Track Input Tax Credits Automatically — From the Receipts You Already Have
ExpenseBot reads the GST/HST on every receipt, applies your business-use and deductibility, and shows your claimable input tax credit total — province-aware. Your GST return numbers, ready to transcribe.
Built for GST/HST-registered sole proprietors, bookkeepers, and India GST filers
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What is an input tax credit?
An input tax credit (ITC) is the GST/HST you paid on a business purchase that you can recover on your GST/HST return. If you're a registrant, you charge GST/HST on your sales and pay GST/HST on your expenses — the ITC is the mechanism that lets you subtract the tax you paid from the tax you collected, so you only remit the difference.
The catch: an ITC isn't simply the full tax on a receipt. It's limited by how much of the purchase was for business, and by the expense's deductibility (a meal is generally 50% deductible, so its ITC is limited too). Getting that right for one receipt is easy. Getting it right for hundreds of receipts across a year is where most registrants either leave money on the table or over-claim.
Why ITCs go unclaimed
The credit is yours by law. It goes unclaimed because computing it per receipt, by hand, is brutal.
Per-receipt math
Every receipt needs tax × business-use % × deductibility. Do that across a shoebox of receipts and the effort collapses into a round-number guess.
The 50% meals rule
Meals and entertainment are generally 50% deductible, so the ITC on them is limited too. It's easy to claim the full HST by mistake.
Mixed-use purchases
A phone bill or vehicle cost that's part business, part personal only earns an ITC on the business share. That percentage has to be applied every time.
Lost receipts
No receipt, no defensible ITC. The credits attached to receipts that never made it into a spreadsheet simply disappear.
How ExpenseBot computes your ITCs
When you scan a receipt, ExpenseBot extracts the GST/HST and does the ITC math for you — per receipt, not as a year-end estimate.
The formula ExpenseBot applies:
ITC = tax paid × business-use % × deductible %
And the deductible expense base is reduced by the ITC you recover — because you can't also deduct tax you're getting back as an input credit.
Extract the tax
The Gmail scan and receipt reader pull the GST/HST amount off each receipt — including receipts already sitting in your inbox from Uber, suppliers, and software subscriptions.
Apply business-use %
Mixed-use costs (phone, vehicle, internet) earn an ITC only on the business share. ExpenseBot applies your business-use percentage to the tax.
Apply deductibility
Category rules cap the credit where the law does — the 50% meals limit, for example — so the ITC matches what you can actually claim.
Total it, province-aware
Your report shows a "GST/HST paid (ITC claimable)" summary line with the right label for your province — GST, HST, or a GST + provincial split.
Worked example: A $200 client lunch in Ontario carries $26 HST. Meals are 50% deductible, so the claimable ITC is $26 × 100% business-use × 50% = $13. ExpenseBot books the $13 ITC and reduces the deductible meal expense by that same $13 — automatically, on every receipt.
Illustrative example. ITC columns appear on freelancer-mode reports for Canada; the full year-end tax workbook is a paid feature.
India: CGST/IGST for GSTR-3B
The same engine that computes Canadian ITCs also breaks out CGST and IGST lines for Indian GST-registered users, so the input tax credit figures you need for your GSTR-3B are captured on your report. Scan the invoice, ExpenseBot reads the tax, and your claimable credits are totalled — ready to transcribe onto your return.
What ExpenseBot does — and what you still do
✅ ExpenseBot computes & displays
The GST/HST on each receipt, the per-receipt ITC (tax × business-use % × deductible %), the deductible-base reduction, and a province-aware claimable-ITC total on your report. India users get CGST/IGST lines.
✍️ You still file the return
ExpenseBot is a workbook, not an e-filer. You (or your bookkeeper) transcribe the claimable-ITC total onto your GST34 return — ExpenseBot does not file GST/HST returns. It gives you the numbers, defensibly computed, with the receipts behind them.
Educational tax information, not tax advice. Confirm your ITC eligibility with the CRA or your accountant.
Stop guessing your input tax credits
Let the receipts you already have compute your claimable ITCs for you.
Start Tracking ITCs — Free →Input Tax Credit — Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate input tax credits?
An input tax credit (ITC) is the GST/HST you paid on a business purchase that you can recover on your GST/HST return. For each receipt, the claimable amount is the tax paid multiplied by your business-use percentage and the expense's deductibility. ExpenseBot computes this per receipt automatically: ITC = tax paid × business-use % × deductible %. It then totals your claimable ITCs and shows a province-aware "GST/HST paid (ITC claimable)" summary on your report.
Can I claim ITCs on meals?
Yes, but only partially. Because meals and entertainment are generally 50% deductible, the ITC you can claim on them is also limited to 50% of the GST/HST paid. ExpenseBot applies the deductibility rule to the ITC math for you, so a $100 client lunch with $13 HST shows the correct 50%-limited input tax credit rather than the full amount.
Do I need receipts to claim input tax credits?
Yes. The CRA requires supporting documents for every ITC you claim, and the level of detail required increases with the purchase amount. ExpenseBot stores every receipt image in your own Google Drive, linked to the expense row that carries the ITC — so your input tax credit claim has an audit trail behind it.
What is the input tax credit formula?
ExpenseBot uses: ITC = tax amount × business-use % × deductible %. It also reduces the deductible expense base by the ITC you recover — you can't deduct tax you're getting back as an input credit. The result is a claimable-ITC figure per receipt and a claimable total for your GST/HST return, computed the same way whether the tax is GST, HST, or a GST + provincial split.
Does ExpenseBot file my GST/HST return?
No. ExpenseBot computes and displays your input tax credits so your GST/HST return numbers are ready to transcribe — it does not file the GST34 return for you. You (or your bookkeeper) enter the figures on your return. Think of ExpenseBot as the workbook that does the per-receipt ITC math, not an e-filer.
Does this work for India GST (GSTR-3B)?
Yes. The same engine that computes Canadian ITCs also produces CGST and IGST lines for Indian GST-registered users, so the input tax credit figures you need for GSTR-3B are captured on your report. As with Canada, ExpenseBot computes and displays the credits — you transcribe them to your return.
More for Canadian Tax Filers
Claim Every Input Tax Credit You're Owed
ExpenseBot reads the GST/HST off every receipt, computes the claimable ITC per receipt, and totals it province-aware for your GST/HST return. Your data stays in YOUR Google Drive.
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