GST/HST Invoice Requirements for Canadian Businesses
Written by Naresh, Founder of QWIK INVOICE · Last updated: 26 August 2026
Short version: Canadian sales tax isn't one system — it's federal GST (5%) plus whatever a province layers on top, either as a merged HST rate or a separate PST/QST. You must register for a GST/HST account once your taxable supplies cross $30,000 CAD, after which your Business Number and tax rate belong on every invoice. What else the invoice needs depends on the sale amount — the CRA's requirements scale up at $30 and again at $150.
What every Canadian invoice needs, tax or not
- Your business name.
- The date of the sale.
- The total amount paid or payable.
That's the CRA's baseline for any receipt or invoice, under $30. Everything else — your registration number, the buyer's details, a description of what was sold — gets added as the sale amount increases, covered below.
The Business Number: your CRA identifier
A Business Number (BN) is a 9-digit number the CRA assigns to identify a business across federal programs. For GST/HST specifically, your account is the BN with a program identifier attached — commonly formatted as 123456789 RT0001. You only receive this once you register for a GST/HST account; it's the number that has to appear on invoices at $30 and above once you're registered.
Registration — the $30,000 small-supplier threshold
Registration is mandatory once your worldwide taxable supplies exceed $30,000 CAD, tested two ways:
- Single calendar quarter: revenue from taxable supplies exceeds $30,000 in one quarter.
- Four consecutive quarters combined: your total across the trailing four quarters exceeds $30,000, even if no single quarter did.
Below that, you're a "small supplier" and registration is optional — many freelancers and small businesses under the threshold choose to stay unregistered and skip charging tax entirely, since it also avoids the ongoing GST/HST return filings that come with registration.
GST, HST and PST: a provincial patchwork
Unlike a single national VAT, Canada's sales tax rate depends on where your customer is located, not where your business is based:
| Province/territory | System | Combined rate |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | HST | 13% |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island | HST | 15% |
| British Columbia | GST + PST | 5% + 7% = 12%, charged as two separate lines |
| Saskatchewan | GST + PST | 5% + 6% = 11%, charged as two separate lines |
| Manitoba | GST + RST | 5% + 7% = 12%, charged as two separate lines |
| Quebec | GST + QST | 5% + 9.975%, charged as two separate lines |
| Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut | GST only | 5%, no provincial sales tax |
Where a province charges HST, it's a single blended rate on one line. Where GST and a provincial tax are separate (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec), most invoicing practice shows both as distinct line items rather than pre-combining them.
What the CRA requires, by invoice amount
Per the CRA's own guidance on receipts and invoices, the required detail scales with the sale amount:
| Total sale amount | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Under $30 | Business name, date, and total amount — that's it |
| $30 to $149.99 | Add your BN/GST-HST registration number, and either the tax rate applied or a statement that the price includes tax |
| $150 and above | Add the buyer's name (or their agent's), a description of the goods or services, payment terms, and — if more than one tax rate applies — the amount of tax at each rate shown separately |
In practice, most invoicing software (QWIK INVOICE included) issues the full-detail format on every invoice regardless of size, which comfortably satisfies all three tiers without needing to track which rule applies to a given sale.
Worked example
| Business | Registration status | What the invoice needs |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance writer, $22,000/year, Alberta-based | Small supplier, not registered (below $30,000) | Business name, date, total — no tax line, no BN |
| Web design studio, $95,000/year, Ontario-based | GST/HST-registered (mandatory) | BN + 13% HST on a single line for Ontario clients |
| Same studio, invoicing a British Columbia client | GST/HST-registered | BN + 5% GST and 7% PST shown as two separate lines, based on the client's province |
QWIK INVOICE's international invoice generator covers this directly — the Standard (USA / Global) format includes a Tax ID field for your BN and a single tax rate you can set to match your province (5% GST-only, a blended HST rate, or split it across two invoice lines for GST + PST/QST), with CAD as a currency option. Add your business details once in Settings, and every invoice after that carries them automatically — open the generator to try it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Business Number, and do I need one to invoice in Canada?
A Business Number (BN) is the 9-digit identifier the CRA assigns to a business, with program account suffixes attached for specific purposes — a GST/HST account is typically the BN plus 'RT0001'. You need one to register for GST/HST; without registration, there's no BN to show and no tax to charge.
When do I need to register for GST/HST?
Registration becomes mandatory once your worldwide taxable supplies exceed $30,000 CAD in a single calendar quarter, or over four consecutive calendar quarters combined — the 'small supplier' threshold. Below that, registration is optional, and most small suppliers who stay under it simply don't charge GST/HST at all.
What's the difference between GST, HST and PST?
GST is the federal 5% tax charged everywhere in Canada. Some provinces (Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) have merged their provincial tax with GST into a single HST rate. Others (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) charge GST plus a separate provincial sales tax on top, and Quebec charges GST plus its own QST. Which one applies depends on your customer's province, not yours.
Do I need a full invoice for every sale?
No. The CRA scales requirements by amount: under $30 total, almost nothing is required beyond your business name; $30 to $149.99 needs your GST/HST number and the tax rate or amount; $150 and above needs the full set, including the buyer's name and a description of what was sold.
Can I charge GST/HST if I'm not registered?
No. Only a business registered for a GST/HST account can charge the tax and show a registration number. An unregistered small supplier issues a plain invoice or receipt with no tax line at all.
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