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GST/HST invoice requirements in Canada, by amount

What your invoice must show depends on the size of the sale. The CRA sets three tiers when your customer is a GST/HST registrant.

Not tax advice. This is general information, not advice for your situation. Date checked: October 23, 2026. Rules can change, so read the sources at the bottom.

Why the tiers exist

The CRA says suppliers must put certain information on invoices, receipts and contracts when they sell taxable goods and services to a registrant. The customer needs it to support input tax credits (ITCs) or rebates. If your customer is not a registrant, the simpler rules in our contractor guide apply.

The three tiers

The CRA's table, in plain words:

Under $100

  • Your business or trading name.
  • The invoice date, or the date the tax is paid or payable if there is no invoice.
  • The total amount paid or payable.

$100 to $499.99

Everything above, plus:

  • The total GST/HST charged, or a note that each taxable item includes it at the right rate.
  • The tax status of each item, when taxable and exempt items are on one invoice.
  • Your GST/HST registration number.

$500 or more

Everything above, plus:

  • The buyer's name or trading name, or that of their agent.
  • A short description of the goods or services.
  • The payment terms.

Who is an intermediary

The table lets an intermediary's name stand in for the supplier's. The CRA says that is a registrant who acts as your agent, helps make the supply, or is a billing agent.

Looser rules for some records

The CRA says the requirements are reduced in some cases. For contractual agreements, computerized books and records, and some other situations, the records can instead show the supplier's name and address, the registration number, the reporting period, the tax amount, the type of supply and the buyer's name and address. Read that CRA section if you invoice by contract.

Check the number

The CRA says to confirm that a supplier is registered before you claim an ITC. It points to its GST/HST account number check and, for a QST number, to Revenu Québec.

The Quebec version

Revenu Québec has a similar table, with the totals including taxes. It differs in two ways. QST needs the tax amount and a description even on small sales. And the supplier's GST and QST numbers are needed from $100.

  • Under $100: name, date and total. For QST, also the tax amount and a description.
  • $100 to $499.99: add the GST amount (the QST amount is already required), both registration numbers and, for QST, a description.
  • $500 or more: add the buyer's name, the payment terms and a description.

Revenu Québec also says your supplier must give you this information in writing if you ask, and your registrant customers can ask you.

Tax shown to any customer

If you charge GST/HST, your invoice should show the rate and the amount (or state that the total includes it). If your customer is a GST/HST registrant, you also must give the details they need to claim input tax credits. For HST, show the total rate only.

Keep a copy

The CRA says to keep sales and purchase invoices, and that records are usually kept for six years from the end of the year they relate to. You can destroy them earlier only with written approval.

Two quick examples

These are ours, not the CRA's. An $85 repair invoice to a registrant needs your name, the date and the total. A $620 job for a registrant needs more: your name and GST/HST number, the date, the buyer's name, a short description, the tax amount and the payment terms, such as “due in 15 days”. An invoice with all of those items passes every tier.

The safe habit

Use one invoice layout that always has all the $500-tier details. Then you never have to ask which tier you are in.

Sources

Date checked: October 23, 2026. Not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change, so check the official pages before you act.

Want this in a ready-to-use tool? The workbook is a spreadsheet for quotes, invoices, deposits, tax lines and a job log. See the Canadian Contractor Quote and Invoice Workbook (CA$19) or Get your kit.

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