How to charge sales tax for events hosted in Canada - Zoho Backstage

Sales tax — Canada

Collect sales taxes for the tickets you sell for your event. In Canada, the law in each province is different when it comes to the collection of taxes. Thus, sales tax is not a fixed rate that is applied to all your ticket sale invoices, but will change based on which province you are connected to or hosting your event in. You also may be allowed to be exempted from tax for certain scenarios, such as the type of event you host. Ensure that you are aware of how to charge tax, and to which tax agencies you are required to remit the tax to. You can confer with your local regulatory body to do this.

You can view the complete breakdown of the tax in the Registrations > Overview > Orders tab of each event.

Note: Ensure you enable a payment mode and select Canada as your organization country before setting up tax for the Canada edition.

Enable sales tax for your portal

Charge sales tax for your ticket sales by adding your organization's details and setting up tax rates depending on the guidelines of the province you are connected to.


  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab. 
  3. Click the Enable tax button in the Tax rates tab. The Add organization details panel will display.
  4. Enter the name of your organization in the Organization Name textbox.
  5. Enter the address in the Organization Address area.
  6. Click the Next button. The Add tax panel will display.
  7. Enter the tax details, such as name, percentage, and agency.
  8. Click Save.

Note:
  1. The first tax rate you add will be labeled as the default tax rate for your portal. You can change the default tax rate at any time if you add multiple tax rates.
  2. You can add new tax rates and set up tax groups in the Tax Rates tab.
  3. When you set up tax for the first time, the Tax Exemptions and Tax Authorities tabs will be displayed in the Payments tab of your portal settings.

To add a tax agency



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Agency tab and click Add Tax Agency link. The Add tax agency panel will display.
  3. Enter the tax agency details, such as name and description.
  4. Click the Save button.

To modify organization details



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Edit link associated with your configured organization country. The Edit organization details panel will display.
  3. Modify necessary details, such as organization name and address.
  4. Click the Done button. 

Add a sales tax

Add new sales tax rates apart from the default one.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab.
  3. Click the Add tax link. The Add tax panel will display.
  4. Enter a name for your tax.
  5. Enter the percentage at which the tax rate will be applied.
  6. Pick or add a tax agency to whom the taxes are payable.
  7. Click Save.
Note: You cannot delete a sales tax after it is created.

To apply a sales tax for an event



  1. Go to Registrations > Setup > Tax from the dock.
  2. Click the Change button.
  3. Select the Taxable radio button to collect tax from your attendees.
  4. Click the Done button.

Note:
  1. The default tax rate that you set for your portal will be applied to all ticket purchases across all your events.
  2. To modify existing tax rates, click the Manage link in the top right corner of the Tax section.
  3. When you refund an event order or an individual ticket, the sales tax for associated with it will also be refunded to the respective attendees or purchasers.

Add a tax group

A tax group can help you combine different tax rates under one label. Create tax groups to help you easily apply multiple tax rates on ticket sales.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab.
  3. Click the Add tax group link in the top-right corner. The Add tax group panel will display.
  4. Enter a name to identify the tax group.
  5. Select the checkboxes against the tax rates that you want to group together.
  6. Click Save.
Note: To create a tax group, you need to have more than one tax rate created.

View a sales tax

View the sales tax rates or tax group you've created for your portal.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab.
  3. Click the menu associated with a specific sales tax.
  4. Click the View option. The tax details will be displayed in a panel.
  5. Click Close.

Edit a sales tax 

Modify the details for a tax rate or tax group you've created.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab.
  3. Click the Edit option associated with a specific sales tax. The Edit tax panel will display.
  4. Modify any of the details such as name, percentage, agency, or tax rate grouping.
  5. Click Save.

Set a default tax

When you add a tax rate for the first time, it will be set as the default tax for your portal. When you add multiple tax rates or create a tax group, you can change the default tax to the newly added tax rate or group.




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Rates tab.
  3. Click the Make default link that is near a tax rate's name.

Change the tax rate for an event

Modify the tax rate for an event even after setting a default tax rate for your portal.




  1. Go to Registrations > Setup > Tax from the dock.
  2. Click the Change button. The Tax setup panel will display.
  3. Select an option in the Default tax dropdown. This will be set as the tax rate for the event.

Set a tax exemption

Certain events can be exempt from tax based on the type of event you are holding and the regulations of the province you are connected with. Confer with your local regulatory body to check if you are exempt from tax and apply it to your events.


  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Exemptions tab.
  3. Click the Add Tax Exemption link and Add Tax Exemption panel will display.
  4. Add a reason and description for why your event is free from tax.
  5. Click the Save button.

To view tax exemption



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Exemptions tab.
  3. Click the dropdown to the right of the tax exemption you want to view.
  4. Select the View option to see all the details about the tax exemption.
  5. Click the Close button when you're done.

To edit tax exemption



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Exemptions tab.
  3. Click the Edit option to the right of the tax exemption you want to edit. The Edit Tax Exemption panel will display.
  4. Modify the reason and description for the tax exemption.
  5. Click the Save button.

To delete tax exemption




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Tax Exemptions tab.
  3. Click the dropdown to the right of the tax exemption you want to delete.
  4. Select the Delete option.
Note:
  1. You cannot delete a tax exemption that is associated with an event in your portal.
  2. You cannot delete all the tax exemptions from your portal, as there must be at least one tax exemption.

To exempt an event from tax




  1. Go to Registrations > Setup > Tax from the dock.
  2. Select the Tax option from the left pane.
    Note: The Tax option will be visible after you have set up paid tickets for your event.
  3. Click the Change button.
  4. Select the Non-taxable radio button to exempt the event from tax.
  5. Choose a reason for tax exemption from the Tax exemption code dropdown.
  6. Click the Done button.
Note:
  1. To modify existing tax exemption reasons, click the Manage link in the top-right corner of the Tax section.
  2. To add new tax exemption reasons, click the Add tax exemption link above the Tax exemption code dropdown.
 
While you can set up and collect taxes in Zoho Backstage, you’re responsible for knowing the tax obligations in places where you’re hosting an event. We encourage you to consult with a local authority or tax professional about tax regulations, as Zoho Backstage can't provide advice on tax.