The Sales Tax reports turn your invoices, credit memos, bills and expenses into the figures you put on your sales tax returns, and help you check those figures before you file. They are built for Canada's four kinds of sales tax: the federal GST, the harmonized HST, and the provincial PST, QST and RST.
Open them from Reports ▸ Sales Tax, or from the Sales Tax category in the Report Centre (Reports ▸ Report Centre). The one exception is Sales Tax Liability, which sits on Reports ▸ Vendors & Payables, where QuickBooks Desktop puts it. How to set dates, drill down and print is the same for every report: see Running a report, Drilling down from a report and Print, export and email a report.
Which report do I want?
| Question | Report |
|---|---|
| What goes on my GST/HST return this period? | GST/HST Return |
| Which invoices make up line 103? | GST/HST Return Detail |
| What do I owe the province? | PST / QST Return |
| Did anything sell without a tax code? | Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts |
| Did any line charge a different amount from its tax code? | Sales Tax Exception |
| How much tax did I charge customers in each province? | Tax Collected by Province and Tax Type |
| How much did I sell taxable and non-taxable, by tax code? | Sales Tax Liability |
How these reports treat tax
A few rules hold across the whole category. Knowing them explains most figures.
- Combined codes are split. A sale in British Columbia carries one 12% code, but 5% of it is GST owed to the federal government and 7% is PST owed to the province, on different returns. The reports split every combined (group) tax code into its parts, in proportion to their rates, so each part lands on the right return.
- Federal or provincial. Each tax rate is treated as federal (GST/HST) or provincial (PST, QST, RST) by the account it posts to in Accounting Setup (see Accounting Setup). A rate with no posting account set is judged by its name: a name containing GST or HST is federal; PST, QST or RST is provincial. Rates judged by name are listed in a note so you can make it definitive; a rate that is neither appears on no return and raises an alert.
- What counts. Only saved (final) invoices count. Estimates, sales orders and held or pending sales do not.
- Credit memos reduce tax in the period the credit memo is dated, split across the tax codes of the invoice they reverse. A credit memo not linked to an invoice cannot be split by rate (see Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts).
- An invoice-wide discount lowers the tax the invoice actually charged, and the reports use that lower figure.
- Tax on shipping (freight) is tax collected, and is included.
- Tax on the whole invoice. When an invoice carries its tax code on the invoice rather than on its lines, that tax is counted through the invoice's code.
- Very long periods are refused, not cut short. If a period holds more than 100,000 sale or purchase lines, a filing report shows This period contains … sale lines, more than this report will compute in one pass. A tax return must not be produced from a partial period, so nothing is shown. Run it one month at a time and add the results.
Filing
GST/HST Return
What it answers: the figures for your GST/HST return (the CRA's GST34), line by line, for the period, with every figure clickable. This is QuickBooks Desktop's Tax Agency Report; on the Reports menu it is Tax Agency Report (GST/HST Return), and in the Report Centre you can press V to open it.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ Tax Agency Report (GST/HST Return) |
| Dates | Period — use the exact period of your return (a month, quarter or year). |
| Filters | None besides the date. It always covers every location. |
| Source | Tax from the documents, checked against the GST/HST account in your books; line 101 from the books. |
Columns: Line (the return's line number), Description, Amount.
Rows:
| Line | Description | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Sales and other revenue | The income your books recorded for the period, from every income account: the same figure the Sales Tax filing screen uses. It is before discounts (your chart books a discount as an expense) and includes other income. When the books hold no income for the period (accounting not yet switched on), it is your invoices' totals less tax, tips and rounding, net of credit memos. |
| 103 | GST/HST collected or collectible | The federal part of the tax on your invoices, less credit memos. When every document agrees with your books, line 103 is the GST/HST your books recorded. |
| 104 | Adjustments to be added | Always 0.00 on this report. The return in Manage Sales Tax fills it in: general journal entries to the GST/HST collected account dated in the period, and tax entered late in a period already filed (see Prepare and file a sales tax return). |
| 105 | Total GST/HST and adjustments | Line 103 + line 104. |
| 106 | Input tax credits (ITCs) | The federal part of the tax on your received bills, less vendor credits, including tax on freight charged on bills. Purchase orders do not count. Provincial tax you paid is never an ITC. |
| 107 | Adjustments to be deducted | Always 0.00 on this report. The return in Manage Sales Tax fills it in from general journal entries to the input tax credits account dated in the period, and late ITCs. |
| 108 | Total ITCs and adjustments | Line 106 + line 107. |
| 109 | NET TAX — amount owing (or NET TAX — refund due) | Line 105 − line 108, in the highlighted total row. |
Under Breakdown of line 103 each GST or HST rate is listed with its amount (for example GST (5%), HST ON (13%)). Two more lines can appear there:
- No tax rate on the document — counted as your books posted it (n) — tax on documents with no tax code that your books posted to GST/HST. It is on line 103 already.
