Canada GST/HST Invoice Template

What a GST/HST invoice is for

An invoice asks for payment, but for a business customer in Canada it is also the document that lets them recover the GST or HST they pay you. The Canada Revenue Agency will only allow a customer's input tax credit if the invoice contains the information the regulations require for its total, and those requirements change at $100 and again at $500. An invoice without your registration number, or a $700 invoice without the customer's name and payment terms, can leave your customer's claim denied and send them back to you for a corrected copy.

This template gives sole proprietors, freelancers and small businesses an invoice that covers every tier, in a clean layout that reads well on screen or on paper. A companion spreadsheet does the arithmetic: choose the province of supply and the tax status of each line, and it calculates GST or HST, optional PST, RST or QST, the totals, and a note telling you which information tier applies.

When to use it

Use it for every sale you make while registered for GST/HST: services, goods, or a mix, to businesses or to consumers. It handles supplies made anywhere in Canada, mixed invoices with taxable, zero-rated and exempt lines, and Quebec supplies where you are also registered for QST.

If you are not registered because your taxable sales are under the $30,000 small supplier threshold, use the invoice without the tax lines and without a registration number. For sales of real property, imports and other specialized supplies, ask an accountant how the tax applies.

What's inside

The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.

1. Invoice header

   • Supplier legal or business name
   • Address and contact
   • GST/HST registration number
   • QST registration number
   • Invoice number
   • Invoice date
   • Date of supply
   • Terms of payment
   • Due date

2. Bill to

   • Customer name
   • Customer address
   • Purchase order number
   • Province or territory of supply

3. Description of supplies

   • Description of each supply
   • Quantity
   • Unit price
   • Tax status (taxable
   • zero-rated
   • exempt)
   • Amount

4. Totals

   • Taxable
   • zero-rated and exempt subtotals
   • GST or HST at the correct rate
   • PST
   • RST or QST
   • Total due

5. Payment

   • Due date
   • Payment methods
   • Overdue interest

6. Completion Guide

   • CRA information tiers under $100
   • $100 to $499.99 and $500 or more
   • Pre-send checklist
   • Rate table by province

7. Spreadsheet calculator

   • Province dropdown
   • Line items with tax status
   • Automatic GST/HST
   • Optional PST
   • RST or QST
   • Totals
   • CRA tier note
   • Rates sheet
   • Instructions

Preview pages

How to fill in the invoice

1. Enter your business details once. Use your legal or business name exactly as CRA has it, and your full GST/HST registration number (the nine-digit business number followed by RT0001 or your program account).
2. Number every invoice in sequence. Never reuse or skip numbers without a reason you can explain later.
3. Record the dates and terms. Enter the invoice date, the date of supply if it is different, the terms of payment and the due date.
4. Identify the customer. For invoices of $500 or more, the customer's name or business name is required; it is good practice on every invoice.
5. Choose the province of supply. Work out where the supply is made, which is usually where goods are delivered or, for most services, where the customer is.
6. Describe each supply and mark its tax status. Write a description clear enough to identify what was supplied, and mark each line taxable, zero-rated or exempt.
7. Calculate the tax in the spreadsheet. Copy the line items into the workbook, check the rate it picks for the province, and add provincial tax only if you are registered for it.
8. Check the tier note. The spreadsheet shows which information tier the total falls in; confirm the invoice has everything that tier requires.
9. Send it and keep a copy. Keep your copy, and the records behind it, for six years.

Example: a completed invoice excerpt

A fictional Halifax web designer, Harbourline Digital, invoices a Halifax bakery for a new website in June 2026:

Invoice number: HD-0142. Invoice date: 2026-06-15. Terms of payment: Net 15. Bill to: Salt & Crumb Bakery Ltd., 2210 Agricola Street, Halifax, NS. Website design and build (8 pages, responsive, content migration) — 1 × $2,400.00 — T — $2,400.00 Hosting setup and domain configuration — 1 × $180.00 — T — $180.00 HST 14% on taxable supplies: $361.20. Total due: $2,941.20.

The total is over $500, so the invoice needs the customer's name, the terms of payment and a description of each supply, all of which are there. Because the supply was made in Nova Scotia after April 1, 2025, the HST rate is 14%, not the 15% many older templates still show. The bakery can now claim the $361.20 as an input tax credit with this invoice alone.

Canadian rules to know

These are the federal rules this invoice is built around. Provincial sales taxes and Quebec's QST have their own registration and invoicing rules.

• Invoice information (Input Tax Credit Information (GST/HST) Regulations, section 3). Three tiers by total: under $100, $100 to under $500, and $500 or more, each adding required information.
• Registration number. Required on invoices of $100 or more so customers can claim input tax credits; never shown by unregistered suppliers.
• Rates. 5% GST in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the territories; 13% HST in Ontario; 14% HST in Nova Scotia since April 1, 2025; 15% HST in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.
• Place of supply. The province where the supply is made decides the rate, under the place of supply rules in the Excise Tax Act and its regulations.
• Tax status. Taxable, zero-rated and exempt supplies are treated differently; mark each line when an invoice mixes them.
• Small suppliers. Businesses with $30,000 or less in taxable sales over four consecutive calendar quarters do not have to register.
• Records. Keep invoices and supporting records for six years after the end of the year they relate to.

Mistakes that cost customers their credits

The usual invoice problems are small but costly. A missing registration number, or one with a typo, voids the customer's claim. Invoices over $500 go out without the customer's name or payment terms because the same template is used for every sale. Out-of-province customers are charged the seller's home rate instead of the rate where the supply was made. And since April 2025, Nova Scotia invoices still showing 15% HST overcharge customers by a full point. Using the completion guide before each invoice, and the spreadsheet for the arithmetic, prevents all four.