What must a GST/HST invoice include and when do I have to register?

Registration thresholds:

• Canada: $30,000 CAD in taxable supplies over any 4 consecutive calendar quarters
• UK: £90,000 in taxable turnover in the previous 12 months (2026)
• Australia: $75,000 AUD in annual taxable supplies

Voluntary registration is allowed before these thresholds — the main benefit is claiming input tax credits (ITCs) on business expenses.

Provincial rates: Alberta and the territories 5% GST; Ontario 13% HST; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI 15% HST; Nova Scotia 14% HST (reduced from 15% on April 1, 2025). British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec are not HST provinces — 5% GST plus a separate provincial tax (BC 7% PST, Manitoba 7% RST, Saskatchewan 6% PST, Quebec 9.975% QST). Only the GST/HST portion is an input tax credit.

Mandatory fields for a Canadian GST/HST invoice of $500 CAD or more:

1. Your legal business name
2. GST/HST registration number (Business Number with RT suffix, e.g., 123456789 RT0001)
3. Invoice date
4. Recipient name (or trading name, or authorized agent)
5. Description sufficient to identify the supply
6. Terms of payment (e.g. "Net 30")
7. Amount before tax
8. GST/HST rate applied
9. GST/HST amount (shown separately)

A sequential invoice number is standard practice and expected by bookkeepers, but is not named in the CRA's input tax credit information rules.

Missing your BN means the client cannot claim their input tax credit — they will ask you to reissue the invoice.

Threshold tiers (CRA input tax credit information requirements). These were raised from $30/$150 to $100/$500 effective April 20, 2021 — the older figures are retired and still circulate widely:

• Under $100: supplier's business or trading name, invoice date, total amount. No registration number required.
• $100 to $499.99: the above, plus your GST/HST registration number and either the tax amount or a clear statement that the total includes GST/HST with the rate.
• $500 or more: the above, plus the recipient's name, a description identifying the supply, and the terms of payment.

These are the minimums for the buyer to claim the credit. When issuing, put every field on every invoice regardless of amount.

UK VAT full invoice (13 mandatory fields): "VAT Invoice" heading, your name/address, VAT registration number, sequential invoice number, invoice date, supply date, client name/address, client VAT number, description, net amount, VAT rate, VAT amount, gross total. Making Tax Digital (MTD) requires digital record-keeping and quarterly submissions via compatible software.

International clients: services exported to non-residents outside Canada are generally zero-rated (0% GST/HST) — you don't charge the US client Canadian tax. However, services physically performed in Canada are taxable. UK freelancers billing non-UK businesses: usually outside scope of UK VAT (place of supply rules).

In ExpenseBot: Canadian receipts have the tax amount extracted and tracked separately for ITC calculation, computed per receipt as tax paid x business-use % x deductible %. The GST/HST and T2125 Schedule A exports show ITC-eligible amounts ready for filing. The invoice tool stores your registration number and label once in your billing profile, asks you to confirm the tax label and rate before generating an invoice, and blocks an invoice that charges GST/HST with no registration number on file. ExpenseBot computes and displays these figures — it does not file your GST34 return, Self Assessment, or MTD updates.

See also: GST/HST VAT Invoice Guide | Expense Tracker Canada