How to Invoice in Canada as a Freelancer (GST/HST Explained)

Short answer: Knowing how to invoice in Canada comes down to seven fields — your name and contact details, the client’s details, an invoice number, the invoice date, a clear description of the work, the amount, and payment terms. If you are registered for GST/HST, you must also show the tax separately and, on invoices of $100 or more, your GST/HST account number, because the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires it so your client can claim an input tax credit. Registration only becomes mandatory once revenue passes $30,000.

Invoicing is how you get paid — and, once you cross the GST/HST threshold, it is also a tax document. This guide shows exactly what to put on a Canadian freelance invoice, when the tax kicks in, which rate to use, and how to keep the whole thing private.

What information must a freelance invoice in Canada include?

A basic invoice does not have a single government-mandated template, but a complete, professional one includes the fields below. Most of these fields apply wherever you bill from; the country-neutral list is in what to include on an invoice. What Canada adds on top is the tax layer: if you charge GST/HST, the last rows below stop being nice-to-haves and become mandatory CRA requirements.

Field	Required?	Notes
Your name / business name	Yes	Operating name if you have one
Your contact details	Yes	Address, email, phone
Client name and address	Yes	The person being billed
Invoice number	Recommended	Sequential; helps your records
Invoice date	Yes	And the date work was supplied
Description of goods/services	Yes	Clear enough to identify the work
Amount / quantity / rate	Yes	Subtotal before tax
Payment terms	Recommended	Due date, methods, late terms
GST/HST amount	Yes, if registered	Shown separately from the subtotal
Your GST/HST account number	Yes, if registered and invoice is $100+	CRA documentary requirement
Total amount due	Yes	Subtotal + tax

Do I have to charge GST/HST as a freelancer?

Not until you are required to register. The CRA treats you as a small supplier — and you do not have to charge GST/HST — while your worldwide taxable revenue stays at $30,000 or less over four consecutive calendar quarters (and in any single quarter).

• Under $30,000: You generally do not charge GST/HST. Your invoice simply shows your fee with no tax line. You also cannot claim input tax credits.
• Over $30,000 (rolling four quarters, or in a single quarter): You must register, and you must charge GST/HST from your effective registration date — including on the sale that pushed you over the threshold.
• Voluntary registration: You may register below $30,000 to claim input tax credits on your business purchases. Whether it is worthwhile depends on your clients and costs.

The CRA sets this out under When to register for and start charging the GST/HST. Once registered, you receive a GST/HST account number to put on your invoices. Registering does not change what you owe in income tax or CPP contributions on the same earnings — GST/HST is a tax you collect from the client and remit, not a tax on your profit. The income side is covered in self-employed taxes in Canada.

Which GST/HST rate do I charge?

The rate generally depends on the province where the supply is made (place-of-supply rules), not where you live. As of 2025:

Province/territory	Rate	Type
Alberta, BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut	5%	GST (provincial sales taxes may apply separately)
Ontario	13%	HST
Nova Scotia	14%	HST (reduced from 15% on April 1, 2025)
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	15%	HST

Provinces like British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec also have their own provincial sales taxes (PST/QST) with separate registration rules — those are administered provincially (Revenu Québec for QST). Confirm the current rate and place-of-supply rules against the CRA’s Charge and collect the GST/HST guidance before you set a default rate in whatever you invoice with.

Why does my GST/HST number have to be on the invoice?

Because your client needs it to claim their input tax credit (ITC) — the mechanism by which a GST/HST-registered business recovers the tax it pays. The CRA sets documentary requirements based on the invoice amount:

• Under $100: less information is required.
• $100 to $499.99: you must include your GST/HST account number, among other details.
• $500 or more: additional information is required, including the buyer’s name and a breakdown of the tax.

In short, once you are registered and the invoice is $100 or more, your GST/HST number is mandatory. Leaving it off can cost your client their ITC and looks unprofessional. See “Documentary Requirements for Claiming Input Tax Credits” on canada.ca.

