How to Make an Invoice in Canada: Freelancer Steps and GST/HST

Short answer: To make an invoice in Canada, put your name or business name, the client’s name, a unique invoice number, the date, a description of the work, the amount and the payment terms on one page, then send it as a PDF and keep a copy for six years. If you are registered for GST/HST, add the tax on its own line and, on invoices of $100 or more, your GST/HST number; from $500 the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) also expects the client’s name, a description and the terms. You only have to register once your revenue passes $30,000.

This is how to invoice in Canada as a freelancer, sole proprietor or contractor under the CRA’s GST/HST rules for the 2026 tax year. If you just want a layout to copy, use the Canadian invoice template; this page explains how to fill it in and why each field is there.

How do you make an invoice in Canada, step by step?

Making an invoice takes eight steps, and the first one, checking your GST/HST status, decides what the rest look like.

1. Check whether you charge GST/HST. If you are not registered, your invoice has no tax line at all. If you are, you need your GST/HST number and the right rate for the client’s province (both covered below).
2. Start from a template or a tool. Word, Google Docs or Google Sheets with the Canadian invoice template, the browser-based invoice generator, or an invoicing app. Creating an invoice from a blank page every time is how fields get missed.
3. Give it a unique invoice number. Use one sequence for the year, such as 2026-001, 2026-002, and never reuse a number.
4. Add your details and the client’s. Your name or business name, address and email, plus your full GST/HST number (for example 123456789 RT0001) if registered. Then the client’s name or business name and address.
5. Date it and set a due date. The invoice date usually decides which GST/HST return the tax belongs on, under the CRA’s time of liability rules. Add a due date, such as “Net 15”.
6. Describe the work line by line. What you did, the hours or quantity, the rate and the amount for each line, then the subtotal.
7. Add GST/HST and the total. Put the tax on its own line at the rate for the place of supply, then the total due in Canadian dollars.
8. Add payment details, send it and keep a copy. How to pay (e-Transfer email or bank details), then save the invoice as a PDF, send it, and file the copy where you will find it for six years.

When an invoice goes unpaid past its due date, send a short reminder that quotes the invoice number, date and amount, and attach the PDF again.

What must a Canadian invoice include?

The CRA does not prescribe a layout. It lists what an invoice must contain so a GST/HST-registered client can claim an input tax credit (ITC), and the list grows with the size of the sale.

Field	When it is needed	Notes
Your name or business name	Always	Your operating name if you have one
Invoice date	Always	Also fixes when GST/HST becomes payable
Total amount	Always	Subtotal plus any tax
Your GST/HST number	Registered, $100 or more	All 15 characters, never a PST or QST number
GST/HST charged	Registered, $100 or more	Its own line, or a statement that the price includes it, with the rate
Client’s name	$500 or more	Put it on every invoice anyway
Description of the work	$500 or more	Clear enough to identify what you supplied
Payment terms	$500 or more	Due date and how to pay
Invoice number, contact details, client address	Not on the CRA list	Standard practice; a numbered sequence backs up your income records

The $100 and $500 bands come from the CRA’s documentary requirements for claiming input tax credits. They matter because your client, not you, loses out when a field is missing: without your GST/HST number on a $100+ invoice, a registered business cannot claim back the tax it paid you, and it will ask you to reissue. Include every field on every invoice and you never have to check which band a job landed in.

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

Only once you are registered, and registration is mandatory once your worldwide taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters.

Below that you are a small supplier: you invoice with no tax line and cannot claim input tax credits. Once you cross the line, you charge GST/HST from your effective registration date, including on the sale that pushed you over, per the CRA’s when to register and start charging page. You can also register voluntarily below $30,000. How to apply and what to do in the first month is in how to register for GST/HST.

GST/HST is a tax you collect and send on, not a tax on your profit; the income side is covered in self-employed taxes in Canada.

Which GST/HST rate do you charge?

The rate generally follows the province where the supply is made, not where you live: 5% GST, or HST of 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

For most services, the CRA’s place-of-supply rules point to the client’s address, so a Calgary designer billing a Toronto client charges 13% HST, and the same designer billing an Edmonton client charges 5% GST. Work on a house or building follows where the property is. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec add their own provincial sales tax, registered separately and shown on its own line. The full table is in GST, HST and PST rates by province, and the arithmetic, including backing tax out of a total, is in how to calculate GST/HST.

