CRA Invoice Requirements — the current $100 and $500 rules
What must appear on a Canadian invoice depends on the sale amount — and the thresholds are $100 and $500, not the $30 and $150 still quoted all over the internet. Here is the current law, field by field, with sources.
First, the correction
The requirements live in the Input Tax Credit Information (GST/HST) Regulations (SOR/91-45), and they were amended effective April 20, 2021 to raise the documentation thresholds from $30/$150 to $100/$500. The CRA's own guidance on canada.ca (“Records you need to support your ITC claims”) reflects the new tiers — but most invoice-template sites were written before 2021 and never updated. If a guide tells you the rules change at $30 and $150, it is describing law that has been dead for five years.
What your invoice must show, by sale amount
| Total sale | Required on the invoice (or supporting documents) |
|---|---|
| Under $100 | Your business name (or trading name), the invoice date, and the total amount |
| $100 – $499.99 | All of the above, plus your GST/HST registration number, and either the tax amount charged on its own line or a statement that the total includes tax, with the rate |
| $500 or more | All of the above, plus the buyer's name (or their agent's), the terms of payment, and a description sufficient to identify each item or service |
Two details worth underlining. The thresholds are on the total amount paid or payable, tax included. And the fields can be spread across “supporting documentation” — an invoice plus a contract can satisfy the rules together — but a single complete invoice is the version that survives an audit without archaeology.
Why this matters: it's your customer's money
These are documentation rules for input tax credits — the mechanism by which your business customers recover the GST/HST you charge them. An invoice missing your registration number, on a $100+ sale, is an invoice the CRA can refuse as ITC evidence. The practical failure mode: your client gets audited, their credits are denied, and you get a call asking for corrected invoices for the last four years. Complete invoices are a customer-service feature as much as a compliance one.
Registration numbers, verified
Your GST/HST number appears on qualifying invoices only once you are registered — mandatory after $30,000 of taxable sales over four consecutive calendar quarters, optional before. Buyers can check any supplier's number against the CRA's GST/HST Registry before claiming credits. Quebec adds a second layer: registered Quebec businesses show a QST number alongside the GST number, one for each tax line — see the Quebec sales tax page for the rates and math.
Build it right the first time
Our free invoice generator carries every field on the CRA's list — business and client blocks, dates, unique sequential numbering, your tax number, itemized lines, each tax computed at the correct provincial rate on its own line, and terms — with the Canadian template preset for CAD and bilingual output. Check the tax math itself with the all-province calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What information does the CRA require on an invoice?
It scales with the sale. Under $100: your business name, the invoice date, and the total. From $100 to $499.99: add your GST/HST registration number and the tax amount or a tax-included statement with the rate. At $500 or more: also add the buyer's name, the payment terms, and a description sufficient to identify each item.
Are the CRA thresholds $30 and $150 or $100 and $500?
$100 and $500. The Input Tax Credit Information (GST/HST) Regulations were amended effective April 20, 2021, raising the old $30 and $150 tiers. Many template sites and older guides still cite $30/$150 — invoices built to the old tiers demand more detail than necessary at small amounts, but the real risk runs the other way: missing fields at the new tiers.
Does my GST/HST number have to be on the invoice?
Once the sale is $100 or more (and you are registered), yes — the supplier's registration number must appear for the buyer to claim input tax credits. Buyers can verify a number with the CRA's GST/HST Registry. Unregistered small suppliers have no number and must not charge the tax at all.
What happens if my invoice is missing required fields?
The CRA can deny your customer's input tax credits — which in practice means an audited business client comes back to you for corrected invoices, sometimes years later. Getting the fields right the first time is cheaper than reissuing paperwork under audit pressure.
Do the requirements apply to receipts and contracts too?
Yes — the regulations speak of “supporting documentation,” which can be an invoice, a receipt, a contract, or a combination. Whatever paper the buyer relies on for input tax credits must collectively show the required fields for that sale amount.
Do I need to show the tax as its own line?
You can either show the tax amount charged on its own line (the clearest way, and standard practice) or state that the total includes the tax and show the rate. For dual-tax provinces like Quebec, show each tax separately — GST and QST each with their own registration number.
When do I have to start charging GST/HST at all?
When your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, you must register, charge the tax, and show your number on qualifying invoices. Until then you are a small supplier: registration is optional, and without it you charge no GST/HST.
Is there an invoice generator that includes all the CRA fields?
Yes — our free generator includes every field the CRA lists: business and client blocks, date, unique invoice number, tax registration number, itemized descriptions with quantities and prices, each tax on its own line at the correct provincial rate, and payment terms. No signup, no watermark.