This post is part of our guide to using Odoo Community's Invoicing module as a CRA-ready record-keeping system. Read the full guide here.
Why the Tax column on your invoices matters
When CRA audits a small business, one of the first things they check is whether the tax you collected matches what you remitted. If your invoices don't have a tax line applied, the amount doesn't appear in any report Odoo generates — not the Invoice Analysis, not the Tax report, nothing. You would have to calculate and reconcile it manually.
This post walks through exactly how to configure GST/HST tax rates in Odoo Community and make sure they apply consistently to every invoice line — without relying on memory each time.
Step 1: Confirm your tax rates are configured in Odoo
Before you can apply a tax to an invoice, it needs to exist as a tax record.
Navigation: Invoicing → Configuration → Taxes
You should see a list of tax records. For most Canadian businesses on Odoo Community, you need at minimum:
- HST at the applicable provincial rate (15% for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland; 13% for Ontario)
- Or GST (5%) if you operate in a province with separate PST (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec)
If these don't exist yet, click New and create them:
- Tax Name: e.g.,
HST 15% - Tax Type: Sales (for invoices you send to customers) or Purchase (for bills from vendors)
- Tax Computation: Percentage of Price
- Amount: the applicable rate (e.g., 15.00)
- Tax Account: assign to your GST/HST payable account if your chart of accounts is configured
Save each tax record. You only need to do this once — tax records are reusable across all invoices.
Step 2: Set a default tax on your products or services
The most reliable way to ensure every invoice line carries the correct tax is to set the default at the product level. This way, the tax populates automatically whenever you add that product to an invoice.
Navigation: Invoicing → Products → Products
- Open a product record.
- Find the Customer Taxes field (on the General Information or Sales tab, depending on your Odoo version).
- Add the appropriate tax (e.g., HST 15%).
- Save.
Repeat for every product or service you sell. From this point forward, adding that product to a new invoice will auto-populate the correct tax on the line.
For vendor bills, the equivalent field is Vendor Taxes — set this on products you regularly purchase so that Input Tax Credit (ITC) amounts appear correctly.
Step 3: Apply taxes to invoice lines manually (when needed)
If a product doesn't have a default tax set, or you are entering a one-off line item, you can apply the tax directly on the invoice line.
Navigation: Invoicing → Customers → Invoices → open an invoice
- In the invoice lines section, locate the Taxes column on each line. If you don't see it, it may be hidden — click the column selector icon at the far right of the header row.
- Click the Taxes field on a line and select the appropriate tax from the dropdown.
- The invoice subtotal, tax amount, and total will update immediately.
Apply this check to every line on every invoice before confirming.
Step 4: Verify the tax summary before confirming
Before you click Confirm on any invoice, scroll down to the Tax Summary section at the bottom of the invoice form. This shows:
- The tax name
- The taxable base amount (subtotal before tax)
- The tax amount collected
If a line is taxable and the tax summary is empty or shows $0.00, a tax is missing somewhere on the line items.
Step 5: Check your Tax Report
Once you have confirmed invoices with taxes applied, Odoo Community provides a basic tax summary view.
Navigation: Invoicing → Reporting → Tax Report
Filter by your reporting period (quarterly or annually, matching your GST/HST filing frequency). The report shows:
- Total HST/GST collected on sales invoices
- Total HST/GST paid on vendor bills (your Input Tax Credits)
This is not a pre-filled government return — that is an Odoo Enterprise feature. But it gives you the numbers your accountant needs to prepare your filing.
Community vs. Enterprise — honest note
Odoo Community does not include automatic tax return worksheet generation, lock dates for prior-period records, or full multi-currency tax handling. What Community does include is sufficient for most small businesses to track taxes collected and paid accurately and hand those numbers to an accountant. The steps in this post cover what is available in Community.
Quick checklist
- Tax records exist in Invoicing → Configuration → Taxes for every rate you charge or pay
- Default Customer Taxes set on every product or service you sell
- Default Vendor Taxes set on products you regularly purchase
- Tax column visible and populated on every confirmed invoice line
- Tax Summary at the bottom of each invoice shows expected amounts
- Tax Report reviewed each quarter before remitting
Accuracy note
Tax rates and filing requirements vary by province and business type. The rates and field names in this post reflect Odoo Community's Invoicing module. This is not tax advice — confirm your applicable rates and filing obligations with your accountant or the CRA directly.
If you want to test this setup in a live Odoo instance before committing, our 14-day trial gives you full access to the Invoicing module from day one.