What does a finished freelance invoice look like?

Here is an invoice from an Ontario freelancer registered for GST/HST, billing an Ontario client.

INVOICE #2026-014                         Date: 2026-10-06
                                          Due:  2026-10-21

From: Jordan Lee Design (Jordan Lee)
      jordan@example.ca | 555-0100
GST/HST No.: 123456789 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 (CAD)                      $2,712.00

Terms: Net 15. e-Transfer to jordan@example.ca

The total is over $500, so the client’s name, the description and the terms are all required, and they are all there. The GST/HST number is an example. Before you send yours, run through this list:

• Unique invoice number and date
• Your details and the client’s details
• A clear description of the work and the amount
• GST/HST on its own line at the place-of-supply rate (if registered)
• Your full GST/HST number on invoices of $100 or more (if registered)
• Due date and how to pay
• A copy filed for six years

Invoice, receipt or proforma invoice: which one do you send?

Send an invoice to ask for payment, a receipt to confirm payment arrived, and a proforma invoice only to preview a sale that is not final yet.

Document	When you send it	Records the sale?
Estimate or quote	Before the work, to agree a price	No
Proforma invoice	Before the sale is final, for a purchase order, a prepayment or a shipment abroad	No
Invoice	After the work, to request payment	Yes
Receipt	After you are paid	Confirms payment

A paid invoice marked “Paid” with the date and method often does the job of a receipt. The full comparison is in receipt vs invoice, and when a preliminary bill makes sense, and why it does not trigger GST/HST, is in proforma invoice.

…and where does Keel fit?

Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts, an iPhone app by Ilura Technology OÜ, makes invoices as PDFs. An estimate the client accepts becomes the invoice in one tap, each job keeps its quote, receipts and invoice together, and “who owes you” prepares reminder drafts that you review and send; nothing is sent automatically. Records stay on the iPhone: no account, no bank connection, no cloud sync, and an App Store privacy label of “Data Not Collected”. Invoices can carry a payment-link QR code, and each one is written to an append-only, hash-chained ledger, so the record of what you billed and when cannot be quietly changed later.

Keel is free with no invoice limit, and free invoices carry a small “Made with Keel” footer. Keel Lifetime is a one-time purchase ($249.99 USD; the App Store shows your local price) that adds custom branding, a signature, premium templates and accountant-ready exports. Keel is a record keeper, not a compliance tool: it does not check your invoice against the CRA’s list, file GST/HST returns, connect to the CRA or work out the tax you owe, so check your first PDF against the table above. Keel on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make an invoice for free? Copy the Canadian invoice template into Word, Google Docs or Google Sheets, or fill in the free invoice generator, which builds a PDF in your browser. Either way, save each invoice as its own PDF with its own number rather than overwriting one master file. A spreadsheet works too: amount = hours × rate, tax = subtotal × rate, total = subtotal + tax.

Do I need to charge GST/HST on every freelance invoice? No. You charge GST/HST only once you are registered, which is required after your worldwide taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Below that, you invoice with no tax line unless you registered voluntarily. If you do collect an amount as tax while unregistered, the CRA still expects it to be sent in.

What GST/HST number do I put on my invoice? Your GST/HST account number, which the CRA issues when you register: your nine-digit business number, the letters RT and a four-digit reference, for example 123456789 RT0001. Print the whole string on every invoice of $100 or more. A provincial PST or QST number is a separate registration and does 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. For most services that is the province of the client’s address as you have it in the ordinary course of business, so an Ontario freelancer billing an Alberta client usually charges 5% GST rather than 13% HST. Work on real property follows where the property is, and non-resident clients follow other rules.

Do I need an invoice number? The CRA’s ITC list does not require one, but its record-keeping guidance expects your income to be backed by documents such as sales invoices, and an unbroken sequence shows none are missing. Pick one scheme, such as 2026-001, and keep it all year. If an invoice has to be cancelled or reduced, issue a credit note that refers to it instead of deleting it.

How long do I keep copies of my invoices? Generally six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, under the CRA’s record-keeping rules. PDF copies count if you keep them in a readable format. To destroy records sooner, you need the CRA’s permission first.

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