Invoice template Canada GST/HST invoices for every province and territory

GST/HST rates by province and territory

The rate on a Canadian invoice depends on the place of supply, meaning the province or territory where the sale is treated as made. Five provinces charge a single harmonized sales tax (HST) of 13% to 15%. Everywhere else, the federal GST of 5% applies, and some provinces add their own separate sales tax.

Nova Scotia is the recent change: its provincial portion dropped from 10% to 9% on April 1, 2025, taking the HST from 15% to 14%. Any template or price list made before then may still show the old rate. Zero-rated supplies, such as basic groceries, are 0% across Canada.

What the invoice needs at under $100, $100 and $500

The CRA does not prescribe an invoice layout. Instead it lists the information your customer needs to claim input tax credits, and the list grows with the size of the sale: three items below $100, six from $100 to $499.99, and nine at $500 or more. A GST/HST registered buyer will expect all of it.

The information can sit on an invoice, receipt, contract or other business paper, and no special title is required. Calling the document Invoice, as our Canadian preset does, is enough.

How to show GST/HST on the invoice

The CRA asks you to tell customers whether GST/HST applies and whether it is included in the price or added on. Show the rate, then either list the amount and the tax as separate lines or include a clear statement that the total includes GST/HST. For HST, show the combined rate only.

That last point surprises people in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. Do not split 13% HST into a federal 5% and a provincial 8% on the invoice; print “HST 13%” as one line. Our editor follows this automatically when you choose the province, and switches the label between GST and HST.

Worked example: $812 of duct cleaning, in Calgary and in Ontario

This made up invoice is from a Calgary duct cleaning company to a property manager. The lines total $812.00. In Alberta the 5% GST is $40.60, for a total of $852.60. The same job supplied in Ontario would carry 13% HST of $105.56, for $917.56. Because the sale is over $500, the buyer’s name, a description and payment terms appear.

For comparison on the same $812.00: Nova Scotia at 14% HST adds $113.68 for $925.68, and New Brunswick at 15% adds $121.80 for $933.80. The arithmetic is simple; picking the right province is the part to get right.

Invoice template Canada small suppliers use before registering

If your worldwide taxable supplies are $30,000 or less over four consecutive calendar quarters ($50,000 for public service bodies), you are a small supplier. The CRA says an unregistered small supplier is not required to collect GST/HST on most taxable supplies, so your invoice shows no GST/HST line and no registration number.

Watch the quarter you cross the line. Once you exceed $30,000, you stop being a small supplier and must apply for registration within 30 days of the first taxable supply that takes you over. You can also register voluntarily earlier. In our generator, choose Canada and set Tax to None until your number arrives.

Your GST/HST number: business number plus RT

Your GST/HST account number has three parts: the 9 digit business number (BN), the two letters RT that identify the GST/HST program, and a 4 digit reference number. A typical first account looks like 123456789 RT0001. Print the full 15 character number on invoices of $100 or more.

A bare 9 digit BN is not enough on its own. The same BN can hold several program accounts, and the RT part shows which one is your GST/HST account.

Provincial sales taxes are separate

Four provinces charge their own sales tax alongside the 5% GST, administered by the province, not the CRA. British Columbia’s PST is generally 7%, Saskatchewan’s PST is 6%, and Manitoba’s retail sales tax has a general rate of 7%. The CRA’s rate table lists 9.975% for Quebec’s QST.

Each province has its own registration and rules, so confirm with the provincial ministry whether your sales are taxable before adding a second tax. Keep PST on its own line, separate from GST, so a customer can see each tax clearly.

Using the Canadian preset and province picker

Every download is here: Word, Excel and PDF versions sit on this page. Online, the Canada preset sets CAD, US Letter paper, the Invoice title, a GST/HST number field, and bank fields for institution, transit and account numbers. Choose a province and the rate and tax label update to match.

1. Open the Canadian invoice generator set Tax to Added, and pick the province of supply.
2. Add your business name and full GST/HST number.
3. Enter the buyer, a description and terms, which are needed at $500 and up.
4. Check the GST or HST line, then download the PDF.

The GST invoice generator covers GST countries beyond Canada. If you also bill in the United States, see the US invoice template; Asian clients are covered by the Singapore tax invoice and India GST invoice pages. Start from the template library, or read how to add GST to an invoice.