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Settings — Tax Rates

This page explains how to configure tax rates for your store and how tax is applied to bookings, payments, and reports.

Overview

Tax rates are configured per store in Settings > Tax Configuration. Each store supports up to two tax components, covering:

  • Single-tax jurisdictions — such as US sales tax, Canadian HST, or Alberta GST.
  • Dual-tax jurisdictions — such as British Columbia (GST + PST) or Quebec (GST + QST).

Configuring Tax Rates

To set up your tax rates:

  1. Go to Settings and find the Tax Configuration section.
  2. Fill in the fields:
    • Tax 1 Label — the name shown on bookings and reports (e.g., "HST", "GST", "Sales Tax").
    • Tax 1 Rate (%) — the percentage for your primary tax.
    • Tax 2 Label (optional) — a second tax name (e.g., "PST", "QST").
    • Tax 2 Rate (%) — the percentage for your second tax.
  3. Click Save.

Auto-Population

When you change your store's province or state, Gurail auto-fills the tax rates with known defaults:

  • Canada — Province-specific rates are pre-filled. For example, Ontario gets 13% HST; British Columbia gets 5% GST and 7% PST.
  • United States — The base state sales tax rate is pre-filled. Your city or county may charge additional tax — update the rate to your combined local rate.

Tip

Auto-populated rates are starting defaults. Always verify them with your accountant, as rates may have changed.

Example Calculation

The settings page shows a live preview. For a store with 5% GST and 7% PST on a $100 booking:

  • GST: $5.00
  • PST: $7.00
  • Total tax: $12.00
  • Grand total: $112.00

How Tax Is Applied

When Creating a Booking

Tax is automatically calculated as soon as a price is entered. The booking form shows separate tax lines (e.g., "GST 5%" and "PST 7%") in the price summary.

When Editing an Unpaid Booking

Tax is recalculated using your store's current rates when you save. If rates changed since the booking was created, the new rates apply.

When Editing a Paid Booking

Paid bookings keep their original tax amounts. This ensures refunds match what was actually charged.

Payments — Court Rentals

When a rental booking is marked as paid, the transaction records the pre-tax amount and each tax component separately.

Payments — Lessons (Per Student)

For private and group lessons, each student is marked as paid individually. Their share of the tax is split evenly, with any remaining cents going to the last student's transaction to keep totals exact.

Refunds

Refunds always use the original tax amounts from when the booking was paid — not the store's current rates. If the rate was 13% when the customer paid, the refund uses 13%, even if the rate has since changed.

Recurring Bookings

When you edit a recurring series, updated tax amounts are applied to all future unpaid bookings in the series.

Tax in Reports

Transaction Report

The Transactions page shows tax columns for each component:

  • Tax 1 — labeled with your Tax 1 name (e.g., "GST", "HST").
  • Tax 2 — only appears if your store has a second tax configured.
  • Total — the tax-inclusive total.

Financial Report

Reports > Financial includes a Tax Collected card showing the combined total of all tax collected. For dual-tax stores, a breakdown is shown (e.g., "GST: $X / PST: $Y").

Important Things to Know

  • Changing tax rates does not affect existing bookings. Only new bookings or unpaid bookings edited after the change use the new rates.
  • Tax is calculated on the subtotal, never compounded (no tax-on-tax).
  • If both tax rates are 0%, no tax lines appear on bookings or reports.
  • If only Tax 1 is configured, Tax 2 columns are hidden from reports and booking summaries.
  • Dual-tax stores — Tax 1 and Tax 2 are stored separately on every transaction, so you can report each component independently for tax filing.