What Is the Shopify Canadian Tax Report?
The Shopify Canadian Tax Report groups the tax collected on your Shopify orders into the specific tax types used in Canada: GST, HST, QST, and PST. Instead of leaving everything inside Shopify's generic tax columns, it puts each named tax in its own column so you can see, order by order, which taxes were charged and how much.
This matters because Canadian tax does not behave the same way in every province. An order shipped to an HST province usually carries a single harmonized line, while an order in a GST plus provincial province carries two: federal GST and a separate provincial tax (PST or QST). Seeing those side by side tells you whether each order collected the combination its province requires.
Merchants use this report at filing time. GST and HST are remitted to the CRA, QST goes to Revenu Québec, and PST is handled by the relevant province, so having each amount separated makes it far easier to hand your accountant exactly what each authority needs.
Which Fields Are Included in the Shopify Canadian Tax Report?
These fields let you trace each tax back to the order it came from and confirm the right tax was applied.
You can customize the pre-made report by adding, removing, or rearranging columns so it matches how you review and file your Canadian taxes.
Important Insights You Can Find in This Report
Is each order carrying the tax combination its province requires?
Read the GST, HST, PST, and QST columns together for a single order. An HST-province order should show HST on its own, while a GST-plus-provincial order should show two amounts. When an order collects the wrong combination, or only GST where a provincial tax was expected, it usually points to a tax setting or registration that needs fixing before you file, not a one-off customer situation.
How much of your Canadian tax belongs to each remittance authority?
Because the report splits GST and HST from QST and PST, you can total each column on its own. That separation lines up with how the money is actually remitted: GST/HST to the CRA, QST to Revenu Québec, and PST to the province. Totalling by column gives you the figure each authority expects without unpicking a single blended tax number.
Do your taxable and non-taxable sales match how your catalog should be taxed?
Compare Taxable Sales against Non-Taxable Sales for the period and check it against what you actually sell. A non-taxable figure larger than expected can mean your zero-rated or exempt items are set correctly, or that a taxable product has been mistakenly marked exempt. Checking those totals against the Tax column confirms collection is happening where it should.
THE ANALYST'S READ: The Signal Most Merchants Miss
The generic Tax 1 to Tax 5 columns sit right next to the named GST, HST, QST, and PST columns, and comparing the two is where quiet setup errors surface. If a tax that should appear in a named column instead shows up only in a generic Tax line with a blank or unexpected title, or an order that should carry a provincial tax shows GST alone, it usually signals a missing provincial registration or a tax override rather than a genuine exemption. Sort for orders where Tax has a value but the matching provincial column is empty, then check those against the shipping province before you file.
How Can You Automate the Shopify Canadian Tax Report?
Open the pre-made Canadian Tax Report in Report Pundit and the columns are already set, so you can save it as is. Set a schedule to have it emailed to you daily, weekly, or monthly, and add your accountant or team to the same schedule so the numbers arrive already built. You can export it as Excel, CSV, or PDF, or push it straight to Google Sheets or Google Drive when you want the data to land where you already work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Canadian taxes does this report separate?
It separates GST, HST, QST, and PST into their own columns, alongside the generic Tax 1 to Tax 5 title and amount columns that Shopify records on each order.
How is the Canadian Tax Report different from the general Tax Report?
The general Tax Report shows tax at the order level using Shopify's generic Tax 1 to Tax 5 columns without naming the tax type. The Canadian Tax Report adds dedicated GST, HST, QST, and PST columns so you can map collected tax to the right Canadian authority.
Why do some orders show HST while others show GST plus PST or QST?
Canadian tax depends on the province. HST provinces combine the federal and provincial rate into one line, while other provinces charge federal GST plus a separate provincial tax (PST, or QST in Quebec). The report shows both patterns so you can confirm each order is correct.
Does this report include duties on imported orders?
Yes. The Total Duties and Duty Tax columns capture import duties and the tax applied to them, which is useful when you sell across the border.
Can I schedule this report to send to my accountant automatically?
Yes. You can set it to email on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule and add your accountant or VA as a recipient, so they receive the same file each period without you rebuilding it.