What does a compliant freelance invoice look like (registered)?

Example for an Ontario freelancer registered for GST/HST:

INVOICE #2026-014                         Date: 2026-07-03

From: Jordan Lee Design (Jordan Lee)
      jordan@example.ca | 555-0100
GST/HST No.: 12345 6789 RT0001

Bill to: Maple Marketing Inc., Toronto, ON

Description                          Amount
Website design (30 hrs @ $80)        $2,400.00
--------------------------------------------------
Subtotal                             $2,400.00
HST (13%)                              $312.00
--------------------------------------------------
Total due                            $2,712.00

Terms: Net 15. E-transfer to jordan@example.ca

Freelance invoicing checklist

• Unique invoice number and date
• Your details and the client’s details
• Clear description of the work and the amount
• GST/HST shown separately (if registered)
• Your GST/HST account number on invoices of $100+ (if registered)
• Correct provincial rate (place-of-supply rules)
• Clear payment terms and method
• A copy kept for your records for six years

How does Keel help you invoice privately?

Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts (by Ilura Technology) builds the invoice and then keeps the copy. You get a PDF with your own numbering, your logo and brand colour, and a payment link rendered as a QR code the client can scan. Alongside it sits receipt capture — Apple Intelligence reads the photo on the device — plus mileage logging, reports, and a Freeboard view of where the year stands. There is no account, no sign-in, no bank connection and no cloud; the App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected.” For a freelancer, that means the client list and billing history never leave the iPhone.

The honest tradeoff is that nothing arrives on its own. Without a bank feed there is no automatic import, so an invoice is something you write and a receipt is something you photograph, in the moment. What that buys you is a clean record: an append-only, hash-chained ledger, an Accountant Pack (a CSV plus a one-page summary PDF) to hand over, and the option to export the whole year as a single file. The tax positions stay yours and your accountant’s — Keel only holds the evidence, most of which sits on the expense and receipt side.

Try Keel free (unlimited invoices, receipts and mileage free; Keel Pro is a one-time $249.99 Lifetime purchase, not a subscription — see the App Store for local pricing): Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to charge GST/HST on every freelance invoice? No. You only charge GST/HST once you are registered, which is required after your revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters (or in a single quarter), per the CRA. Below that, you can invoice with no tax line (unless you registered voluntarily).

What GST/HST number do I put on my invoice? Your GST/HST account number, which the CRA issues when you register. It is a nine-digit business number plus a two-letter program identifier and a four-digit reference — for example, 12345 6789 RT0001. Print the whole string, not just the nine digits, on every invoice of $100 or more. A common mistake is quoting a provincial PST or QST number instead: those are separate registrations and will not support your client’s input tax credit claim.

Which province’s rate do I use if my client is in another province? Generally the rate for the province where the supply is made, under the CRA place-of-supply rules. For most services the general rule points to the client’s address as you have it in the ordinary course of business, so an Ontario freelancer billing an Alberta client would usually charge 5% GST rather than 13% HST. Specific supplies and non-resident clients follow different rules, so verify your own case on canada.ca.

Do I need an invoice number? It is not strictly mandated, but sequential invoice numbers make your bookkeeping and any CRA review far easier and are considered standard practice. Choose one scheme — 2026-001, 2026-002 — and keep it for the whole year, so a gap means something rather than nothing. Never reuse a number: if an invoice has to be cancelled, issue a credit note against it instead of deleting it, which leaves the trail intact.

How long do I keep copies of my invoices? Generally six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, per the CRA record-retention rules — and the same six years covers the receipts backing your expense claims. Electronic copies count, so a PDF archive is enough and you do not need the paper. If you file an objection or appeal, keep the related records until the matter is resolved, and ask the CRA in writing before destroying anything early.

---

This article is general information, not tax advice. Consult a qualified accountant or tax professional.