A US address and a US-dollar payment do not, by themselves, determine Canadian GST/HST. The result depends on the supply and the provision that applies to it.
Establish the facts before using 0%
Identify the legal customer, their non-resident status, the service provided, where it is performed and any connection to property or people in Canada. Some provisions also depend on the recipient's GST/HST registration status.
CRA's export guidance includes a general zero-rating provision and separate provisions for categories such as advertising and professional or consulting services. It also lists exclusions. Services related to Canadian real property or goods, and certain services rendered to individuals in Canada, require particular care. CRA's exported-services memorandum.
Follow one qualifying consulting contract
Suppose an Ontario GST/HST-registered consultant provides business-planning advice remotely to a US corporation that is non-resident in Canada. The contract is solely for advice about its US operations. It does not concern real property or tangible goods in Canada, litigation, acting as an agent or arranging sales.
On those facts, the advisory service qualifies for zero-rating under section 23 of Part V of Schedule VI. A C$1,000 fee carries $0 GST/HST, for a C$1,000 invoice total. Keep the contract and evidence of the corporate customer's non-resident status with the explanation of that treatment. CRA's advisory-service rule and exclusions are in paragraphs 87 to 90.
Change the mandate to advice concerning a specific warehouse in Ottawa, and the Canadian-real-property exclusion applies: section 23 no longer provides that zero-rating. Check the applicable tax treatment before invoicing; the same US customer is not a reason to copy the first invoice's 0% line.
Keep the evidence with the invoice
Retain the contract, customer identity and address, relevant residency or registration evidence, a description of deliverables and the reason the chosen rule applies. If a contract mixes services with licences or other rights, review what is actually being supplied.
When zero-rating does apply, the sale remains a taxable supply at 0%, rather than an exempt sale. That distinction matters for the small-supplier calculation and potential input tax credits. CRA's imports-and-exports overview.
If the evidence is incomplete, resolve it before issuing repeated invoices with the same tax code. A written explanation of one representative contract is more useful than a blanket rule reading "all US customers: no HST."
Checked October 22, 2026. Currency conversion is a separate step: see foreign-currency freelance income.
