Paperwork for Canadian banquet halls, venues and caterers

GST/HST (plus QST in Quebec and PST in some provinces) basics for venues and caterers

Canada charges a 5% federal GST everywhere. Five provinces fold their sales tax into a single harmonized HST: 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Quebec adds its own 9.975% QST on top of GST, and British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba run separate provincial sales taxes with their own rules on food and alcohol. Banquet food and beverages and room rentals are generally taxable.

Charge the tax for the province where the event happens

GST/HST follows place-of-supply rules, and for an event that is normally the province where the food is served and the room is used. A Toronto caterer working a wedding in Gatineau is in Quebec for that evening, which means 5% GST and 9.975% QST rather than Ontario HST. Build your templates so the province is a field, not a fixed rate.

Nova Scotia is the reminder to check rates every spring. Its HST dropped from 15% to 14% on 1 April 2025, and any quotation issued before that date for an event after it needed revising.

Templates that hard-code one rate also break when the same client books a second event in another province, which happens often with corporate groups that meet in Toronto in spring and Vancouver in autumn.

The four documents every venue needs

A quotation (/ca/quotation-template) that shows HST or GST and QST the way the final bill will. An invoice (/ca/invoice-template) that meets the CRA information requirements so that corporate clients can claim input tax credits. A receipt (/ca/receipt-template) for every deposit and payment. And a banquet event order (/ca/banquet-event-order-template) for the kitchen and floor, with allergens and bar details.

Corporate bookers read these documents closely because their company can only claim back the tax you charge if your paperwork shows your registration number and the tax clearly. A missing GST/HST number on an invoice over $100 costs your client money, and they will remember that when they rebook.

Quebec caterers: bills from a certified system

Revenu Quebec requires restaurant establishments registered for QST, including businesses that provide catering services, to produce customer bills using a certified sales recording system and to send transaction data to the government. If you cater in Quebec, check the mandatory billing rules for catering before you design your own invoice, because a bill made in a spreadsheet may not satisfy them.

Gratuities and deposits: two rules worth knowing

A voluntary tip a guest leaves is not subject to GST/HST. A gratuity or service charge you add to a banquet invoice is part of the price, so tax applies to it. And a deposit held as security is not taxed until you apply it to the bill, while a forfeited deposit is treated as a taxable supply. Both rules shape how you word quotations and receipts.

Why your invoice layout matters to corporate clients

The CRA ties the information a buyer needs to claim input tax credits to the size of the purchase. Under $100, your name, the date and the total are enough. From $100 to $499.99 the document must also show the GST/HST charged or say it is included, and your registration number. At $500 and above it must also show the buyer name, a description of the supply and the payment terms. Almost every banquet invoice is over $500, so design for the full list and every client can claim.

Where Venura fits for Canadian venues

Venura is booking and operations software for banquet halls, event venues and caterers. Canadian venues subscribe and pay in Canadian dollars, and you set tax rates per line, so GST, HST or GST plus QST can each appear correctly. It covers the booking calendar with double-booking checks, quotations, invoices, receipts, deposit tracking, the enquiry pipeline and kitchen event sheets. Pricing for Canadian venues is quoted per business, so ask us for a price.

Questions from Canada