Invoice requirements in Canada: what the CRA asks for

Invoice requirements in Canada come mostly from the Canada Revenue Agency, and they scale with the invoice total. A GST/HST-registered customer needs certain details from you to claim an input tax credit (ITC) for the tax they paid, and the CRA sets out those details in three tiers: under $100, $100 to $499.99, and $500 or more. The bigger the invoice, the more it has to show.

That's the core of it. Around it sit a few other rules: how to show GST, HST, PST, and QST, when you need a GST/HST number at all, Quebec's French-language requirement, and how long to keep copies. This guide covers each one as of October 2026, with a field-by-field template at the end. If you invoice customers in the US too, our guide on how to send an invoice covers the sending side.

What does the CRA require on an invoice?

The CRA's chart of records you need to support an input tax credit claim is the closest thing Canada has to a standard invoice checklist. It's written for the buyer, but your invoice is the record the buyer relies on. Here's what it asks for at each level:

Read the table from left to right and it builds. A $40 receipt can be bare-bones. A $250 invoice has to show the tax and your registration number. A $1,200 invoice also has to name the customer, say what they bought, and state the terms.

Why do the invoice thresholds matter to you as the seller?

Because your business customers can't claim their tax back without the right details, and their bookkeepers know it. An invoice that's missing your GST/HST number or a description gets sent back, and a returned invoice is a late payment.

Our advice: build every invoice to the $500 standard, whatever the total. Adding the customer's name, a one-line description, and your terms costs you nothing, and it means you never have to think about which tier a particular invoice falls into. It also helps you. A clear description and stated terms are what you'll point to if a customer ever questions the bill.

Consumers don't claim ITCs, so a sale to a homeowner doesn't depend on this chart in the same way. The receipt still has to show the GST/HST rate correctly, as the next sections explain, and a complete invoice still heads off "what was this for?" calls.

Do you need a GST/HST number on your invoices?

Only if you're registered, and once you are, it belongs on every invoice of $100 or more. Whether you have to register depends on your revenue.

The CRA's guide for registrants says you stop being a small supplier when your revenue from taxable supplies, together with your associates', passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Past that line, you have to register. Below it, you can register voluntarily.

Never put a made-up or borrowed registration number on an invoice to look established. Your customer's ITC claim depends on that number being real and being yours.

How should GST, HST, PST, and QST appear on an invoice?

Show the rate that applies, and don't split HST. On receipts and invoices, CRA says you have to show the GST/HST rate that applies and, where HST applies, the total HST rate, without separating the federal and provincial parts. The tax can sit on its own line, or the document can state clearly that the total includes it.

Which rate applies depends on where the sale is made, which CRA calls the place of supply. The general rates as of October 2026, from CRA's rate table and the provinces:

Provincial sales taxes have their own rules about what's taxable, so "where it applies" matters. Check your province before you add a PST line for a service.

Here's how the math looks on three invoices:

• A web designer in Halifax bills a Nova Scotia client $2,400. HST at 14% is $336, for a total of $2,736. The invoice shows "HST 14%," not a federal and provincial split.
• An equipment supplier in Calgary bills $640. GST at 5% is $32, for a total of $672.
• A consultant in Montreal bills $1,000. GST is $50. Revenu Québec says the QST is calculated at 9.975% on the selling price excluding the GST, so QST is $99.75, for a total of $1,149.75.

What if you invoice a customer in another province?

Then the customer's province may set the rate, not yours. For goods, CRA's place-of-supply rules say that when a good is delivered to the purchaser in a participating province, the supply is made in that province and HST applies at that province's rate.

So a parts distributor in Winnipeg that ships a $900 order to a customer in Moncton charges New Brunswick's 15% HST, or $135, for a total of $1,035. The same order delivered to a customer in Winnipeg would carry 5% GST plus Manitoba's RST where it applies. Services follow their own place-of-supply rules, so check CRA's page before you bill a client in another province for consulting or design work.

Revenu Québec administers the QST, so check its own requirements for showing QST details on your invoices too. Our guide to POS systems in Canada covers setting up these tax codes for in-person sales.

Do invoices in Quebec have to be in French?

Yes. Under section 57 of Quebec's Charter of the French language, invoices, receipts, and similar documents have to be drawn up in French. Section 89 allows French and another language together where the Charter doesn't require French only, so a bilingual invoice works. Quebec's own page on business obligations puts consumer contracts, invoices, and receipts on its list of documents to draft in French.

In practice, if you invoice anyone in Quebec, set up a French or bilingual template once and use it every time. Check your invoicing software's French version before you rely on it: labels, tax lines, payment terms, and the email that carries the invoice.

A Canadian invoice template you can copy

Here are the fields, in order. The note after each one says whether the CRA chart calls for it, and at which level.

1. Your business or trading name, address, and contact details. Required at every level.
2. Your GST/HST registration number, and your QST number if you're registered in Quebec. GST/HST number required from $100.
3. The word "Invoice," a unique invoice number, and the invoice date. The date is required at every level; the number is how both sides track it.
4. The customer's name or trading name, and their billing address. Required from $500.
5. A purchase order or reference number, if the customer uses one.
6. Line items: a brief description, quantity, rate, and amount for each. Description required from $500.
7. The tax status of each item, if the invoice mixes taxable and exempt supplies. Required from $100.
8. Subtotal, then each tax with its rate (GST, HST, PST, or QST), then the total. Tax detail required from $100; the total at every level.
9. Payment terms and the due date. Terms required from $500.
10. How to pay: card by payment link, Interac e-Transfer, or cheque, for example.

Item 10 isn't a CRA rule, but it's the one that decides how fast you're paid. Our guide to accepting e-Transfers covers that option for business payments.

How long do you have to keep invoices in Canada?

Six years, as a general rule. The CRA says you generally have to keep records and supporting documents for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. The same page explains how to request permission if you want to destroy records sooner.

That applies to the invoices you send and the ones you receive. If you keep them electronically, keep them in a format you'll still be able to open in six years, and back them up somewhere other than the laptop you made them on.

Can you add a credit card fee to an invoice in Canada?

Outside Quebec, yes, within the card networks' rules. Visa caps a Canadian surcharge at your merchant discount rate, with an absolute maximum of 2.4%, and requires at least 30 days' advance written notice to your acquirer. Visa also requires clear disclosure of the surcharge before the customer pays, and doesn't allow surcharges on Visa debit or prepaid cards. Mastercard's Canadian rules require notice to both Mastercard and your acquirer.

Quebec is different. Its consumer protection office says fees for paying by debit or credit card are prohibited. Our guide to credit card surcharges in Canada covers the details, and our surcharging program handles compliance, disclosure, and setup if you go ahead.

Common invoice mistakes in Canada

• Leaving off your GST/HST registration number on invoices of $100 or more.
• Splitting HST into federal and provincial parts.
• Charging GST/HST before you've registered.
• Charging the wrong province's rate because nobody checked the place of supply.
• Adding QST to the GST-inclusive price in Quebec instead of the price excluding GST.
• Sending English-only invoices to customers in Quebec.
• Vague descriptions like "services rendered" on large invoices.
• Throwing out old invoices before the six years are up.

Next step

Clearo's virtual terminal sends invoices and payment links and takes card payments over the phone, and our terminals accept Interac, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay for customers who pay in person. If you already take cards on invoices, send us a recent statement for a free statement review and we'll show you what those payments cost. Businesses across Canada can also contact us to talk through invoicing and payment options with a dedicated rep.