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Excel workbook (.xlsx) with formulas that total themselves. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.
Download the Canadian expense report (Excel)Canada is the one expense report among the five that cannot use a single tax column, because there is no single national rate. The same cost carries 13% in Ontario, 5% in Alberta, and GST plus a separate provincial tax in British Columbia. This template handles that with a per-line rate field alongside the GST/HST column, so a report covering travel across provinces still produces input tax credits the bookkeeper can post correctly.
The download has a header block for the employee, period, and approver, a line per cost with the date, description, category, merchant, net, GST/HST, the rate, and the gross, and a totals row.
Why the rate column exists
Canada runs two parallel sales-tax systems, and the rate depends on the province of supply:
- HST provinces charge one harmonized rate: Ontario 13%, Nova Scotia 14%, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island at 15%.
- GST-only jurisdictions charge 5%: Alberta and the three territories.
- GST plus PST provinces charge 5% GST plus a separate provincial tax: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with Quebec charging GST plus QST.
Because the same purchase can fall under any of these, the template records the rate on each line. Without it, a report mixing an Ontario hotel and an Alberta supply would be impossible to post correctly.
The place-of-supply rule
The rate is set by where the supply is made, not where your business is based. A purchase on a trip to Ontario carries Ontario HST even if the business is in Alberta. The place-of-supply rules look to where goods are delivered or services performed. This is why the rate has to be read off each receipt rather than assumed from the business’s home province.
GST/HST is recoverable; PST usually is not
The split matters for what you can claim back. GST and the federal portion of HST are recoverable as input tax credits. PST in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba is generally not recoverable and forms part of the cost, while Quebec’s QST is recoverable for QST registrants. Recording the rate and tax type per line is what lets the bookkeeper claim the recoverable portion and leave the rest in the expense.
How to use the template
- Fill in the employee, period, and approver in the header.
- Record each cost with its net, the GST/HST charged, the rate, and the gross.
- Use the rate field to capture the province of supply (HST 13/14/15%, GST 5%, or GST plus PST).
- Keep the receipt for every line, and note where a separate non-recoverable PST applies.
- Total the report, submit for approval, and pass it to the bookkeeper to post.
Common mistakes
- Applying your home province’s rate to an out-of-province purchase. The place of supply governs the rate.
- Claiming an input tax credit on non-recoverable PST. Only GST and the HST federal portion are recoverable.
- Dropping the rate column. Without it, a multi-province report cannot be posted correctly.
- Treating zero-rated groceries as taxable. Basic groceries are zero-rated, so the line carries 0%.
When the report should fill itself
A spreadsheet works, but reading the rate and province off every receipt is exactly what should be automated. Tools that help:
- Dext extracts the tax and supplier details from a photographed receipt.
- ExpenseFlow reads each receipt, identifies the province and the GST/HST rate, separates the recoverable tax from non-recoverable PST, codes the net, and posts it into Xero or QuickBooks Online with the image attached.
- Hubdoc pulls recurring supplier invoices in with the tax itemised.
Use the template to start, record the rate per line, and move to automatic capture as volume grows.