- Rounding — the cents between rounding each invoice's tax and adding up unrounded lines. When every document agrees with your books it reads Rounding — each invoice's tax is rounded to the cent in your books.
The breakdown always adds up to line 103 exactly.
Drill-down:
| Click | Opens |
|---|---|
| Line 101 | Sales by Customer Summary for the period. |
| Lines 103 and 105 | GST/HST Return Detail: every document behind line 103. |
| Lines 106 and 108 | Transaction List by Vendor: the purchases behind the ITCs. |
| A rate in the breakdown | The detail for that one rate (Tax Detail). |
| No tax rate on the document… | Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts. |
Alerts it can raise (cards above the report, each listing up to 25 documents you can click):
| Alert | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| One document does not match your books — do not file yet (or N documents…) | Red, with the red bar This report does not balance. Do not file from it. For each document listed, your books hold a different amount of GST/HST than the document charges (shown as books minus document). One marked not in your books at all was never posted: open it and save it again. A chip Journal entries with no document opens the GST/HST account's transactions. Fix every item, then Refresh. |
| N documents have tax but no tax rate — counted as GST/HST, as your books did | Amber. Usually a credit memo issued without linking the original invoice, or an invoice line with no tax code. The amounts are already on line 103, so the return can be filed. Open the list shows them. |
| … of tax is on no return | Red. These documents charged tax with no tax rate, and your books did not post it to GST/HST either. Give each line a tax code before filing. |
| Some tax rates are not set up | Red. A tax rate used in the period is neither federal nor provincial, so it appears on neither return. Map it to its tax account in Accounting Setup. |
Notes under About this report explain line 101, say whether line 103 agrees with the books document by document, list any rates classified by name (Classified by name, not by your posting map: …), and remind you that lines 104 and 107 are adjustments (the return in Manage Sales Tax includes journal entries to the tax accounts there).
Related: GST/HST Return Detail lists line 103's documents; the PST / QST Return is its provincial companion; the Tax report screen shows tax collected by rate at a glance.
GST/HST Return Detail
What it answers: which invoices and credit memos make up line 103, rate by rate. QuickBooks Desktop calls it the Tax Agency Detail Report.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ Tax Agency Detail Report |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. Drilled from a single rate, it shows only that rate. |
| Source | The documents. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date | The document date. |
| Num | The invoice or credit memo number. |
| Name | The customer (Walk-In Customer for sales without one). |
| Taxable amount | The amount the tax was charged on. |
| Tax | This rate's share of the tax on that document. |
Rows and totals: a heading for each GST or HST rate (for example GST (5%)), the documents under it (credit memos negative), and Total GST (or the rate's name) under each. The grand total is TOTAL GST/HST COLLECTED, which equals the tax on line 103 before any "no tax rate" or rounding lines.
When opened for one rate (by clicking a rate on the GST/HST Return, a rate on the PST / QST Return, or a tax row on the Tax report screen) the title is Tax Detail, it shows that rate only (provincial rates included), and the grand total is TOTAL COLLECTED.
Drill-down: each line opens its invoice or credit memo.
PST / QST Return
What it answers: the provincial sales tax you collected in the period, per provincial rate: the figures for your PST, QST or RST return.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ PST / QST Return |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. |
| Source | The documents. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tax | The provincial rate's name. |
| Rate | Its percentage. |
| Taxable sales | The sales it was charged on. |
| Tax collected | The provincial tax charged, less credit memos. |
Rows and totals: one row per provincial rate that collected tax, then TOTAL PROVINCIAL TAX PAYABLE.
Drill-down: each rate opens Tax Detail for that rate: every document behind it.
Notes: Provincial sales tax has no input credits — PST, RST and QST paid on purchases is a business cost, not something you claim back. Some provinces allow a collection commission on the return; it is not deducted here, so apply it on the provincial form. No provincial tax was collected in this period. appears when there is none. Rate classification notes appear as on the GST/HST Return.
Review
Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts
What it answers: which sale lines were sold with no tax code, and which credit memos carry tax but are not linked to an invoice. Review it before every filing. On the Reports menu it is Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts Detail Report.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ Unassigned Sales Tax Amounts Detail Report |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. |
| Source | The documents. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date | The document date. |
| Num | The invoice or credit memo number. |
| Customer | The customer. |
| Item | The item sold, or Credit note — not linked to an invoice. |
| Amount | The line's amount (quantity less any returned, times price). Credit memo lines are negative. |
| Tax charged | Any tax on the line despite having no code. |
Rows and totals: one row per line, oldest first, then a TOTAL row.
Drill-down: each row opens its invoice or credit memo, where you can give the line a tax code.
Notes you may see:
- Every line sold in this period carries a tax code. Nothing to review.
- N line(s) were sold with no tax code… — legitimate for zero-rated groceries or an exempt sale; if any should have been taxed, the return is understated.
