 and the total is $3,762. Same service, different province, different number. This is why place of supply has to be part of your invoicing habit, not an afterthought.

Zero-rated vs exempt — a common mix-up

They both mean no tax appears as a charge, but they are not the same:

• Zero-rated (0%): exports, basic groceries, prescription drugs, certain medical devices. You charge 0%, and you can still claim input tax credits on related expenses.
• Exempt: most health and dental services, financial services, residential rent, many educational courses. No tax is charged, and you cannot claim ITCs on those expenses.

If your work falls into an exempt category, you generally do not register or charge GST/HST at all for that activity. If it is zero-rated, you still register (it counts toward the threshold) and still show 0% on the invoice.

Keep the records to back it up

The CRA can ask you to support both the tax you charged and the input tax credits you claimed. Keep copies of issued invoices and the supplier invoices behind your ITC claims. The general expectation is six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, but confirm the current period. Our guide to how long to keep invoices and receipts covers the practical filing side.

If you make a billing error, do not just delete and reissue. Use a credit note to reverse or adjust the original so your GST/HST records stay auditable.

How this compares to the rest of the English-speaking world

The underlying idea is the same value-added-tax logic you will see in the UK VAT invoice rules and the Australian tax invoice: the registered seller collects tax, shows their registration number, and the registered buyer reclaims it. Canada's twist is the provincial patchwork of GST, HST, and separate PST/QST regimes. The US does it differently again, with sales tax rather than a recoverable credit system.

Rules and rates in this article vary by province and change over time. Confirm your registration obligation, the correct rate, and the current documentary thresholds with the CRA, Revenu Québec, or a qualified Canadian accountant before you rely on them.