HST Invoice Template (Ontario)

Ontario is a fully harmonized province: instead of GST plus a separate provincial sales tax, a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) of 13% applies to most goods and services. If you’re a GST/HST registrant billing a client in Ontario, that 13% needs to show as its own labelled line.

What the invoice needs to show

• Your business name and, for most invoices, your GST/HST registration number
• The invoice date
• HST labelled by name and rate — “HST (13%)”, not a generic “Tax” line, so the client can verify the rate themselves
• The total amount paid or payable, inclusive of HST

Before you charge it: are you actually registered?

HST is a form of GST/HST — the registration rules are identical to GST registration anywhere else in Canada. You’re only required to register, and only allowed to charge HST, once you cross the $30,000 small-supplier threshold (tested per calendar quarter and on a rolling four-quarter basis). Below that, registering is optional. See the GST/HST registration guide for the full threshold rules — they’re the same whether the province you’re billing uses HST, GST+PST, or GST alone.

Billing outside Ontario

HST only applies based on where the supply is considered made, generally the client’s location for most services — not your own. A freelancer based in Ontario billing a client in Alberta would generally charge GST (5%) instead of HST, not their own province’s rate. If you regularly bill clients across provinces, it’s worth confirming the applicable rate per client rather than defaulting to your own province’s rate on every invoice.

Common mistakes

Charging HST on an invoice to a client outside Canada. Exports are generally zero-rated, not subject to HST — see invoicing a US client from Canada.

Using your home province’s rate regardless of where the client is. The applicable rate follows the place of supply rules, not simply your own mailing address.

Omitting the registration number. Many business clients’ accounts-payable departments won’t process an invoice claiming HST without a verifiable registration number on it.

This page is general information, not tax advice, and place-of-supply and registration rules can change — verify your specific situation against the CRA source linked in the registration guide or with an accountant.