- N credit note(s) were issued without linking the original invoice, so no tax rate can be read from them. Your books still reduced GST/HST by their tax.
- WARNING: … of tax sits on the documents above with no tax rate. Give each line a tax code, and link each credit memo to its invoice, so it can be split by rate.
Tax Collected by Province and Tax Type
What it answers: how much GST, HST, PST, QST and RST you charged on sales supplied to each province (or state), in one grid.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ Tax Collected by Province and Tax Type |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. |
| Source | The documents. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Province / state | Where the sale was supplied, for example Ontario (ON), United States (export), Outside North America (export) or Not recorded. |
| Sales excl. tax | Sales before tax to that province (the same figure as Sales by Province / State). |
| One column per tax rate | For example GST (5%), PST (7%), HST (13%): the tax of that rate charged there, with combined codes split into their parts. Ordered by how much each rate collected. |
| No tax rate | Only when some tax was charged with no tax code. |
| Total tax | The row's total tax. |
Where a sale is placed: by the same rule the tax was charged under. An Amazon order is placed where Amazon shipped it; any other sale is placed at the customer's address. A sale whose place cannot be read is under Not recorded.
Rows and totals: one row per province, largest sales first, and a TOTAL row. Credit memos subtract in the period they were issued; delivery charges carry their tax like any other line.
Drill-down: a province opens Sales by Province / State Detail for that province and period.
Notes: when this report's tax total differs by a dollar or more from the tax shown on Sales by Province / State, a note explains why: that report reads the tax stored on each invoice, which on invoices created in the web back office holds only the tax on the invoice as a whole.
Sales Tax Exception
What it answers: which taxed lines were charged a different amount of tax from what their tax code says. QuickBooks Desktop calls it the Sales Tax Exception Report.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Sales Tax ▸ Sales Tax Exception Report |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. |
| Source | The documents. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date | The document date. |
| Num | The invoice number. |
| Customer | The customer. |
| Item | The item. |
| Tax code | The code on the line. |
| Expected | Price × the code's rate × quantity (less any returned). |
| Charged | The tax actually on the line. |
| Difference | Charged − Expected. |
Rows and totals: only lines whose difference is more than 2 cents (or 0.1% of the expected tax, whichever is larger) are listed, since a cent either way is rounding. The last row is TOTAL DIFFERENCE.
Drill-down: each row opens its invoice.
Notes: N taxed line(s) checked against the rate their code declares. Then either Every line agrees with its tax code. Nothing to explain to an auditor. or a note that each line listed was charged something other than its tax code says. That is legitimate when the price was entered tax-inclusive or the tax was changed by hand on the invoice, but each one needs a reason.
Returns
Sales Tax Liability
What it answers: for each tax code, your total sales, how much was taxable and non-taxable, and the tax collected: QuickBooks Desktop's Sales Tax Liability report. It sits on the Vendors & Payables submenu, as in QuickBooks.
| Menu | Reports ▸ Vendors & Payables ▸ Sales Tax Liability |
| Dates | Period |
| Filters | None besides the date. |
| Source | The documents (invoice lines). |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tax | The tax code as it appears on the lines (a combined code stays whole), or No tax code. |
| Total Sales | Sales on lines with that code, before tax, net of quantities returned. |
| Non-Taxable Sales | The same sales when the code charged no tax (or there was no code). |
| Taxable Sales | The same sales when the code charged tax. |
| Tax Rate | The code's rate. |
| Tax Collected | The tax charged on those lines. |
Rows and totals: one row per tax code, then TOTAL.
Drill-down: a row with a tax code opens GST/HST Return Detail for the same period.
Note: Sales are net of returns, before tax. The balance still owed to each agency is on the Balance Sheet and in Manage Sales Tax.
Common problems
| Problem | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Red bar This report does not balance. Do not file from it. on the GST/HST Return | Some documents disagree with your books. Open each listed document; for one not in your books at all, open it and save it again. Refresh until the alert is gone. |
| Some tax rates are not set up | A rate is neither federal nor provincial. Set its tax account in Accounting Setup (see Accounting Setup and Tax rates and tax groups). |
| Line 101 does not equal Sales by Customer Summary | Line 101 is your books' income, before discounts and including other income; Sales by Customer is invoices before tax, after discounts. The note on the return says so. |
| Line 103 differs from the tax printed on the invoices | Combined codes are split: only the GST/HST share is on line 103. The provincial share is on the PST / QST Return. |
| Tax refunded on a credit memo landed in the wrong period | Credit memos count in the period they are dated, not the period of the original invoice. |
| …more than this report will compute in one pass… | Run the return one month at a time and add the months together. |
| A sale shows under Not recorded on Tax Collected by Province | The customer has no province on file. Add the address in the Customer Centre. |
| PST paid on purchases is not on any return | Intended: provincial tax paid on purchases is a cost, not a credit. |